The RCMP said it has searched the office of a contractor who worked on ArriveCan. An RCMP spokesperson said in a Wednesday interview with CBC News it had executed a search warrant on Tuesday at a location listed as GC Strategies’ mailing address in Woodlawn, ON. The spokesperson said the search warrant was unrelated to an ongoing investigation into ArriveCan. This search comes as GC Strategies partner Kristian Firth prepared to face questions from MPs when he appeared in front of the House of Commons — a rare measure that has not happened since 1913.MPs had agreed to find Firth in contempt of Parliament for refusing to answer questions before the House of Commons Government Operations Committee (CGOC) in March. Firth is set to receive an admonishment from Speaker of the House of Commons Greg Fergus. A public rebuke from the speaker of the House of Commons is a rare measure that has been used a handful of times in the past century. It is more rare for a person to face questions from the House of Commons. MPs will ask Firth to answer the questions he avoided during his appearance at the CGOC in March. They will be allowed to ask follow-up questions.No one has been questioned before the House of Commons since 1913.The Auditor General said the $60 million cost for ArriveCan was in part due to the Canadian government's overreliance on outside contractors such as GC Strategies.Additionally, the Auditor General found GC Strategies was involved in developing requirements that were used for an ArriveCan contract. That contract was valued at $25 million and later awarded to it. The Procurement Ombudsman said the criteria used in awarding the $25 million contract was restrictive and favoured GC Strategies. During his CGOC appearance, MPs asked Firth which government officials he worked with to develop the criteria for that contract. He avoided those questions, citing an ongoing RCMP investigation into ArriveCan, despite him saying he had not been contacted by it at that time. Firth is expected to appear before the House of Commons following Question Period. The Liberals, Conservatives, Bloc Quebecois and NDP will be given two 10-minute rounds to question Firth. A third round of five minutes will follow and will include the Greens. Firth was censured for refusing to disclose names of secret contacts pertaining to its sweetheart deal to build ArriveCan on March 13. READ MORE: ArriveCan contractor called 'a pathological liar' and censured for refusing to name names at committeeMPs pressed him to name names, as the CGOC questioned him on the identity of a federal manager who invited him to dictate terms of his own contract. Firth testified for four hours under oath after being subpoenaed by it, which threatened to have him taken into custody after he ignored two other summonses in November and February.
The RCMP said it has searched the office of a contractor who worked on ArriveCan. An RCMP spokesperson said in a Wednesday interview with CBC News it had executed a search warrant on Tuesday at a location listed as GC Strategies’ mailing address in Woodlawn, ON. The spokesperson said the search warrant was unrelated to an ongoing investigation into ArriveCan. This search comes as GC Strategies partner Kristian Firth prepared to face questions from MPs when he appeared in front of the House of Commons — a rare measure that has not happened since 1913.MPs had agreed to find Firth in contempt of Parliament for refusing to answer questions before the House of Commons Government Operations Committee (CGOC) in March. Firth is set to receive an admonishment from Speaker of the House of Commons Greg Fergus. A public rebuke from the speaker of the House of Commons is a rare measure that has been used a handful of times in the past century. It is more rare for a person to face questions from the House of Commons. MPs will ask Firth to answer the questions he avoided during his appearance at the CGOC in March. They will be allowed to ask follow-up questions.No one has been questioned before the House of Commons since 1913.The Auditor General said the $60 million cost for ArriveCan was in part due to the Canadian government's overreliance on outside contractors such as GC Strategies.Additionally, the Auditor General found GC Strategies was involved in developing requirements that were used for an ArriveCan contract. That contract was valued at $25 million and later awarded to it. The Procurement Ombudsman said the criteria used in awarding the $25 million contract was restrictive and favoured GC Strategies. During his CGOC appearance, MPs asked Firth which government officials he worked with to develop the criteria for that contract. He avoided those questions, citing an ongoing RCMP investigation into ArriveCan, despite him saying he had not been contacted by it at that time. Firth is expected to appear before the House of Commons following Question Period. The Liberals, Conservatives, Bloc Quebecois and NDP will be given two 10-minute rounds to question Firth. A third round of five minutes will follow and will include the Greens. Firth was censured for refusing to disclose names of secret contacts pertaining to its sweetheart deal to build ArriveCan on March 13. READ MORE: ArriveCan contractor called 'a pathological liar' and censured for refusing to name names at committeeMPs pressed him to name names, as the CGOC questioned him on the identity of a federal manager who invited him to dictate terms of his own contract. Firth testified for four hours under oath after being subpoenaed by it, which threatened to have him taken into custody after he ignored two other summonses in November and February.
