The controversial ArriveCan saga continues, as now one public servant has testified that she felt pressured to blame suspended managers for the over budget mobile app, which cost taxpayers an estimated $60 million dollars.
Diane Daly claimed she was pressured to blame two suspended civil servants, Antonio Utano and Cameron MacDonald, for issues with the ArriveCan app, testifying in front of MPs on Wednesday.
Daly worked on procurement for the app, but said she had no decision-making authority. She recalled a January interview with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), which lasted 3.5 hours, where she felt pressured to lay the blame on Utano and MacDonald, reports the National Post.
“I never saw Mr. MacDonald or Mr. Utano do anything nefarious,” Daly said. “I believe this is because CBSA and public works did not get the negative narrative expected about two former bosses at CBSA.”
She said she has no idea who advocated for GC Strategies to land the massive government contract, while she believes both MacDonald and Utana were led to pick the small firm consisting of two men working from home, who ultimately just outsourced development of the app.
Utano and MacDonald were suspended without pay following an internal review by the CBSA regarding the awarding of the ArriveCan contract to GC Strategies. They have denied any wrongdoing.
Earlier this year, MacDonald accused former CBSA vice-president Minh Doan of lying to MPs about the selection process for GCStrategies, the IT staffing company involved in the ArriveCan project.
Daly, currently on administrative leave, compared the situation to the Liberal sponsorship scandal from the early 1990s, stating, “I’m here to tell the truth, but I’m very concerned that if I tell the truth here, I’m going to lose my job.”
The CBSA developed the ArriveCan app during the pandemic to collect traveler information and later vaccination status. The app did not work as intended, instead sending thousands into quarantine by accident. The internal CBSA review remains unreleased, and Utano and MacDonald unsuccessfully sought its suspension in court.
Conservative MP Garnett Genuis proposed further testimonies and submission of Daly’s interview recording to uncover the truth behind the ArriveCan issues.
The ArriveCan app, according to the Auditor General’s damning report from earlier this year, says the app cost Canadians at least $60 million, but the final number may never be known, due to an incomplete paper trail.
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Where were the whistleblowers while the over spendings were happening?