Federal Accountants Were Afraid to Speak Out on ArriveCan Irregularities, Says Union Exec

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

Federal accountants were aware of irregularities with the ArriveCan application but were afraid of the consequences if they spoke out, according to a union executive.

Dany Richard, who heads the Association of Canadian Financial Officers representing federal public service accountants, comptrollers, and internal auditors, said as many as five accountants had “flagged their concerns to management” over the app.

Addressing the Commons public accounts committee on March 5, Mr. Richard said, “Our members are faced with this situation: ‘I know ethically I have to report this. How do I do this without committing career suicide? How do I do the right thing?’”

“They know not to push too hard,“ Mr. Richard said, as first covered by Blacklock’s Reporter. ”Look at the stories we hear in the media, what happens to whistleblowers.”

The ArriveCan app, which was used to check the COVID-19 vaccination status of travellers entering Canada, has been in the spotlight in recent weeks after Auditor General Karen Hogan released her report on the app last month. Ms. Hogan said the audit found a “glaring disregard for basic management and contracting practices” in ArriveCan’s development and implementation. The report estimated the app cost $59.5 million to build, but said the exact figure could not be determined due to missing and incomplete documentation.

Former border agency employees Cameron MacDonald and Antonio Utano were recently suspended from their government jobs without pay due to allegations around their involvement in ArriveCan, a decision that some Conservative MPs have said appears to be in “retaliation” for their criticism of the agency and the app.

Fears of Reprisals

Mr. Richard told MPs that during the last annual public service employee survey, only 55 percent of Canada Border Services Agency members reported feeling comfortable initiating a formal complaint without fear of reprisal.

“It’s hard to challenge someone when that very person you’re challenging is the one that will be assessing your performance at the end of the year,” he said.

When Conservative MP Kelly Block asked Mr. Richard who the employees raised their concerns to, he responded that he didn’t have the exact details because employees “are afraid” and that they provided the information without their names.

“I had a few people reach out to me personally because they knew me. They said, ‘Dany, you cannot name me on this.’ They are concerned for their well-being—blowing the whistle doesn’t do you any good,” he said.

Mr. Richard said there had been many stories in the media about whistleblowers speaking out and having their lives “become a living hell.” He said many members face the difficult choice of either blowing the whistle at the risk of jeopardizing their career, or flagging their concerns and it going no further.