Auditors have been summoned to a House of Commons Public Accounts Committee (CPAC) meeting about ArriveCan, according to Blacklock’s Reporter. “There is obviously something fishy going on,” said Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre in a speech in the House of Commons. “The government does not want Canadians to know the truth.”MPs voted 173 to 149 to order a special audit into ArriveCan after learning sweetheart contracts paid millions to sole-sourced suppliers. Opposition MPs called the CPAC into session on Thursday at 11 a.m. ahead of Parliament’s return Monday from Christmas recess. Deputy Auditor General Andrew Hayes will be testifying. MPs ordered the special audit in November. Poilievre sponsored the motion asking the Auditor General “conduct a performance audit including the payments, contracts and subcontracts for all aspects of the ArriveCan app and to prioritize this investigation.”The audit remains incomplete. Work was slowed after Canadian government managers concealed an ongoing RCMP investigation of ArriveCan contractors. “Despite my staff auditing all of the departments in this audit, management had not informed me they referred a contracting matter which involved many common players we are looking at to the RCMP,” said Auditor General Karen Hogan. The Auditor General learned of police involvement from a whistleblower’s account published in the Globe and Mail in October.Hogan expected police would have informed the Auditor General. “Through the course of our audit, we always ask questions linked to actual, suspected or alleged fraud and we would expect there is an ongoing responsibility for officials to keep us informed of any matters that are relevant to the subject we are auditing,” she said. “I am disappointed they did not tell us.”While she is disappointed, Conservative MP Larry Brock (Brantford-Brant, ON) said Canadians are disappointed. “Members of Parliament are disappointed,” said Brock. Cabinet mandated in 2020 travellers download ArriveCan to submit proof of vaccination prior to arriving in Canada. The requirement was suspended in 2022. Cabinet said in an inquiry of ministry tabled in the House of Commons in 2022 ArriveCan cost $19.8 million. Actual expenses were more than double that amount at $54 million. Former public safety minister Marco Mendicino said the Canadian government was aware of the costs related to ArriveCan. “They covered many things,” said Mendicino. “They were not just for the development of the app.”Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) management said on January 18 it was satisfied with ArriveCan. READ MORE: CBSA says it is proud of ArriveCan“I am very proud of the app,” said former CBSA president John Ossowski. “ArriveCan helped to administer the pandemic border measures, but I relied on my officials to deal with the procurement details.”
