Ottawa Reports Federal Employees Devoted Over 134,000 Hours to Developing ArriveCan App
In response, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) disclosed that 35 of its employees worked on ArriveCan from March 2020 to September 2022 in addition to their regular duties, without specifying exact hours. The agency mentioned that the assigned tasks were not systematically tracked.
The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) provided detailed data, stating that in 2021-2022, 38 full-time equivalent employees spent 74,455 working hours on ArriveCan, and in the following fiscal year, 31 full-time equivalent employees dedicated 59,598 working hours to the app.
In a report released last month, Auditor General Karen Hogan highlighted that several government agencies did not adhere to proper contract and management practices during the app’s development.
“I am deeply concerned by what this audit didn’t find,” shared Auditor General Karen Hogan with MPs. “We didn’t find records to accurately show how much was spent on what, who did the work, or how and why contracting decisions were made.”
The report criticized the CBSA for its “poor” financial records on the app, stating that the true cost could not be fully determined. The reported $59.5 million cost was an estimate based on available information.
A report on ArriveCan by Procurement Ombudsman Alexander Jeglic, released on Jan. 29, revealed that 76 percent of contractors hired for the application did not perform any work, raising significant concerns.