GC Strategies, the firm that won the initial contract for the development of the ArriveCAN application, was paid millions less than what the Auditor General of Canada, Karen Hogan, predicted last month. This is what one of the firm’s two partners, Kristian Firth, put forward before a parliamentary committee on Wednesday.
“Everything that has been stated about my business is false. […] The amounts paid are not the astronomical amounts that were advanced,” he testified during his appearance by videoconference.
On February 12, the VG revealed that the basic application developed during the pandemic was paid $80,000 in April 2020, but at least $59.5 million was added to the bill for 177 updates.
GC Strategies, the main firm that worked on the application, would have pocketed a third of this sum, or $19.1 million, estimated Mme Hogan.
The affair quickly caused a scandal in Ottawa and around ten investigations have since been launched. Last week, the government suspended GC Strategies’ security status, preventing it from bidding on or working on government contracts.
“We looked at all the invoices and the work done by the subcontractors in the development of the application,” explained Mr. Firth, who repeatedly claimed that the amount of 11 million was the correct figure.
Mr. Firth also revealed that he and his partner, Darren Anthony, personally pocketed $2.5 million per year for this project. Asked about the time spent, he said he worked “between 30 and 40 hours per month” taking care of administrative tasks.
The rest of the $11 million would have been paid to other contractors hired for the project.
The two IT recruiters did not create the application, but they were tasked by the Government of Canada with assembling a team to carry out parts of the project.
GC Strategies also reportedly secured three contracts related to the COVID-19 pandemic, but that none of them were strictly focused on ArriveCan.
This is the third time that Kristian Firth has testified before MPs. His associate, Darren Anthony, will in turn testify before the committee on Thursday.
With The Canadian Press