Leader, it has been over seven months since the Auditor General released her report detailing the shocking waste of money and shady contracts surrounding the ArriveCAN app. The Auditor General said the documentation, financial record keeping and controls were so poor that she could give Canadians only an estimate of what it cost: $59.5 million.

Leader, the NDP-Liberal government has had since February to look into this matter. Can you tell Canadians exactly how much “ArriveScam” cost them? If you still don’t know the answer to that question, isn’t that an indictment of your government’s gross mismanagement and disregard for taxpayers’ money?

I know you like to label things, like “ArriveScam,” but the fact is that this app, as we all know, was designed at a time when there was an urgent need to protect Canadians and their health and their welfare in light of the pandemic. It is the case that it cost a great deal of money, to be sure, and problems were identified and have been addressed by this government.

As I said, the estimated cost is $59.5 million. The NDP-Liberal government has the power to recoup taxpayers’ dollars that were wrongly paid to contractors who did no actual work on “ArriveScam.” Yet, in April, we learned your government still has not asked for this money back. Is that still the case, leader? If so, why? If not, how much money have you gotten back?

The government is continuing to be engaged in these matters, and there is no further information that I have at my disposal to share at this juncture.