The country is expected to get more information about the controversial ArriveCan app on Feb. 12, when Auditor General Karen Hogan is scheduled to disclose confidential details of a special audit of the app to the Commons public accounts committee.
The committee got the news on Jan. 25, during a hearing on ArriveCan, as first reported by Blacklock’s Reporter. The chair of the committee, Conservative MP John Williamson, told the committee that the auditor general will table the report on ArriveCan on Feb. 12.
“From 8 a.m. to 10 a.m., the office of the auditor general will be hosting a lockup on Parliament Hill,” said Mr. Williamson. “That is open to all Parliamentarians,” he said, adding officials from the OAG would be on hand to answer questions. Mr. Williamson said the public accounts committee would have a public meeting with the auditor general around 11:15 a.m. that day.
However, in the meantime, no information on the report is being divulged.
Deputy Auditor General Andrew Hayes, who was testifying at the committee, would not say if anything criminal had been discovered.
“When we identify issues that could raise the potential of criminality, we do identify it for the RCMP,” testified Mr. Hayes. He pointed out the Mounties are already investigating federal contractors who worked on the ArriveCan program.
“Did you uncover any issues with respect to criminality involving the ArriveCan?” asked Conservative MP Larry Brock. “At this point, that would be a question that the auditor general would be best positioned to answer on Feb. 12,” replied Mr. Hayes.
“This report has not yet been tabled in Parliament,” said Mr. Hayes. “I am not in a position to discuss our findings.”
The Commons ordered the special audit by a 173–149 vote. It followed disclosures that federal managers concealed the total $54 million cost of ArriveCan from Parliament and hid the value of sole-sourced contracts to suppliers.
Another hot topic took up much of the meeting—a Conservative motion to condemn apparent reprisals against two whistleblowers on the ArriveCan program. Two federal managers were suspended without pay after suggesting to a parliamentary committee last November that Canada Border Services Agency executives had either lied or not been fully honest about the $54 million program.
Conservative MP Garrett Genuis sponsored the motion asking that the public accounts committee “report to the House its grave concern about apparent reprisals against witnesses following their testimony on the ArriveCan app.”
“This speaks to the ability of public servants to be able to provide honest answers to important questions that are asked without fear of intimidation,” Mr. Genuis told the committee. “And it speaks to the right of parliamentarians to actually get the information we need to get to the bottom of the ArriveCan scandal.”
“And this is gravely concerning,” Mr. Genuis continued. “I believe it is designed to send a message to the public service that they should shut up and not reveal the truth in committees and that is not a message we want to send.”
However, MPs from other parties did not agree.
“I really think that this whole thing is premature,” said Bloc MP Nathalie Sinclair-Desgagné, speaking through a translator. “I think that we need the expert opinion of the [auditor general] and hear what she has to say.”
“If there was anything reprehensible that happened, we will highlight it and we will potentially be able to bring it to the House. This motion could be debated once more if necessary. But at this stage, I do believe it is premature,” she continued.
NDP MP Gord Johns had a similar take.
“He knows full well that this can be included in the final report. He can raise these concerns in the final report,” said Mr. Johns.
When it came to a vote, the motion was defeated 7–3. Only the Conservatives voted for the motion: Liberal, NDP, and Bloc MPs voted against it.
