Canada’s auditor general has launched a full audit of government contracts awarded to GC Strategies, the two-person consulting firm involved in the ArriveCan app scandal.
The audit will also examine contracts tied to GC Strategies’ predecessor, Coredal, and affiliated companies, along with related subcontracting activities, said auditor general Karen Hogan, reports CBC News.
The investigation follows a request from the House government operations committee, which has been probing the development and funding of the ArriveCan app. Initially launched to manage COVID-19 border rules, the app later tracked vaccination status and remains in use for customs declarations.
Hogan’s earlier findings discovered terrible record-keeping and an over-reliance on contractors as factors in the app’s whopping $59.5 million cost. GC Strategies reportedly earned $19.1 million from the project, with additional contracts bringing their total government earnings to $107 million since 2011.
“This is probably one of the worst instances of financial record-keeping I have ever seen,” said Hogan back in February.
The audit will explore how the company was awarded a sole-source contract in 2020 and its involvement in creating requirements for a $25-million contract it later secured. Canada’s procurement ombudsman slammed the criteria for being too restrictive, which of course was favouring GC Strategies.
La Presse reported earlier this year GC Strategies has reportedly been awarded contracts worth $258 million.
Also, the RCMP has been investigating GC Strategies, searching co-founder Kristian Firth’s home office in April. While Firth denied the search was related to ArriveCan, he acknowledged mistakes in altering resumes for government projects. Allegations of “ghost contracting,” where subcontracted work may not have been completed as billed, were raised but denied by the firm.
This ArriveCan app scandal is the gift that keeps on giving. It doesn’t seem like we’re done here yet folks, so keep that popcorn flowing…
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How much money will have been spent investigating this nonsense and yet nobody is held accountable?
Absolute absurdity that we still have people defending this gong show of a government in 2024.
They’re a little quieter these days but there are still people that will defend this app itself and still think it actually served a purpose.