Company at Centre of ArriveCan Debacle Got $107M in Contracts, Committee Hears

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

The company at the centre of the ArriveCan controversy has received $107 million from federal government contracts since 2011.

Roch Huppé, comptroller general of Canada, said GC Strategies and its predecessor Coredal received over 100 federal government contracts during that time.

“I can confirm that between Jan. 1, 2011, and Feb. 16, 2024, departments reported that there have been 118 contracts with that supplier, totalling $107.7 million,” Mr. Huppé told the House public accounts committee on March 6.

Mr. Huppé added that releasing the updated information is part of a larger effort to make sure Canadians are getting accurate information from the federal government’s procurement database.

“Providing accurate and open information about our contracts is essential to safeguarding the trust that Canadians put in their institutions,” Mr. Huppé told the committee.

Mr. Huppé told the committee he has also asked for a full report on contracts involving two other companies that have ties to the controversy—Dalian Enterprises and Coradix Technology Consulting.

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“I have asked all the institutions to confirm the number and value of all contracts they have issued to GC Strategies, Dalian, Coradix, and joint ventures between Dalian and Coradix,” he said. “All institutions must verify that the information about these contracts posted on the Open Government portal is complete and accurate.”

In addition, Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) announced March 6 it was suspending the security status of GC Strategies, meaning the company cannot be involved in any contracts involving security requirements. PSPC also announced a suspension of all work orders involving Coradix Technology Consulting, along with any new government work for the company.

On March 1, the status of Dalien Enterprises was suspended following news the company received millions in government contracts while its CEO was a Department of National Defence employee.

There have been growing questions over the ballooning cost of ArriveCan, an app developed to check the COVID-19 vaccination status of travelers entering Canada.

In February, Auditor General Karen Hogan tabled a report on ArriveCan. Her report found a “glaring disregard for basic management and contracting practices” in ArriveCan’s development and implementation. Her report estimated the app cost $59.5 million to develop, but said the exact figure could not be determined because of missing and incomplete paperwork.

The app was initially estimated to cost around $80,000.

Mr. Huppé and other officials at the committee faced some blunt questions from MPs.

“There appears to be a lack of oversight across government departments,” said Conservative MP Kelly Block. “One of the main reasons for this, as we heard yesterday, is due to the lack of enforcement of the Financial Administration Act across departments,” she said, referring to testimony the committee heard March 5 that up to five accountants had flagged concern about the ArriveCan app with management—but were afraid to speak out.

“Given that the issue of ArriveCan has been in the news for the last 18 months, who in your department is being held accountable for the failures of the ArriveCan app?” Ms. Block asked.

“We are taking this very seriously and putting an action plan together,” Mr. Huppé replied.

“I’ve instructed …  the chief audit executives of every department about a week and a half ago to make really, really sure that they had a review of their procurement practices in the coming year, you know, as an audit within their department,” he said. “So there are things that we’re doing to make sure that our accountability is discharged.”

NDP MP Heather McPherson said community organizations in her Edmonton riding often have to go through “incredible hoops” to get just a small fraction of the money that was spent on the ArriveCan app.

“What do I say to the people in my riding, the organizations in my riding, who are trying to get funding from this government, but see this incredibly unfair process?” she asked Ms. Hogan, another of the witnesses at the committee.

Ms. Hogan replied one of her concerns is that the response to the ArriveCan app controversy will be to add more rules to an already very complicated process—instead of just enforcing the rules that already exist.

“I’m just concerned that there might be a requirement that the rules get tighter or stricter or another layer on, that will limit that competition,” Ms. Hogan said. “The business of government needs to keep moving forward. The rules, however, need to be respected in order to ensure that that happens, and that just didn’t happen in this case.”