A scandal surrounding the ArriveCan app developed during the pandemic raises questions about government spending. Journalist Irem Koca discusses the financial implications, subcontracting issues, and the debate over the government's intentions. The podcast explores controversies, investigations, overpayments, and conflicts among public servants. The episode delves into emergency procurement, contractor discrepancies, and the complexities of the scandal.
The ArriveCAN app procurement process was plagued with inflated costs and lack of transparency, raising concerns about fund allocation.
Allegations of cozy relationships between contractors and public servants complicated the ArriveCAN scandal, leading to suspensions and ongoing investigations.
Deep dives
Overview of the ArriveCAN Application
The ArriveCAN application was launched in April 2020 and required travelers at border crossings to submit travel information, vaccination status, and COVID-19 test results. Initially mandatory, it aimed to speed up the process compared to manual tracing forms, but its effectiveness remains a subject of debate. While the government perceives it as necessary for safety and effective, the Auditor General reported issues like wrong quarantine orders due to glitches. The app was utilized by millions, but questions arose about its high procurement cost of nearly 60 million dollars.
Questionable Procurement and Contractors
The procurement process for the ArriveCAN app raised concerns as GC Strategies, a primary contractor, received a significant portion of the funding without directly doing the development work. They subcontracted other companies, including Delion Enterprises, resulting in ambiguity regarding payment distribution and work completion. The Auditor General highlighted how restrictive qualification criteria affected competition, leading to inflated contract costs. Allegations of cozy relationships between contractors and public servants added complexity to the situation.
Political and Investigative Fallout
Following revelations, GC Strategies, Delion, and Coretics were suspended from federal procurements due to questionable practices. The Liberal government acknowledged shortcomings in the procurement system but emphasized accountability for any exploitation of the situation. While the political sphere labeled the issue as 'Arrive Scam,' ongoing investigations and committee hearings aim to uncover potential criminality and ensure transparency in fund recovery. The outcome remains uncertain pending committee findings and RCMP investigations.
You might have used the app during the pandemic. It may have saved you time at the airport. It may have cost you an unnecessary quarantine. Either way, even if you never downloaded it, you paid for it.
Tens of millions of taxpayer dollars went into developing, releasing and updating (dozens and dozens of times) the government's pandemic travel app. The question now is about how that money was spent, who received it, and how much work they did for it. The scandal has twists and turns and detail upon detail, but it really boils down to this: Was this a government in a hurry, wasting money but with good intentions in an emergency? Or something worse than that?