The border agency turned down suggestions from the procurement department to have an open competition for contracts related to the embattled ArriveCan application, MPs heard in committee.
Millions of dollars in sole-sourced contracts were awarded by the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) to companies that barely did any work and subcontracted the tasks.
“We found that Public Services and Procurement Canada [PSPC] had questioned the CBSA’s decision to use non-competitive processes to award ArriveCan work,” Deputy Auditor General Andrew Hayes told the House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Accounts on March 7. The committee is currently studying the auditor general’s report on ArriveCan that was released last month.
Mr. Hayes said PSPC suggested alternative contracting practices to the border agency, such as using short and non-competitive processes or competitive processes with shorter bidding periods. “Despite this advice, the agency decided to proceed on a non-competitive basis,” said Mr. Hayes.
The application they worked on, ArriveCan, was initially used as a border measure to electronically track public health requirements for quarantine during COVID-19 restrictions, and it eventually captured travellers’ vaccination status. It remains in function but in an optional capacity for travellers to submit their advanced customs declarations.
PSCP’s Challenge Function
PSPC Deputy Minister Arianne Reza told the committee that while the agency recommended the CBSA use an alternative for the contracting process, their legal counsel later found that “the justification provided by the CBSA for their approach was sufficient and met the criteria for emergency use.”“When it comes to lack of transparency around decision-making, we are committed to addressing the root causes, strengthening document management practices, and continuing the deployment of our electronic procurement solution,” she said.
Dominic Laporte, assistant deputy minister of the PSPC’s Procurement Branch, told the committee that the agency’s role is to play a “challenge function” when it comes to procurement. He said while the PSPC has the power to reject certain clients, the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and the need for a fast border solution made it a “bit more challenging” to do so.
Mr. Laporte said PSPC officials would be performing more challenges for future projects, which would include ensuring tasks are clearly defined and linked to specific outcomes and that security requirements are met.
The auditor general’s report recommended that the PSPC and CBSA should ensure tasks and deliverables are more clearly defined in government contracts and related task authorizations. Ms. Reza said the agency agreed in full with the recommendations and had “already put management actions in place to strengthen our processes.”