Conservative Members of Parliament (MPs) plan to request that the Auditor General launch an investigation into the company that was contracted to develop the ArriveCan app. This action was spurred by media reports revealing that the company had received a total of $258 million in government contracts over the last decade.
Tory MP Michael Barrett expressed skepticism about the level of business conducted between the federal government and GC Strategies, the company in question. He questioned how a two-person company operating from a suburban basement could manage to secure $250 million in contracts. These statements were made by Barrett during an interview with reporters on February 14.
According to reports by La Presse, GC Strategies had obtained 140 contracts totaling nearly $258 million since 2015, with 46 of these contracts being awarded without competition. Despite being run out of a residence near Ottawa and having only two to four employees, GC Strategies managed to secure this substantial amount of funds.
The figures reported by La Presse were unable to be immediately verified by The Epoch Times. In November, Mr. Barrett filed an order paper question to request data on all federal contracts with GC Strategies since 2015, which revealed a total of $96,293,185.27. Furthermore, Public Service and Procurement Canada (PSPC) reported disbursing $59,879,553 on behalf of other departments for contracts related to ArriveCan development.
This situation prompted calls for the expansion of the probe into the ArriveCan app and the related contracts. Parliamentary Committee Chair Michael Barrett requested the RCMP to expand its current criminal investigation into the contracting practices of businesses involved in the ArriveCan development. These concerns arose after reports of inefficiencies and controversies surrounding the development and implementation of the app.