“Head scratcher.” That’s what Canada’s Auditor General Karen Hogan is describing as the paper trail surrounding the ill-fated ArriveCan app..That’s because she has found that those involved in the contracting, development and implementation of the controversial ArriveCan application showed a "glaring disregard" for basic management practices..“An emergency does not mean that all the rules go out the window,” Karen Hogan, Canada’s top accountant said at a press conference Monday. “I've been an auditor for a few decades I've been the Auditor General for years now. And I would tell you that this is probably some of the worst financial record keeping that I've seen the lack of basic information to support an invoice…”.In a new performance audit tabled Monday, the auditor general pointed to failures by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) and Public Health Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) in connection with the ubiquitous traveller app everyone was required to keep updated in lineups at airport terminals..The report pegs the cost of the app at $59.5 million — more than the previously estimated $54 million — but cautions that the true cost was "impossible" to calculate because of CBSA's "poor financial record keeping.".An early estimate for the app’s preliminary development put the cost at just $80,000 — but the total price has since soared to more than $54 million..“Overall, the Canada Border Services Agency, the Public Health Agency of Canada, and Public Services and Procurement Canada repeatedly failed to follow good management practices in the contracting, development, and implementation of the ArriveCAN application,” the scathing report reads.“As a result of the many gaps and weaknesses we found in the project’s design, oversight, and accountability, it did not deliver the best value for taxpayer dollars spent.”.The auditor general was tasked on November 2, 2022, to look into ArriveCAN, which was introduced in April 2020 as a way to manage travel during the COVID-19 pandemic. It did so by collecting users’ contact and health information, and issuing quarantine notices to those at risk..For its part, the government acknowledged “gaps” in the way the app was implemented but vowed to take “steps to ensure all government departments are better positioned to undertake projects of this nature in the future.".“The app was built during an extraordinary time and on an emergency basis. The CBSA was working as quickly as possible to replace a paper process that was not meeting public health needs and was also impacting the border with significant wait times that disrupted the essential flow of people and goods.”.Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre personally blamed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for the mismanagement of the app on Monday.“He’s taken 60 million of your tax dollars and given it to a corrupt app, ‘ArriveScam,’ that doesn’t work, that we didn’t need and that went 750 times over budget,” he told reporters at a press conference.
“Head scratcher.” That’s what Canada’s Auditor General Karen Hogan is describing as the paper trail surrounding the ill-fated ArriveCan app..That’s because she has found that those involved in the contracting, development and implementation of the controversial ArriveCan application showed a "glaring disregard" for basic management practices..“An emergency does not mean that all the rules go out the window,” Karen Hogan, Canada’s top accountant said at a press conference Monday. “I've been an auditor for a few decades I've been the Auditor General for years now. And I would tell you that this is probably some of the worst financial record keeping that I've seen the lack of basic information to support an invoice…”.In a new performance audit tabled Monday, the auditor general pointed to failures by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) and Public Health Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) in connection with the ubiquitous traveller app everyone was required to keep updated in lineups at airport terminals..The report pegs the cost of the app at $59.5 million — more than the previously estimated $54 million — but cautions that the true cost was "impossible" to calculate because of CBSA's "poor financial record keeping.".An early estimate for the app’s preliminary development put the cost at just $80,000 — but the total price has since soared to more than $54 million..“Overall, the Canada Border Services Agency, the Public Health Agency of Canada, and Public Services and Procurement Canada repeatedly failed to follow good management practices in the contracting, development, and implementation of the ArriveCAN application,” the scathing report reads.“As a result of the many gaps and weaknesses we found in the project’s design, oversight, and accountability, it did not deliver the best value for taxpayer dollars spent.”.The auditor general was tasked on November 2, 2022, to look into ArriveCAN, which was introduced in April 2020 as a way to manage travel during the COVID-19 pandemic. It did so by collecting users’ contact and health information, and issuing quarantine notices to those at risk..For its part, the government acknowledged “gaps” in the way the app was implemented but vowed to take “steps to ensure all government departments are better positioned to undertake projects of this nature in the future.".“The app was built during an extraordinary time and on an emergency basis. The CBSA was working as quickly as possible to replace a paper process that was not meeting public health needs and was also impacting the border with significant wait times that disrupted the essential flow of people and goods.”.Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre personally blamed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for the mismanagement of the app on Monday.“He’s taken 60 million of your tax dollars and given it to a corrupt app, ‘ArriveScam,’ that doesn’t work, that we didn’t need and that went 750 times over budget,” he told reporters at a press conference.
