Federal agencies spent almost $20 million on the ArriveCan app for cross-border travelers, records show. Cabinet defended the program as essential in enforcing the Quarantine Act..According to Blacklock's Reporter, the total expenses were disclosed in an Inquiry Of Ministry tabled in the House of Commons. When asked, “How much money did the government spend developing the application?” the Canada Border Services Agency put costs at $19.8 million..Expenses included billings by the Public Health Agency and Shared Services Canada, the federal IT department. The figures were requested by Conservative MP Chris Warkentin (Grande Prairie-Mackenzie, Alta.)..Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre told the House of Commons Friday the ArriveCan program was “disastrous.” The program is currently expected to expire September 30..“ArriveCan is an essential tool,” Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos told reporters. “You know if we didn’t have ArriveCan the time it would take for border agents to process the data that are needed to monitor and enforce the rules around the border, that time would be tripled.”.Cabinet introduced the app April 29, 2020. Air passengers and drivers at land crossings are required to download the app and submit electronic proof of vaccination prior to arrival in Canada..Authorities two years ago called the app an “electronic collection method that allows travelers to submit their information quickly, easily and securely.” Costs of the program were not disclosed at the time..“ArriveCan is a critical tool to process travelers with the requirement of the vaccine mandate,” Transport Minister Omar Alghabra told reporters last Wednesday. “It is a tool that helps process arrivals as they arrive.”.“You want to keep it mandatory?” asked a reporter. “No final decision has been made,” replied Alghabra. “We’re constantly assessing the situation and making decisions based on the information we have.”.Cabinet spent $20 million on another pandemic-related app called COVID Alert intended to notify smartphone users if they came into casual contact with a coronavirus carrier. The program was discontinued June 17 due to lack of interest..“The app was not being utilized to a huge extent,” Dr. Theresa Tam, chief public health officer, earlier told reporters. “Not all innovations might work.” Tam called the failed program “a good go at trying to utilize another tool in the current era of apps to try and protect the population.”.“I’m sure there will be lessons learned because it would be nice to be able to use some of these newer technologies as part of our ongoing management of outbreaks and pandemics,” said Tam. “But we are where we are.”
