Federal departments are facing nine criminal investigations into suspected IT billing fraud, the largest number disclosed so far, with most cases tied to the ArriveCan contracting scandal that rocked Ottawa.The Department of Public Works confirmed in a Commons filing that five new cases of suspected invoicing fraud by IT subcontractors have been sent to the RCMP since May 2024. Blacklock's Reporter said another four cases were already under investigation. The figures were released after Conservative MP Scott Anderson (Vernon–Lake Country, B.C.) demanded answers on the scale of federal procurement fraud.The RCMP refused to provide details, saying it had to “protect the integrity of the investigation.”.Most of the probes stem from a police raid last year on GC Strategies Inc., a blacklisted supplier that took in more than $92.7 million in IT contracts despite running its operation out of a basement. Files seized in the raid raised suspicions of fraudulent billing, including invoices that worked out to as much as $2,600 an hour.The Commons has since banned GC Strategies partners Kristian Firth and Darren Anthony from ever doing business with Ottawa again, but MPs say taxpayers are still owed answers and a refund. .“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,” Conservative MP Michael Barrett (Leeds–Grenville, Ont.) told the House.Auditor General Karen Hogan told MPs the scandal exposes deeper flaws in how Ottawa buys services. “I recommend the government find the root cause,” she said, noting that some public servants admitted they didn’t even know the procurement rules they were supposed to follow.Hogan questioned why staffing firms became Ottawa’s go-to middlemen for IT work, suggesting the government’s own contracting process was either too complex or simply ignored. “I think the rules are clear,” she said. “It’s about how you make sure everyone knows what the rules are and how they should be followed.”
