Prime Minister Justin Trudeau declared the need for “significant changes” in public sector procurement and contracting, after the ongoing revelations of the ArriveCan app scandal.
“This is an unacceptable situation and there needs to be changes on this. Government needs to make sure that everyone from the political level to the public service level are responsible, transparent stewards of the public money,” Trudeau said on Wednesday, reported the National Post.
The federal government is “rethinking” public service contracting and procurement, especially after the damning auditor general report on the ArriveCan app, which says estimated costs are at $60 million. The final tally is unknown as the paper trail is missing.
“What we’ve seen in terms of the procurement process that’s ongoing within government: there needs to be significant changes,” said the Prime Minister. “We will be making changes.”
Trudeau was responding to a National Post report that uncovered how three employees from the auditor general’s office earned money from undisclosed government contracts, leading to two firings and ongoing police investigations.
Auditor General Karen Hogan’s recent report showed a “glaring disregard” for basic procurement principles. She described the ArriveCan app situation as the worst instance of government bookkeeping she had encountered in her auditing career.
Trudeau said the new revelations show that there are “unacceptable practices” within the public service. Speaking in French, he said, “That’s why we launched investigations into the matter and we expect there to be profound changes in the way the government and the public service take care of procurement.”
David Yeo, a federal public servant whose company Dalian received a nearly $8-million contract for the ArriveCan app, is under scrutiny. Yeo has been suspended, and his hiring was clarified by Dalian as occurring after the project was completed. But the fact remains a federal employee was making money on the side with his company nabbing contracts.
Earlier this week, Kristian Firth, from GC Strategies, the company behind the ArriveCan app, was called a “pathological liar” after refusing to answer questions during a committee investigating the matter. GC Strategies, a two-person team working from home, had accumulated $107.7 million in government contracts before being suspended.
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Yes, Canada has failed Justin Trudeau yet again: “we” have to do better so he doesn’t keep looking like a wildly corrupt and incompetent buffoon.
Unfortunately, it’s now so typical that no one even notices. Every few months, when Trudeau and his party are caught in new scams, using taxes to fund themselves and their friends or taking/laundering
PRC/PLAforeign money and assistance or any other way Friends of Justin™ end up with hundreds in millions of taxpayer money, he always find a way to blame others.Usually, he blames Harper or Covid but no one is buying that this time, though he has been trying to blame Covid for this for months. So, he’s decided to blame staff. He’s throwing civil servants under the bus. And that loyal voting block will willingly sacrifice themselves to protect PM Blackface. Not like they’ll suffer any consequences anyway.
The thing that’s really scary is that even after all this bad administration, scandals and incompetence, I’m not even convinced that a change of government will happen.
Well, then I’m doing my part of reducing population. I still can’t be that pessimistic though….the thought kills me.
Another “learning opportunity” for JT.
Actually the “learning opportunity” is always oir someone else than him… he’s beyond criticism or reproach. Comrade Turdeau knows best.
A change is needed indeed….HE has to go where the sun don’t shine.
“The cookie jar is now empty, all the cookies have been distributed to
the appropriate cronies of mine, the polls show my sorry a$$ will be
ousted (with extreme prejudice) in the next election, so I now announce plans going forward
to eliminate any chances of this happening in the future.”