(Ottawa) Ottawa says it has suspended the largest contractor who worked on the application ArriveCan preventing it from bidding on or working on government contracts with security requirements.
Public Services and Procurement Canada announced Wednesday that it was suspending the security status of GC Strategies, which the Auditor General said received more than $19 million for the project.
The department says the suspension prevents the company from participating in all federal procurements with security requirements.
This follows an earlier decision to suspend her from procurement processes within the ministry.
The government also banned two other companies that contributed to the project ArriveCanDalian Enterprises and Coradix Technology Consulting, to participate in procurement opportunities.
The app ArriveCan in the pandemic era has come under scrutiny, with the Auditor General recently finding its development to be a major management failure.
Karen Hogan said last month that the public service had failed to provide value for money for taxpayers’ money, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau admitted it was “obvious” that the rules had not been followed. respected.
The federal government launched the app in April 2020 to track the health and contact information of people entering Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as to digitize customs and immigration declarations.
The Ministry of Supply said in notices about the three companies that it had a framework to “prevent, detect and respond to situations of potential wrongdoing and to safeguard the integrity, fairness, openness and transparency of the federal procurement system.
He announced on Tuesday that he had recently issued work stoppage notices to the Coradix company for current contracts. On Friday, Dalian was suspended from its security status.
GC Strategies, Dalian and Coradix did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Last week, CTV News reported that the Department of National Defense suspended contracts with Dalian after confirming its CEO was an employee of the department.
In response to questions about the report, Treasury Board President Anita Anand said government rules prevent conflicts of interest and “ethical lines must be respected at all times.”