Border Agency Chose Sole-Source Contracts for ArriveCan Against Procurement Department’s Recommendation

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

The border agency turned down suggestions from the procurement department to have an open competition for contracts related to the embattled ArriveCan application, MPs heard in committee.

Millions of dollars in sole-sourced contracts were awarded by the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) to companies that barely did any work and subcontracted the tasks.

“We found that Public Services and Procurement Canada [PSPC] had questioned the CBSA’s decision to use non-competitive processes to award ArriveCan work,” Deputy Auditor General Andrew Hayes told the House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Accounts on March 7. The committee is currently studying the auditor general’s report on ArriveCan that was released last month.

Mr. Hayes said PSPC suggested alternative contracting practices to the border agency, such as using short and non-competitive processes or competitive processes with shorter bidding periods. “Despite this advice, the agency decided to proceed on a non-competitive basis,” said Mr. Hayes.

The auditor general found that several amendments to the non-competitive contracts extended their timelines and resulted in additional costs, which ballooned to an estimated $59.5 million. The IT company GC Strategies received nearly $20 million for work on the app, while Dalian and Coradix received $7.9 million.

All three companies have been suspended by PSPC from obtaining contracts, and GC Strategies’ security status was also suspended. The companies have not been responding to requests for comment from The Epoch Times.

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The application they worked on, ArriveCan, was initially used as a border measure to electronically track public health requirements for quarantine during COVID-19 restrictions, and it eventually captured travellers’ vaccination status. It remains in function but in an optional capacity for travellers to submit their advanced customs declarations.

The auditor general’s Feb. 12 report on ArriveCan indicates there was a “glaring disregard for basic management and contracting practices throughout the app’s development,” and that several key records were missing. The RCMP is now investigating the matter.

The House of Commons voted on Feb. 21 to call the owners of GC Strategies to appear before the government operations committee to answer questions on the app, or face arrest by the Commons’ sergeant-at-arms. While Kristian Firth has previously spoken before the committee on two occasions, he and Darren Anthony have failed to abide by two summons from the committee to testify again, sent out on Nov. 2, 2023, and Feb. 9, 2024.

PSCP’s Challenge Function

PSPC Deputy Minister Arianne Reza told the committee that while the agency recommended the CBSA use an alternative for the contracting process, their legal counsel later found that “the justification provided by the CBSA for their approach was sufficient and met the criteria for emergency use.”

“When it comes to lack of transparency around decision-making, we are committed to addressing the root causes, strengthening document management practices, and continuing the deployment of our electronic procurement solution,” she said.

Dominic Laporte, assistant deputy minister of the PSPC’s Procurement Branch, told the committee that the agency’s role is to play a “challenge function” when it comes to procurement. He said while the PSPC has the power to reject certain clients, the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and the need for a fast border solution made it a “bit more challenging” to do so.

Mr. Laporte said PSPC officials would be performing more challenges for future projects, which would include ensuring tasks are clearly defined and linked to specific outcomes and that security requirements are met.

The auditor general’s report recommended that the PSPC and CBSA should ensure tasks and deliverables are more clearly defined in government contracts and related task authorizations. Ms. Reza said the agency agreed in full with the recommendations and had “already put management actions in place to strengthen our processes.”