Gaps in oversight of ArriveCan app are ‘completely unacceptable,’ CBSA head says

Canada Border Services Agency president Erin O’Gorman said inadequate oversight of government spending is “completely unacceptable” and vowed to fix the issue after the Auditor-General sharply criticized her department over its poor management and record keeping as the cost of theAuditor-General Karen Hogan’s Monday report raised several strong concerns, including questioning why border agency officials approved invoices and time sheets from contractors in cases where details of work performed...

Ms. O’Gorman is a former senior Treasury Board official who was brought in to lead the border agency in July, 2022, after the retirement of John Ossowski, meaning she was not at the agency when the ArriveCan app was launched and updated. Mr. Poilievre wrote that Monday’s report “exposed corruption, mismanagement, and misconduct on a massive scale.”

The Auditor-General found federal departments spent about $59.5-million on outsourcing work with private contractors related to ArriveCan, but Ms. Hogan said the lack of clear records of spending and decisions means the true cost could be higher or lower. Monday’s audit report was produced in response to a motion put forward by Mr. Poilievre and approved in the House of Commons in November, 2022, shortly after The Globe and Mail first revealed thatThe motion passed over the objections of Liberal and Green Party MPs.the RCMP was investigating allegations of contracting-related misconduct involving an outsourced IT project at the border agency.

The agency responded to the audit report by saying it has centralized its procurement decisions into a single Procurement Directorate and clarified the rules related to invoicing. This office will act as a “single window” for interactions between the agency and vendors.

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