The Canadian federal government’s ArriveCan application, launched in April 2020 to manage health and contact information for entrants during the COVID-19 pandemic, has come under intense scrutiny following a recent audit. The contractor originally entered the project with a contract price of $2.35 million. Costs ballooned to a staggering $60 million prompting a serious examination of the Government’s record-keeping practices and reliance on third-party vendors.
In her report, Auditor General Karen Hogan pointed to serious deficiencies. She noted that the government’s bad management practices resulted in increasing costs for the ArriveCan program. The use case was to automate customs and immigration declarations on flights. This innovation indeed expedited processes at a key moment for the health and safety of the public.
The audit specifically focused on the contracts doled out to GC Strategies. That’s a pretty penny for this company, with more than $19 million awarded for its part in the endeavor. Hogan’s inquiry found, among other things, that these contracts did not meet applicable policy instruments and failed to provide value for money. What those findings showed was a shocking pattern of mismanagement, driving up costs and wasting valuable resources.
The government moved quickly to address the audit’s concerns with dramatic changes. They suspended the security clearance of GC Strategies and barred both Dalian Enterprises and Coradix Technology Consulting from competing for future contracts. This ruling signals a huge tightening of oversight on contracts awarded to outside companies. It arrives at a time when costs associated with ArriveCan have increased significantly.
The rapid increase of the project’s costs has led to serious questions about the management strategies used by the government. Critics say the sickeningly familiar recipe of too much reliance on outside contractors and not enough stringent oversight let expenses get out of control. The audit’s detailed findings have further fueled long-standing calls for rigorous accountability of all government spending—even more so during crisis-prompting emergencies.
The Liberal party members on the committee decided against inviting and questioning key players connected to White’s audit. They took this bold step to focus on addressing mental health issues. This decision highlights the nuances between what is in the public’s interest versus what is in an individual’s interest.
