Examining: Federal Procurement Challenges Run Deeper than ArriveCan
Concerns surrounding ethics and potential conflicts of interest have been raised by scandals like the ArriveCan debacle and other procurement issues. However, an expert suggests that government purchasing practices have been plagued with wider issues spanning decades.
According to Alan Williams, a former assistant deputy minister (ADM) at three federal departments, including Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC), the problems include overly strict procurement practices in some instances and overly lax approaches in others within PSPC.
Williams stated, “There’s no risk management [in PSPC]. There’s no strategically looking at each situation and evaluating each case on its own.”
One of the notable instances of mismanagement is the ArriveCan app, which was used to verify COVID-19 vaccination status for travelers entering Canada. The app cost an estimated $59.5 million, but poor record-keeping made it impossible to determine the exact cost according to Auditor General Karen Hogan’s report.
The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) heavily relied on third-party contractors for developing ArriveCan, contributing to the high costs, as per the auditor general’s report. The decision was justified by the urgency of the pandemic requiring quick development of the app.
The RCMP is investigating allegations from an IT company, Botler AI, for potential irregularities in the ArriveCan project. The contracting process for ArriveCan was highly criticized by Williams for a lack of proper role tracking of involved companies.
Williams suggested that PSPC could have avoided such issues by conducting open competitive processes while developing the app and only paying upon successful delivery.
