The federal government has created a new oversight office to enforce ethical standards in contracting after the ArriveCan scandal exposed widespread billing irregularities, missing records, and millions in questionable expenses. Blacklock's Reporter says a Department of Public Works briefing note says the new Office of Supplier Integrity and Compliance will help “promote ethical business practices” across government procurement.Launched May 31, the office is tasked with identifying questionable suppliers and reducing risks of misconduct in the federal procurement and real property systems. “The new Office improves the government’s ability to respond to emerging risks of misconduct and fraud while protecting the integrity of the federal procurement and real property systems,” said a November 6 memo obtained through Access to Information..Federal procurement covers about $20 billion annually, including management of Crown-owned properties and 1,690 lease contracts nationwide. The note did not detail how the office will function beyond stating it “provides new tools to address corporate misconduct on a government-wide basis.”The reform effort follows the ArriveCan scandal, which erupted after the Public Health Agency handed out sole-sourced software contracts during the pandemic. .Auditor General Karen Hogan, in 2024 testimony before the Commons public accounts committee, said she could not calculate the program’s full cost due to missing records and called the financial oversight “the worst I have seen.”“Did Canadians get value for money?” asked MP Michael Barrett (Leeds-Grenville, Ont.). “The public service did not ensure Canada received best value for money,” Hogan replied. “I would tell you we paid too much for this.”One contractor, GC Strategies of Woodlawn, Ont., billed $2,600 an hour for subcontracted work. The RCMP raided the company’s office amid an ongoing fraud investigation.The Commons government operations committee also revealed that thousands of staff emails tied to ArriveCan contracting had disappeared. “So convenient,” said Conservative MP Stephanie Kusie (Calgary Midnapore) at an October 22 hearing.“Are Canadians to believe you can conduct shady business, leave your job, and just have none of your actions follow you?” Kusie asked. “You can commit wrongdoing in your position as a public servant in Canada, leave your position, and the trail behind you is deleted.”
