Cory Morgan: Auditor Reports on the ArriveCAN Scandal Aren’t Enough—There Must Be Consequences

A smartphone set to the opening screen of the ArriveCan app is seen in a file photo. (The Canadian Press/Giordano Ciampini)

Commentary

The unfolding debacle of the Canadian ArriveCAN app sounds like a story from a corrupted third-world nation. There are elements of corruption, scads of ineptitude, and it sounds like we are just seeing the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the inside dealing involved with this developing scandal.

We are seeing another national embarrassment in the making.

The premise of the ArriveCAN app was simple. The government wanted a way to have travellers quickly register their vaccination status along with customs declarations when arriving in Canada. It would provide a means to continue to track the health status of arrivals, and ostensibly help reduce the spread of COVID-19.

App development is big business and there are thousands of companies offering services in that market. Due to the competitive nature of the industry, prices for developing apps are relatively reasonable and range from $10,000 to $500,000 according to most sources. That is, until the government gets involved. Ottawa budgeted $25 million for the app when it offered the contract for its development.

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So far as information comes out in dribs and drabs, the price tag for the Canadian ArriveCAN app is approaching $60 million according to a report released by Auditor General Karen Hogan. The scathing report notes the cost figure is just an estimate due to poor record-keeping and management shortcomings. The cost is likely much more though we may never find out exactly how much.

The outrageous cost of developing the app is only one aspect of the scandal. Government incompetence in managing affairs and remaining within budgets is commonplace and expected. The procurement process for the contract to develop the app appears to have been corrupted from the very beginning. A report from Canada’s procurement ombudsman called the contract criteria “overly restrictive” and said it “heavily favoured” the private company the contract was awarded to. It was a polite way to say the fix was in.

An estimated $20 million went to a two-person outfit that subcontracted the app to others to develop. One of the subcontractors was Botler, a small IT development company whose principals have been blowing the whistle on questionable procurement practices with the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) since 2021. Last fall, it was confirmed that the RCMP O Division is investigating the file based on allegations from Botler.

A Conservative MP last week cited a confidential government report related to the ArriveCAN program that he said showed there was “serious employee misconduct, so serious that you required the RCMP to investigate at least two criminal charges, fraud and bribery.”

Evidence of dark and likely illegal internal government practises concerning the ArriveCAN app has been pouring in for nearly a year now from numerous sources. A parliamentary committee had been holding hearings into the app but was shut down by Liberal, Bloc, and NDP MPs last week when the revelations of the secret CBSA report were presented to them.

There has been no evidence of involvement in the scandal by any elected officials. In shutting down a committee that was tasked to get to the bottom of things, though, the government now is making itself look complicit. Trust in Canadian institutions is being shattered over this affair. If anything, the committee should have broadened its scope and held more hearings instead of shutting down.

What makes the ArriveCAN scandal all the more galling to citizens is the appearance of profiteering during the pandemic. While the nation was in the grips of lockdowns, restrictions, stress, and protests, people with connections to senior bureaucrats appear to have been making millions of dollars fraudulently through inflating costs and inside dealing. No corruption is acceptable, but when fraudsters take advantage of a disaster, it is all the more odious.

Unfortunately and predictably, the first instinct of officials so far has been to cover their butts rather than try to expose the rot.

People are wondering how deep the rabbit hole is. How many more corrupted procurement processes happened during the pandemic?

The government spent billions on everything from testing kits to vaccines. Was there profiteering and inside dealing involved in those contracts too?

Canadians are sick to death of inquiries and commissions that seem to go nowhere. They want answers and consequences. Not another “special rapporteur” or appointed government insider to head up a new committee.

The ArriveCAN scandal needs to be investigated quickly, and heads need to roll. There can’t be any more foot-dragging or finger-pointing. The work on deleting evidence is already happening.

Will this scandal be the one that finally breaks the camel’s back when it comes to the Trudeau government?

It’s hard to say. They seem to manage to skate with every other affair. For the sake of the confidence of citizens and the reputation of Canada though, it would be refreshing to see the government taking this seriously. Things are only going to get worse as more information emerges.

Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.