RCMP Has ‘Multiple’ Open Investigations on Federal Contracting Irregularities, Commissioner Says

RCMP Commissioner Michael Duheme waits to appear before the House of Commons Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics committee in Ottawa, on Feb. 27, 2024. The Canadian Press/ Adrian Wyld

The RCMP currently has over six investigations open into irregularities around federal procurement, its commissioner confirmed during committee testimony on its investigation into the ArriveCan app.

“This committee, and Canadians, are looking for answers and accountability around ArriveCan,” RCMP Commissioner Michael Duheme testified before the public accounts committee on June 18.

“The RCMP has multiple investigations underway into these matters,” he added.

Under further questioning by Conservative MP Larry Brock, Mr. Duheme said the force has “more than six” investigations open in regard to irregularities around federal procurement. “That'd be as precise as I can get,” he said.

When Conservative MP Garnett Genuis asked how many police investigations there were into government corruption, Mr. Duheme did not answer the question directly, but said it was “too early” to refer to the cases as corruption.

“We are currently investigating several files that are looking at the procurement process that could lead to an element of corruption. But at this point in time, I’m not saying that we’re anywhere close to that. And again, I don’t want to get into any details,” he said.

There have been months committee hearings into the ArriveCan application, which was used to check the COVID-19 vaccination status of travellers crossing the Canada-U.S. border. A report by the auditor general in February found that the application cost an estimated $59.5 million to develop, but that record-keeping was “so poor” that the precise cost of it could not be determined.

The report also found that agencies like the Canada Border Services Agency, Public Health Agency of Canada, and Public Services and Procurement Canada failed to follow “good management practices” in the contracting, development, and implementation of ArriveCan.