The Canadian government said ArriveCan supplier GC Strategies landed millions in sole-sourced contracts with no record it ever complied with procurement rules, according to Blacklock’s Reporter. “The reason business came about was that we continually had meetings and identified opportunities,” said GC Strategies Partner Kristian Firth at a House of Commons Government Operations Committee (CGOC) hearing. “It’s about getting ahead of it, getting partnerships with people.”Conservative MP Michael Barrett (Leeds-Grenville-Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON) asked if Firth used his relationships to get work from the Canadian government. “My relationships come from meetings I’ve had since 2009 with multiple clients,” said Firth. “We would go through a competitive process to win business like every other one of the 600 or 700 vendors that go through the same thing.”However, Procurement Ombudsperson Alexander Jeglic said in a report GC Strategies appeared to win millions in Canadian government contracts without bidding or complying with existing rules. Jeglic cited numerous examples of these infractions. In 2020, GC Strategies received a $13.9 million contract, but it did not meet minimum security requirements. Jeglic said there was no explanation “why the contract was issued to a supplier that did not meet the security requirement.”In 2020, it was awarded an $11.1 million contract, but there was no written record of a request or non-competitive solicitation being sent to it. “The only record of communication between the Crown and the supplier prior to signing of the contract was an email,” he said. In 2022, it was awarded a $25.3 million contract under restrictive conditions favouring GC Strategies over 40 competitors. “It would have been highly improbable that any other suppliers could have met all mandatory criteria,” he said. With GC Strategies, Firth said it was an information technology staffing company operating from a private home. He could not recall how many millions it profited from federal contracts. Barrett acknowledged the CGOC has “heard testimony at this committee that you leveraged relationships with key people in the government in order to guarantee business.”“That’s not what happened,” said Firth. Auditor General Karen Hogan said on Thursday it will disclose confidential details of a special audit of ArriveCan on Feb. 12. READ MORE: Commons committee orders ArriveCan audit by Feb. 12“When we identify issues that could raise the potential of criminality, we do identify it for the RCMP,” said Deputy Auditor General Andrew Hayes. Auditors would not comment when asked if they had uncovered evidence of criminality. Hayes noted the RCMP was investigating Canadian government contractors who worked on ArriveCan..This is what the Western Standard is up againstThe Trudeau government is funding lies and propaganda by directly subsidizing the mainstream media. They do this to entrench the powerful Eastern, woke and corrupt interests that dominate the political, social and economic institutions in Canada. Federal authorities are constantly trying to censor us and stop us from publishing the stories that they don’t want you to read. Ottawa may weaponize our taxes and police against us, but we’ve got a powerful ally on our side.You. Free men, and free women. We need you to stand with us and become a member of the Western Standard. Here’s what you will get for your membership:Unlimited access to all articles from the Western Standard, Alberta Report, West Coast Standard, and Saskatchewan Standard, with no paywall. Our daily newsletter delivered to your inbox. .Access to exclusive Member-only WS events.Keep the West’s leading independent media voice strong and free.If you can, please support us with a monthly or annual membership. It takes just a moment to set up, and you will be making a big impact on keeping one the last independent media outlets in Canada free from Ottawa’s corrupting influence.
The Canadian government said ArriveCan supplier GC Strategies landed millions in sole-sourced contracts with no record it ever complied with procurement rules, according to Blacklock’s Reporter. “The reason business came about was that we continually had meetings and identified opportunities,” said GC Strategies Partner Kristian Firth at a House of Commons Government Operations Committee (CGOC) hearing. “It’s about getting ahead of it, getting partnerships with people.”Conservative MP Michael Barrett (Leeds-Grenville-Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON) asked if Firth used his relationships to get work from the Canadian government. “My relationships come from meetings I’ve had since 2009 with multiple clients,” said Firth. “We would go through a competitive process to win business like every other one of the 600 or 700 vendors that go through the same thing.”However, Procurement Ombudsperson Alexander Jeglic said in a report GC Strategies appeared to win millions in Canadian government contracts without bidding or complying with existing rules. Jeglic cited numerous examples of these infractions. In 2020, GC Strategies received a $13.9 million contract, but it did not meet minimum security requirements. Jeglic said there was no explanation “why the contract was issued to a supplier that did not meet the security requirement.”In 2020, it was awarded an $11.1 million contract, but there was no written record of a request or non-competitive solicitation being sent to it. “The only record of communication between the Crown and the supplier prior to signing of the contract was an email,” he said. In 2022, it was awarded a $25.3 million contract under restrictive conditions favouring GC Strategies over 40 competitors. “It would have been highly improbable that any other suppliers could have met all mandatory criteria,” he said. With GC Strategies, Firth said it was an information technology staffing company operating from a private home. He could not recall how many millions it profited from federal contracts. Barrett acknowledged the CGOC has “heard testimony at this committee that you leveraged relationships with key people in the government in order to guarantee business.”“That’s not what happened,” said Firth. Auditor General Karen Hogan said on Thursday it will disclose confidential details of a special audit of ArriveCan on Feb. 12. READ MORE: Commons committee orders ArriveCan audit by Feb. 12“When we identify issues that could raise the potential of criminality, we do identify it for the RCMP,” said Deputy Auditor General Andrew Hayes. Auditors would not comment when asked if they had uncovered evidence of criminality. Hayes noted the RCMP was investigating Canadian government contractors who worked on ArriveCan..This is what the Western Standard is up againstThe Trudeau government is funding lies and propaganda by directly subsidizing the mainstream media. They do this to entrench the powerful Eastern, woke and corrupt interests that dominate the political, social and economic institutions in Canada. Federal authorities are constantly trying to censor us and stop us from publishing the stories that they don’t want you to read. Ottawa may weaponize our taxes and police against us, but we’ve got a powerful ally on our side.You. Free men, and free women. We need you to stand with us and become a member of the Western Standard. Here’s what you will get for your membership:Unlimited access to all articles from the Western Standard, Alberta Report, West Coast Standard, and Saskatchewan Standard, with no paywall. Our daily newsletter delivered to your inbox. .Access to exclusive Member-only WS events.Keep the West’s leading independent media voice strong and free.If you can, please support us with a monthly or annual membership. It takes just a moment to set up, and you will be making a big impact on keeping one the last independent media outlets in Canada free from Ottawa’s corrupting influence.
