House of Commons voted to impose a lifetime ban on two contractors who made millions from the troubled ArriveCan app project, reports Blacklock’s Reporter.MPs endorsed the measure by a narrow margin of 172 to 165. The vote targets Kristian Firth and Darren Anthony, consultants with GC Strategies Inc. of Woodlawn, ON.Evidence presented to Parliament showed the pair earned substantial sums as government suppliers despite limited technical expertise. Conservative Member of Parliament Michael Barrett provided a description of their shady operations."This company, and I use that term loosely, these were a couple of guys working in their basement, getting multi-million dollar IT contracts from the Government of Canada, but they were not IT experts," said Barrett..Barrett argued taxpayers deserved compensation for the controversial spending. He sponsored the motion calling on the government to recover funds within 100 days and ban GC Strategies permanently.The motion also targets any subsidiaries or affiliated entities connected to Firth and Anthony.Barrett emphasized the need for accountability in government contracting. "Get Canadians their money back," Barrett told fellow MPs. "Let us show Canadians that when we tax them a dollar, it is going to go as far as it can.".Bloc Quebecois (BQ) supported the motion despite expressing doubts about getting the money back. BQ MP Martin Champoux called it an important precedent amid mounting government scandals."It is a bit unrealistic to think that money will ever be recovered," said Champoux. However, he said the BQ backed the measure with some reservations.The RCMP raided GC Strategies office in 2024 over allegations of billing fraud. No charges have been filed to date. .Parliamentary hearings revealed the company billed at rates equivalent to $2,600 per hour.GC Strategies collected $2.5 million in fees from the ArriveCan project alone, according to 2024 testimony before the Commons Government Operations committee. Evidence also showed company partners entertained federal managers with meals and drinks.Firth testified that his company submitted monthly invoices throughout the contract period. "At any point, we could have been stopped," Firth told MPs.Anthony, the company's only other employee, struggled to recall his earnings during committee appearances. .When asked about his total compensation as a federal contractor, he said he did not have those figures available.BQ MP Rheal Eloi Fortin expressed frustration over the contracting arrangements. "Money was stolen from us," said Fortin. "We want to get our money back. With all due respect, we don't care who stole the money. We want to get that money back."The vote represents Parliament's response to mounting criticism over single source contracts and oversight failures in government procurement under the Liberal government.
