QUESTION PERIOD — Privy Council Office
Procurement Process
February 12, 2024
Senator Gold, this government takes no responsibility. Another scathing independent report has been released and, of course, about overpriced technological flaws, how unlawful it is and most likely fraudulent app known as ArriveCAN. That’s what we have before us, and you’re unwilling to answer basic questions. The Auditor General said she thinks it’s $60 million. For all intents and purposes, the truth of the matter is she couldn’t get to the bottom of how much this thing has actually cost.
Three departments under your government’s watch were implicated in this assessment, Senator Gold, along with Liberal‑friendly contractors GC Strategies.
Our question from this side is simple, and we want a simple answer: Has anyone in either of these departments been fired, demoted or been asked to return bonuses? What steps has your responsible government taken, besides the consequences of punishing the two gentlemen who were whistle-blowers and brought these facts to the public? They’re the only people that have been punished.
There are a number of people involved who offered very contradictory statements, each attributing blame to the other. Investigations are under way, both in the CBSA and in the RCMP. It’s important, colleagues, to understand, notwithstanding the mistakes and clear shortcomings in the process, that the CBSA has not waited for the Auditor General’s reports to take corrective action. This includes more training for their procurement team, increasing the procurement directorate’s capacity to oversee all procurement activities and creating a dedicated oversight body that approves both contracts and task authorizations. I’m also advised that the CBSA president has directed the agency to reduce the use of contractors without impacting the quality of services to Canadians. Again, I repeat that the CBSA has accepted all of the Auditor General’s recommendations which will help guide this ongoing work.
CBSA has accepted that something nefarious is going on and they’re sent this to the RCMP. That’s what CBSA has done. Furthermore, the one thing that your government has not done is accepted any responsibility other than to shift blame left and right, which is usually what your government does. You know why we see that? Because all contracts with GC Strategies should be cancelled, yet they haven’t been — only with one department. We’re waiting for all of them to be cancelled. Furthermore, I’ve been waiting for years and months for your government to waive these ludicrous fees they placed on the shoulders of hard-working taxpayers that are being punished over this “ArriveSCAM.” Waive those fees.
I don’t think there was a question there, but it is worth noting, since we are relying on the Auditor General’s report, that the Auditor General did actually say that the ArriveCAN app did do the job it set out to do at the border at the beginning of the pandemic and at a cost considerably less per traveller than would have been had the paper approach been used.
