Members of Parliament (MPs) aren’t too happy with primary ArriveCan app contractor Kristian Firth, a partner at GC Strategies.
On Monday, MPs unanimously adopted a motion to say Firth was in contempt of Parliament for his refusal to answer specific questions during an inquiry last month into the $60 million ArriveCan app, reports CBC News.
Firth has been mandated to present himself “before the bar” of the House of Commons, an act that will subject him to a formal reprimand from the Speaker. He will be forced to appear shortly after the question period on April 17.
Canada’s Auditor General released a report recently that said the ArriveCan app’s total cost is at least $60 million, but the final tally remains unknown, due to a missing paper trail.
GC Strategies, which operates out of a bungalow in West Ottawa and only has a handful of staff, is said to have received nearly $258 million in contracts since 2015, with 46 of these without competitive bidding.
Last month, testifying under oath for four hours, Firth was uncooperative and refused to answer questions. He was warned that he could be charged with contempt in the House, and now that has happened.
“Everybody is lying and saying mean things about you. The media’s wrong, the MPs are wrong. You’re also now saying the Auditor General is wrong. What are we as a committee to make of the fact you want us to believe everybody is wrong?”, said Conservative MP Garnett Genuis replying to Firth in March.
Conservative MP Michael Barrett wasn’t happy with Firth, saying, “You are here only under the threat of arrest.” Barrett accused Firth of showing contempt of Parliament.
Firth last month confirmed he met privately with key government officials, contradicting earlier statements. Barrett called him a pathological liar. “You have lied before a parliamentary committee on multiple occasions,” Barrett said.
Public admonishment in the House is pretty rare and has happened only five times since the early 1900s and is typically reserved for the worst breaches of parliamentary protocol. Fifth will be only the third private citizen to face this rebuke since 1913.
