GCStrategies’ Christian Firth will testify at a Congressional hearing on the ArriveCan app in October 2022.handout
The IT staffing firm leaders of the duo at the center of the fraud allegations said they had made a mistake in submitting inflated work history records to the government, but downplayed the significance of the decision and called it “corruption.” He rejected the accusations he made. ” about federal officials.
But GCStrategies managing partner Christian Firth came under heavy criticism from lawmakers for making contradictory statements during Thursday’s committee hearing. He initially said he had never met a civil servant outside of a formal work setting, and later said he had. Although he initially denied knowing anything about his senior procurement officer’s villa, he later said he knew about his “chalet.”
Firth told MPs that he personally increased the work experience of contractors listed on government documents without their knowledge, a rare mistake made in a rush to meet project deadlines. I explained that it was a mistake. He said the changes were aimed at aligning the information with the government’s rating matrix.
“This unfortunate mistake was unintentional and in no way determined the award of the contract,” he said, adding that it had no subsequent impact on salary levels. He said it was a “one-time” mistake and “not something I do often.”
The Globe reported last week that the documents included detailed descriptions of companies that do not exist.
Firth appeared virtually Thursday before the House Government Operations Committee, which approved a subpoena to answer questions. The committee ended the hearing by asking him to appear for an additional two hours.
GCStrategies received $11 million to develop the federal government’s ArriveCan app. That was more than any other outsourcing company that worked on the government’s pandemic-era travel smartphone tools, which ultimately cost taxpayers more than $54 million.
The two IT staffing companies have also been at the center of allegations of contract fraud and collusion with senior federal officials.
Thursday’s hearing was the first since The Globe and Mail reported on Oct. 4 about alleged misconduct by the Montreal software company Bottler, which performed contract work with the Canada Border Services Agency in 2020 and 2021. This is the first time GCStrategies has commented. The agency named Firth and his company in 2021 and again in November 2022, as well as two other staffing companies, Koradix and Dalian.
Following the second report, border authorities launched an internal audit and investigation and referred the allegations to the RCMP. The National Police also confirmed to the Globe that they are investigating the matter. Firth said he has not been contacted by the RCMP.
The bottler’s co-founders Ritika Dutt and Amir Mauve, who worked with Mr. Firth for more than a year, told lawmakers last week that Mr. Firth said he, his friends, and government officials at the contracting authority. He said he frequently boasted about doing “dirty” things. each other.
NDP MP Gord Johns asked Firth if this was true.
“I have never said this, much less continually boasted about it,” Firth replied. “I have no stain on anyone.”
GCStrategies’ government business has grown rapidly since its founding in 2015, bringing in more than $59 million in federal funding since 2017. That includes $9.4 million from the CBSA in the 2022-23 fiscal year last year, despite the CBSA facing accusations of wrongdoing. About Mr. Firth’s activities in 2021.
Bottler’s extensive list of charges includes concerns that the agency’s work was funded through layers of subcontracting that concealed key details about who was getting paid what. was.
Mr Dutt told MPs last week that the concerns he had raised against the CBSA were about “systemic corruption”.
Mr. Bottler’s 2022 report to the CBSA expressed particular concerns about Mr. Firth’s close relationship with then-CBSA Executive Director Cameron McDonald. Mr. McDonald’s name appears on contract documents related to both the Botler project and ArriveCan.
Mr McDonald has been invited to appear next week. In an Oct. 1 email to the Globe, MacDonald said he was not involved in any wrongdoing, was not aware of any wrongdoing, and that he followed federal civil service ethics rules. Stated.
Conservative MP Michael Barrett asked Mr Firth on Thursday whether he had ever met with government officials outside of government offices or business hours.
“No, not yet,” Mr. Firth replied.
About 45 minutes later, Barrett followed up.
“This subterfuge you’re trying to show us isn’t fooling anyone,” Barrett said. “Have you ever met anyone in your private residence who is a government official or employed by the government? Yes or no?”
“Yes,” Mr. Firth replied. “I don’t know the exact meeting you’re referring to. It’s not like I have hundreds of these things. To tell you the truth, I don’t know which one you’re talking about.”
“I would like to know about all of them,” Mr. Barrett replied. Mr. Firth asked for direct questions to be submitted in writing.
At another point, Firth said in response to another question from Barrett: “I don’t know if Cameron MacDonald has a vacation home.”
Later in the meeting, Conservative MP Larry Bullock followed up and asked Mr Firth if he wanted to reflect on his answer.
“Yes. Mr. Macdonald never called it a cottage. It’s a cabin,” Mr. Firth said, causing some members to laugh in the committee room.
“Mr. Firth, I very much appreciate that explanation,” Mr. Block replied. “are you kidding me?”
Mr Firth later said he knew about the chalet because Mr McDonald had mentioned it during a conversation.
Bottler has developed a software tool to help victims of sexual harassment. It receives existing federal funding through the Department of Justice of Canada. However, in late 2019, Firth contacted the bottler on behalf of MacDonald and CBSA to inform them that CBSA was interested in a pilot project for the software.
Although the Botler team did not work on ArriveCan, the three IT staffing firms they engaged with were also among the top recipients of outsourced work related to ArriveCan. Both projects were overseen by some of the same senior civil servants, including Mr McDonald.
Mr. Firth arranged the talks with CBSA officials, but spent months organizing meetings for Bottler with senior contracting officials across the public service to procure Bottler’s software as a government-wide service.
Firth said he has not received compensation for his work with Bottler, but expects to be compensated if Bottler’s software is widely purchased by public services.
When called to appear before members of Congress last year to answer questions related to ArriveCan, Firth said his company had worked with more than 20 departments over the past two years. His company does not have a separate office, and neither he nor his business partner Darren Anthony do any IT work themselves. Instead, he subcontracts the work to subcontractors in exchange for commissions of 15 to 30 percent of the contract amount.
Liberal MP Jilek Kusmierczyk called on Mr Firth to respond to Mr Bottler’s actions and claims.
“Explain those actions from your vantage point and help explain how we should view those actions,” he said.
Mr Firth said he was “very disappointed”. “The truth is, I made a deal with them to get the word out and do everything I could to help Canadians.”
