Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said it was “clear” that contract rules were not followed during the development of the controversial app ArriveCan.
The Auditor General said there was a “blatant disregard” for basic contractual practices in app development
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday it is “clear” that contract rules were not followed during the development of the controversial app ArriveCan.
Trudeau said the app was developed early in the COVID-19 pandemic, but projects like this still need to follow rules even during difficult times.
He said an investigation was ongoing and there would be consequences if public officials did not comply with the rules.
The federal government launched ArriveCan in April 2020 to track health and contact information and digitize customs and immigration declarations for people entering Canada during the pandemic.
Earlier this month, Canada’s Auditor General said there was a “blatant disregard” for basic management and contract practices in the development and implementation of ArriveCan.
The watchdog said the government’s reliance on a single outside contractor drove up the app’s price, and its costs were not properly tracked.
“It’s clear that the contract process and rules were not followed in this case,” Trudeau said at a news conference in Vancouver on Tuesday, when asked if he would take responsibility for the issue.
“We need to have accountability and transparency around that.”
