AG Finds ArriveCan App a Waste of Money

Hogan could not find out the true cost of the ArriveCan app

Remember during the Covid-19 pandemic when some governments developed apps for displaying your vaccination status and for travel?

It turns out the ArriveCan app was not only full of holes in terms of being easily hacked into, but also its true cost is not clear because of the Canadian government's poor record keeping.

In a scathing report out today, Auditor General Karen Hogan found the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), and Public Services and Procurement Canada "repeatedly failed to follow good management practices in the contracting, development and implementation of the ArriveCan application."

All travellers to Canada had to use the app

"This is probably the first example that I've seen such a glaring disregard for some of the most basic and fundamental policies and rules," Hogan told the House public accounts committee today.

She said there were many omissions in record keeping and said she was "deeply concerned".

"We didn't find records to accurately show how much was spent on what, who did the work, or how and why contracting decisions were made -- and that paper trail should have existed," Hogan said.

While CBSA said developing the app cost around C$54 million, the auditor general estimates it was possibly higher at C$59.5 million -- based on the information she was given.

"We found that financial records were not well-maintained by the Canadian Border Services Agency. We were unable to determine a precise cost for the ArriveCan application because of [the agency's] poor documentation and weak controls," the report said.

In addition, C$12.2 million of the estimated C$54 million could have been spent on something other than the app, so the actual cost of developing the app could be lower.

Poilievre blasted the Trudeau government

Part of the reason for the ballooned costs is that CBSA relied on third-party contractors, and the auditor general's report says if there was less reliance on them then the app would have cost much less. 

However, the agency defended its move, saying the app needed to be rolled out as soon as possible during the pandemic.

"The CBSA was working as quickly as possible to replace a paper process that was not meeting public health needs and was also impacting the border with significant wait times that disrupted the essential flow of people and goods," the statement said.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre criticised the government over the app's cost and blamed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of "wasting [taxpayers'] money." He promised to cut back on third-party outsourcing if his party formed the next government after the next election.

"Public servants do the work more accountably and they do it more affordably," Poilievre told the media outside the House of Commons on Monday.

Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc said ArriveCan's "contracting process was unacceptable" and said the government had already taken corrective measures.

"The Trudeau government accepts that taxpayers' money needs to be treated with the utmost respect. in no way are we going to defend this particular contracting process," he said. 

Another white elephant that was a waste of money that the government won't get back... I used the app when I moved back in April 2022 and then it was unnecessary to use it again the next time I traveled the month after!

Canada Removes Covid-19 Border Hurdles

From October 1, no more Covid tests, quarantines or masks

After a lot of grumbling with Covid-19 protocols resulting in many American tourists and day trippers staying away, the Canadian government announced this morning that as of October 1, anyone, vaccinated or not can come into the country, are not mandated to wear masks on planes, trains and cruise ships, no more random arrival testing, or even the need to show proof of vaccination.

ArriveCan app will be optional

There is also no need to quarantine or use the ArriveCAN app. The latter was what American visitors grumbled about, particularly those who came for the day, unwilling to fill out the tedious online form on their phones, while others found their app was malfunctioning and told them to self-isolate when they were not infected.

While people are rejoicing and deleting the ArriveCAN app, epidemiologists fear that they are losing crucial information when people are not tested on arrival. They say it's important to know what variants are coming in and from where. When wastewater is tested, it is already too late -- at least when someone is tested upon entering Canada, health experts can be made aware of the situation and react quickly and effectively.

Interestingly, Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said Monday's decision was not a sign Canada is out of the pandemic, but that the government's data showed the importation of new variants was no longer having an effect on the evolution of the virus in the country.

Duclos says the pandemic isn't over yet

"If anybody believes the pandemic is over, I invite them to visit a hospital," he said.

"That decision again was driven by the evidence that we have seen over the last few weeks and months, which is that the transmission and cost of transmission of Covid-19 on our healthcare workers, hospitals and including those patients who have seen backlogs in their surgeries and treatments over the last two years and a half... are now almost entirely driven by domestic transmission of Covid-19. That's where we need to invest our energy."

However, while masks will no longer be mandatory, Dr Howard Njoo, Canada's deputy chief health officer, said he still recommends people wear masks on planes and trains.

"The science is clear -- wearing a mask is clearly a means of personal protection that is extremely effective," he said.

Njoo advises people to continue to wear masks

"I hope Canadians will make an enlightened decision about this."

The other issue is that the ArriveCAN app is now optional, but it doesn't mean a border agent will not ask to see it, which makes it confusing at best.

Today some people were still wearing masks on public transport, though the majority chose not to. People seem to have moved on from Covid-19 and don't have the same concerns they had two years ago. Others are still masked up and even wearing gloves. 

It's all relative... and will continue to be.