Liberal MP Iqra Khalid (Mississauga-Erin Mills, ON) said repeated reference to ArriveCan as ArriveScam promotes public cynicism, according to Blacklock’s Reporter. “When Conservative colleagues call it ArriveScam instead of the ArriveCan app, it is impacting public trust,” said Khalid in a speech to the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee.“That is the crux of what I am trying to get at.”ArriveCan is the subject of ongoing audits and police investigations over disclosures of irregularities and sweetheart contracting. Two Canadian government managers have been suspended without pay. The final cost for the app ballooned to $59 million.Introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic, ArriveCan became mandatory as a way to screen inbound travellers to Canada for their travel- and health-related information. After months of defending it and insisting it was a critical tool despite pressure from the travel industry and opposition MPs to scrap it, the Canadian government made the use of ArriveCan optional when it lifted a range of COVID-19 restrictions in 2022. MPs have endeavoured for months to probe it, and Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre has advocated for a deeper dive by police into the matter.At the moment, Khalid said there “is a continuing diminishing, a lack of trust within our public institutions.”“When things like this happen, it really gets to the crux of that trust and just shatters it to the ground,” she said. “I hope we can work together and that the Treasury Board and all of our government departments can ensure we are spending taxpayer dollars in a responsible fashion.”Conservative MP Garnett Genuis (Sherwood Park-Fort Saskatchewan, AB) issued a trigger warning. This was because his comments would use the word ArriveScam. “ArriveScam is impacting public trust because it is an Earth-shattering scandal,” said Genuis. “Massive cost overruns, rigged processes, double dipping, disappearing records.”When it comes to this scam talk, Genuis confirmed it impacts public trust. “The public will only trust institutions when and to the extent those institutions actually earn their trust,” he said. “It’s pretty rich for Liberals like Miss Khalid to talk about the need for public trust in institutions when they have presided over a massive decline in the effectiveness and trustworthiness of public institutions and done nothing about it.”Khalid requested Genuis not try to malign her. “I have already been dealing with a lot of hate mail and a lot of threats in my office based on what the Conservatives have done,” she said. The first reference to ArriveScam on the public record was in House of Commons debates in 2022. Conservative MP Michael Barrett (Leeds-Grenville-Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON) complained millions were wasted on it. Barrett revealed on February 27 he had breaking news about ArriveCan. READ MORE: RCMP documents show criteria may have been met to lay criminal charges over Aga Khan scandal, ArriveCan“RCMP Commissioner confirms that [Justin] Trudeau’s ArriveScam is under investigation,” he said. “More to come.”
