Opening Statement before the Standing Committee on Public Accounts

ArriveCAN

(Report 1—2024 Reports of the Auditor General of Canada)

27 February 2024

Andrew Hayes
Deputy Auditor General

Mr. Chair, thank you for again inviting us to discuss our report on ArriveCAN. I would like to acknowledge that this hearing is taking place on the traditional unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabe people. Joining me today is Lucie Després, who was the director on the audit.

This audit examined whether the Canada Border Services Agency, the Public Health Agency of Canada, and Public Services and Procurement Canada managed all aspects of the ArriveCAN application in a way that delivered value for money. I will focus my remarks today on our findings related to the contracting practices.

We found that the Canada Border Services Agency’s overall management of the contracts was very poor. Essential information was missing from awarded contracts, such as clear deliverables and the qualifications required of workers. When we looked at invoices approved by the Agency, details about the work performed and who did the work were often missing. This contributed to our conclusion that the best value for money was not achieved.

In our examination, we saw little documentation to support how and why the Canada Border Services Agency initially awarded GC Strategies the ArriveCAN contract through a non‑competitive process. Only one potential contractor submitted a proposal, and that proposal did not come from GC Strategies.

Also concerning, we found evidence that GC Strategies was involved in the development of requirements that were used when the Agency later moved to a competitive process to award a $25 million contract for work on the ArriveCAN app. The requirements were very specific and narrow. This gave GC Strategies an advantage that other potential bidders did not have.

Although the Procurement Ombud’ review and our audit did not have the same scope, we have similar findings and recommendations as they relate to documenting the assessments and the decisions made in the awarding of contracts. We both found that basic contracting rules were simply not followed.

Mr. Chair, this concludes my opening statement. We would be pleased to answer any questions the committee may have. Thank you.