(Ottawa) More than half a dozen investigations have been opened into irregularities in the awarding of federal contracts, senior officials of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said Tuesday. This includes the one on cost overruns surrounding the application ArriveCAN launched in the wake of the Auditor General’s report. These are new details in this months-long saga.
“The RCMP is investigating and using all available information, including the Auditor General’s performance audit report and information from the Procurement Ombudsman. The RCMP has several ongoing investigations into these matters,” indicated the Commissioner of the federal police force, Michael Duheme, during his testimony to the Standing Committee on Public Accounts of the House of Commons.
” In the case of’ArriveCANthe RCMP can confirm that it is investigating all related matters to determine whether a criminal offense has been committed,” he added.
Deputy Commissioner Mark Flynn said only one investigation had been opened into ArriveCANbut that several others have also been launched on irregularities in the awarding of federal contracts.
“More than six? asked Conservative MP Larry Brock.
“I would say yes,” Deputy Commissioner Flynn replied. This will be the only clarification I will give. »
He was careful not to reveal who the targets of these investigations were and whether they affected senior civil servants or even ministers, as Mr. Brock asked. Both RCMP leaders have repeatedly stressed the importance of protecting the integrity of these investigations.
The home of Kristian Firth, one of two partners at GC Strategies, was searched in April the day before he gave evidence in the House of Commons. The RCMP had clarified that it was not linked to the investigation opened in the wake of the ArriveCAN scandal. According to the Auditor General, the two-employee firm received nearly a third of the $60 million that the application developed during the pandemic ended up costing.
The RCMP also opened an investigation following allegations raised by the Montreal firm Botler AI, which had dealt with GC Strategies as part of another project prior to ArriveCAN. Its leaders had alerted the Canada Border Services Agency in 2021 after observing questionable practices. She subsequently notified the RCMP. They denounced “systemic corruption” in the government apparatus in a parliamentary committee last fall.
Their names were allegedly used without their knowledge to invoice for work they did not perform. GC Strategies also allegedly inflated their experience in their resumes submitted to the federal government, a practice that allows them to obtain a better rate.