An app that had to be used during the pandemic suddenly broke out in big news. This investigation really surprised him.
Canada's Comptroller Karen Hogan held a press conference on February 12 to unveil a series of major issues with her Immigration Canada (CBSA) ArriveCan mobile** app, which requires residents to fill out their personal information.
There are so many incredible things.
The Chief Audit Officer criticized the CBSA, as well as other Canadian health and public sector Canada involved in the use of the software, for "numerous violations of good management practices in contracting, developing and implementing the Arrivecan program." ”
After months of review, the director still hasn't been able to figure out which company made the program and how much it cost.
CBSA had previously expected the software to be around $54 million, and after review, its cost was as high as $59.5 million.
The auditor general said that since many of the invoices were problematic, this was only an estimate and the real cost would be higher.
Canadians are spending money on this program! ”
For CBSA, Hogan didn't hide his anger :
This is perhaps the first time I've seen a blatant disregard of some of the most basic principles and principles.
There are many omissions in the financial records.
For example, there is no written record of who developed the program, the total investment amount, who selected it, who was in charge, and who made it.
Eighteen percent of these CBSA payment slips did not clearly state whether the spending was for Arrivecan software.
The Director speculated that the expenditure might have been spent on other programs, totaling more than $12 million.
Most excessively, a $10 million contract was awarded to a two-employee company Garstrategies.
The company didn't have any experience in software development and didn't get into the bidding process.
In April 2020, GGC Strategies was awarded a contract, but the lead auditor did not find the tender documents submitted by the company. Another company made a bid, but it was not successful.
Again, there is no information on why the GGC strategy won the company, and there is no exact agency that made the choice.
Even more worrying is the fact that GGC Strategies itself is also developing criteria for bidding on contracts.
Under a $25 million agreement, the firm helped develop a set of standards with a number of constraints and a significant tilt towards GC Strategies.
Eventually, the company got the deal.
In the bidding documents submitted by GGC Strategies, the company "copied and pasted" the needs of the contractor in the United States** on several occasions.
As a result of an examination, the Auditor-General found that the staff of the Intelligence Bureau had close ties with the contractor, were often invited to dinner, and were involved in a number of other matters.
They do not notify their superiors of such behavior, thus "creating a significant risk or potential conflict of interest in the purchase decision."
Despite the large amount of money invested, ArriveCan's fortune is not ideal.
From April 2020 to October 2022, a total of 177 different versions of this app have been released, many of which have not been tested yet.
In June 2022, an upgrade resulted in 10,000 travelers being told to quarantine.
And the cost of software development is much higher than setting up an internal team.
If you ask an external person to build this software, it will cost $1,090 per day, compared to $675 per day for the same information technology job in a federal** department.
The CBSA and the Canadian Federal Police have been involved in an investigation into ArriveCan's alleged involvement.
Last month, CBSA CEO O'Goman testified before Canada's parliament that he was concerned about the initial findings.
The BBC's internal research has revealed that "some *** and GGC strategy companies have been working well together". They try to avoid or ignore the procurement processes, roles and responsibilities that have been established.
February** power stimulation program