Former CBSA President Summoned to Testify on ArriveCan

Canada's ArriveCAN app log in screen is seen on a mobile device in Ottawa on Feb. 12, 2024. The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld

Former Canada Border Services Agency President John Ossowski has been summoned to appear before the Public Accounts Committee after failing to voluntarily testify about the ArriveCan application.

“People simply don’t want to show up because they have been named, and that’s too bad,” Conservative MP Jake Stewart said prior to the vote. “We have a role to play in keeping people accountable.”

A second executive named in the committee summons was Paul Girard, former chief information officer at the Treasury Board. Both Mr. Giard and Mr. Ossowski must appear before the committee on May 16.

“Those two individuals are the very key to our study,” said Conservative MP John Nater, who sponsored the motion to summon the two men.

Mr. Ossowski previously told the committee in 2022 that he was “incredibly proud of how our agency responded” to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Blacklock’s Reporter.

“I think it was exceptional value for money,” he said of the ArriveCan app, which was used to check the COVID vaccination status of travellers.

ArriveCan has been at the centre of a controversy over procurement spending, especially after a report from Auditor General Karen Hogan found the app cost roughly $59.5 million. Ms. Hogan said that figure was an approximation because she could only make a determination based on information made available to her.

“I’ve been the auditor general for almost four years now, and I would tell you that this is probably some of the worst financial record-keeping that I’ve seen,” Ms. Hogan said about ArriveCan on Feb. 12.

ArriveCan Contractor Admonished

There have also been questions raised in committee over who at the border agency chose GC Strategies to work on ArriveCan. Mr. Ossowski and former border agency employee Minh Doan have both been blamed.

GC Strategies partner Kristian Firth had his house raided by the RCMP on April 16 for an investigation related to the ArriveCan app. Mr. Firth has been accused of inflating the resumes of two individuals at the border agency.

Mr. Firth was summoned to the floor of the House of Commons on April 17 to be admonished by the speaker for failing to answer MPs’ questions about ArriveCan.

Evidence submitted to date shows ArriveCan contractors billed at the equivalent rate of $2,600 per hour, won preferential treatment from border agency managers, and paid numerous social calls on federal executives to discuss business over meals and drinks.