Auditor General Will Audit $54 Million ArriveCAN Program

A smartphone set to the opening screen of the ArriveCan app is seen in a file photo. The Canadian Press/Giordano Ciampini

Canada’s auditor general will be conducting a performance audit of the $54 million ArriveCAN program, with an anticipated publication date of later this year.

The Office of the Auditor General told The Epoch Times on March 1 that “the scope and timelines are not yet confirmed” and declined further comment. However, the department’s website includes the audit of ArriveCAN under upcoming reports scheduled for 2023.

ArriveCAN was a contentious, mandatory electronic tool that the federal government used to force travellers to upload their health information and vaccine status during COVID-19 restrictions. It was subject to a number of legal actions arguing it was unconstitutional, and was made voluntary as of Sept. 30, 2022.

The audit follows a Conservative Party motion on Nov. 2, 2022, that saw the NDP and Bloc Québécois join forces with the Tories in a 174–149 vote in favour of calling for the auditor general to conduct a performance audit—including reviewing the payments, contracts, and sub-contracts for all aspects of the ArriveCan app, and prioritizing the investigation.

Motions in the House of Commons are not binding on the auditor general but generally, a vote for audit will influence what the department decides to review.

The Canada Border Services Agency told The Epoch Times in a previous email that creating ArriveCan was supposed to cost just $80,000, but extra needed services and “indirect costs,” such as technical support and ensuring the app met federal cybersecurity standards, raised the total price to $54 million.

The audit follows months of stories about questionable contracts awarded to design the program, plus reports of glitches that put some travellers into mandatory quarantine despite having two sets of shots for COVID.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told the House of Commons on Oct. 19 that ArriveCAN was “an optimal use of taxpayer money” and said the $54 million went to extra services, IT services, updates, call centres, and future costs, and not just developer’s fees.

On Nov. 2, 2022, Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre said on Twitter, “Now, call in the auditors to get the truth.”

After introducing the motion calling for an audit, Poilievre called ArriveCan a “huge waste” and said it could have been developed for under $250,000 in a single weekend, according to Canadian tech companies who cloned the app between Oct. 7 and Oct. 10, 2022.

Peter Wilson contributed to this report.