The Canadian government is seeking just $198,000 in damages from GC Strategies, a key contractor in the ArriveCan app scandal that cost taxpayers an estimated $59.5 million, prompting criticism from opposition lawmakers about inadequate accountability.
Conservative MP Larry Brock highlighted the disparity in a social media post and questioned why the government is seeking such a relatively small amount, given the scale of alleged waste in the pandemic-era border app project.
The lawsuit is part of a broader $1.6 million legal action against IT subcontractor Ripu Rishi and several companies, including GC Strategies, over allegedly fraudulent billing practices. Court documents allege Rishi submitted timesheets claiming more than 24 hours of work in a single day across multiple contracts.
However, the court documents indicate that the contracts in question are not directly related to ArriveCan, according to a CBC News report in February.
The ArriveCan app, designed to collect health and contact information from travelers during COVID-19, became a symbol of government procurement failures after costs ballooned from an initial $80,000 estimate to $59.5 million.
Auditor General Karen Hogan found that record-keeping was so poor that determining the exact cost was “impossible to determine.” Her report criticized the Canada Border Services Agency for excessive reliance on outside contractors and lack of proper oversight.
Read: Audit Finds Feds Paid ArriveCan Contractor Even With “Little To No Evidence” Of Work
GC Strategies, a two-person IT staffing firm founded in 2015, was the primary contractor despite having no in-house capacity to develop software. The company acted as a middleman, subcontracting work to other firms while retaining fees between 15 and 30 percent of contract values.
The $198,000 claim is one of several lawsuits stemming from the scandal: The government has banned GC Strategies from federal contracts for seven years; Coradix Technology Consulting, another ArriveCan contractor, is suing the government for $64 million over its contract suspension; and there’s a proposed class-action lawsuit by Canadian travelers seeking damages for alleged Charter rights violations.
Parliament passed a motion demanding the government recover $64 million linked to ArriveCan within 100 days, though the government has not indicated whether it will comply.
Opposition parties have called for major reforms and criminal investigations into Canada’s federal procurement system.
The RCMP is investigating GC Strategies, though company officials have said that the investigation is unrelated to ArriveCan. The government also referred three cases of suspected contractor fraud to the RCMP following the auditor general’s report.
Related: Company Behind ArriveCAN Has Received $250 Million In Contracts Since Trudeau Sat In Office
Brock, a former assistant Crown attorney representing Brantford-Brant South-Six Nations, has been among the most vocal critics of the government’s handling of the scandal, frequently questioning officials during parliamentary committee hearings.
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