Canada's Auditor General released a damning report on Monday, revealing that government departments failed to adhere to sound management practices in the contracting, development, and deployment of the controversial ArriveCAN application. The ineffectiveness of record-keeping was such that investigators were unable to determine how much was spent on what, who did the work, or the rationale behind contracting decisions.

Auditor General Karen Hogan emphasized on Monday that a comprehensive paper trail should have been maintained, noting a "glaring disregard for basic management and contracting practices" throughout the app's development and deployment.

For those unfamiliar or in need of a reminder, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) introduced ArriveCAN in April 2020. It was designed to collect contact and health information, including COVID-19 injection status, from individuals entering Canada. Utilizing third-party developers, the app enabled the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) to implement quarantine measures for entrants, including Canadian citizens.

Canada Among the Most Restrictive Countries in COVID-19 Travel Measures

Canada implemented among the strictest travel and border restrictions globally, including a mandatory 14-day quarantine for all returnees. Furthermore, starting February 22, 2021, the federal government mandated air travellers to stay in government-authorized quarantine facilities at their own expense, costing approximately $2,000 per person.

The federal government allocated nearly $400 million over three years to these COVID-19 quarantine facilities, according to PHAC. The hotel quarantine requirement was lifted for all travellers on August 9, 2021, but unvaccinated Canadians still had to isolate for 14 days upon entry. Violations of quarantine or isolation guidelines were punishable under the Quarantine Act, with potential penalties including up to six months in prison and/or fines up to $750,000, as per Health Canada.

Additionally, federal mandates required proof of COVID-19 vaccination for domestic travel by air, train, or cruise ship.

Regarding ArriveCAN, Hogan stated that "An emergency was not an excuse to overlook the fundamental rules that the public service usually follows."

Due to inadequate documentation and "weak controls" at CBSA, the exact cost of the ArriveCan app remains unclear, with estimates suggesting a cost of about $59.5 million.

Hogan's report also highlighted the app's insufficient testing. Between April 2020 and October 2022, 177 versions of the app were released, including 25 major updates, nearly half of which were launched without proper testing. "We found little evidence that the Canada Border Services Agency conducted testing before releasing new versions of ArriveCAN," Hogan remarked.

A spending breakdown revealed that the lion’s share was allocated to GC Strategies, exceeding initial disclosures. Hogan expressed concern over evidence that the company influenced specific requirements used by CBSA in a competitive process, ultimately awarding contracts worth millions more to GC Strategies, which was the sole bidder.

Moreover, Hogan discovered that individuals involved in the contract award process received dinners and gifts, contrary to the agency's Code of Conduct, which mandates employees to report all offers of gifts irrespective of whether they are accepted. There was no evidence that these employees informed their supervisors.

In line with Broader Federal Government Spending Incompetence

The recent revelation surrounding the ArriveCAN debacle hardly comes as a surprise, given the broader context of federal government spending inefficiencies. A strikingly similar pattern of mismanagement was highlighted in another report by Auditor General Hogan last year, which scrutinized Global Affairs Canada (GAC) for its failure to determine the impact of its major funding initiative aimed at promoting gender equality abroad. Released in March 2023, this report exposed GAC's inadequate oversight over the $3.5 billion allocated annually for bilateral aid, highlighting significant lapses in its information management practices. Such deficiencies led to incomplete or missing project files, leaving the department unable to accurately assess and report on the actual outcomes of its funded projects in relation to their stated goals.

Sounds all too familiar, doesn't it?

Furthermore, the report pointed out that annual reports to Parliament on international assistance only captured results for about half of the funded projects and failed to reflect long-term outcomes. Hogan emphasized the urgent need for Global Affairs to "act immediately" to enhance its information management practices to address these issues.

The office told Coastal Front that Global Affairs committed to providing quarterly updates on its progress regarding the improvement of its information management, but did not provide further details.

As for the federal government's response to Hogan's newly released ArriveCAN report, it defended the initiative as an "effective and necessary" tool for collecting what was, at the time, mandatory health information. It further noted that it is "taking steps to ensure all government departments are better positioned to undertake projects of this nature in the future."