With Auditor General Karen Hogan currently examining federal ArriveCan contracts, she said she was “disappointed” to learn through the media that the RCMP has launched an investigation into the matter.
Ms. Hogan told a special meeting of the House of Commons public accounts committee on Oct. 12 that despite her staff auditing the departments, “management had not informed me that they had referred a contracting matter, which involved many common players that we are looking at, to the to the RCMP.”
The Globe and Mail first reported in October that the RCMP is probing alleged misconduct in outsourcing for the development of ArriveCan.
The system, created as a COVID-19 vaccination status measure to triage travellers entering Canada, cost taxpayers $54 million. Critics say it could have been developed for a fraction of the price.
The auditor general (AG) said that based on her understanding of the Globe article, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), which is responsible for the ArriveCan system, made the referral to the RCMP.
“I would have expected that they would have informed us through the course of our audit,” said Ms. Hogan.
“We always ask questions linked to actual, suspected, or alleged fraud and we would expect that there’s an ongoing responsibility for officials to keep us informed of any matters that are relevant to the subject that we are auditing. So I am disappointed that they did not tell us.”
Ms. Hogan is performing the ArriveCan audit further to a motion of the House of Commons passed in November 2022. She said her report is expected to be filed in early 2024, around the time the House reconvenes after the holidays.
When asked in committee whether the Globe article had raised red flags for her, she said it only “covers one half of the story.”
Ms. Hogan said the article prompted her to check with her team to ensure everything had been covered properly. She said her office will now re-interview people who were already approached and will plan to interview new subjects.
The AG said she’s in conversation with CBSA about future interview subjects. Her office also told the border agency of its intent to speak directly with some of the ArriveCan contractors.
Response from MPs
Conservative MP Larry Brock, a former prosecutor, charged that the allegations reported by the Globe go beyond misconduct into criminality.“There are allegations regarding identity theft, fraudulent forged resumes, contractual theft, fraudulent billing, price fixing collusion, all with senior bureaucrats with the government of Canada and the three contractors in question,” he said.
Mr. Brock ran out of allotted committee time to pursue his line of questioning with Ms. Hogan. Liberal MP Iqra Khalid subsequently took the floor and asked the meeting to be adjourned.
“I'll start by thanking Ms. Hogan, our auditor general, for her time today and for being so forthcoming with all of the questions,” she said. “We realize it’s constituency week so at this time, Mr. Chair, I move that the committee do now adjourn.”
The NDP supported the Liberal motion, thus ending Ms. Hogan’s testimony before committee.
Conservative MP Kelly McCauley, who sits on the committee, told The Epoch Times he was surprised the Liberals put an end to the AG’s testimony. “There was no reason for them to do that. This is just a meeting with the nonpartisan auditor general,” he said.
“They just seem to be hell bent ... on blocking any look inside ArriveCan.”
Mr. McCauley remarked that top officials of CBSA and Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) previously testified before the government operations committee, which he chairs, and didn’t raise the issue of an investigation.
“They knew this was going on, they knew of the investigations, and they hid it from committee,” he said.
Mr. McCauley said his party will try to have Ms. Hogan back in over this issue, and that his colleague Stephanie Kusie is also looking into calling back CBSA and PSPC officials before the government operations committee.
The Epoch Times asked CBSA to comment on the allegation that one of its top officials was not forthcoming before a House committee. Spokesperson Guillaume Bérubé didn’t address the question but said that the agency has been engaged with the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) on the ArriveCan performance audit. “We await the OAG findings and will act on them,” he said.
“On the Botler AI allegations that arose with respect to the conduct of individuals, those were referred to the appropriate channels to investigate allegations of wrongdoing: to the CBSA’s Professional Integrity Division (internal affairs) and the RCMP for investigation,” said Mr. Bérubé.
PSPC did not immediately return a request for comment.
