Feds awarded ArriveCan firm nearly $100 million in contracts, despite issues: AG report
OTTAWA – Another report, this time from Auditor General Karen Hogan, blames the federal government for repeatedly violating procurement policies by awarding dozens of contracts to the IT company that built the ArriveCan application.
Article content
The auditor general found that 31 federal organizations issued 106 contracts worth approximately $92.7 million to GCStrategies from April 2015 to March 2024. About $64.5 million was ultimately paid out by the government according to the report.
Article content
Article content
Article content
Over that period, the Canadian Border Services Agency gave four contracts worth $49.9 million to GC Strategies, while the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation gave one contract worth nearly $12,000.
Article content
Article content
But Hogan also found that in 54 per cent of contracts examined, federal organizations had evidence to show that all services and deliverables were received and in 46 per cent of contracts examined, they had little to no evidence that deliverables were received.
Article content
The AG underlined that federal government officials are required to certify that all services and deliverables in the contract were received prior to release of payment to a contractor. Evidently, it was not always the case.
Article content
'There are no recommendations in this report because I don't believe the government needs more procurement rules,' said Hogan on Tuesday.
Article content
'Rather, federal organizations need to make sure that the rules that exist are understood and followed,' she added.
Article content
Article content
Moreover, about a fifth of the contracts the auditor examined showed a lack of documentation on file that showed valid security clearances for contract resources.
Article content
Hogan noted that organizations 'frequently disregarded government policies in this area.' For instance, it included not having records showing who performed the work, if they had the required experience and qualifications, and what work was completed.
Article content
Federal organizations are required to monitor the work performed by contractors.
Article content
GCStrategies is an Ottawa-based staffing company in the information technology that provided the feds with 'services that included technology support.'
Article content
However, the contractor that received about a third of ArriveCan funding was found to be a two-person shop.
Article content
Their work with the feds led to 'multiple' RCMP investigations last year, and an exceptional reprimand from the speaker of the House of Commons when the company's co-founder Kristian Firth became the second private citizen and first in 111 years to be called on the floor of the House. He had to go through this extraordinary procedure because he had previously failed to answer questions on his role in the ArriveCan debacle.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBC
30 minutes ago
- CBC
Green MLAs want quicker action on glyphosate report
Three and a half years after a report recommended tighter restrictions on glyphosate spraying, some lawmakers say the pace of implementation has been too slow. "It's clear that not a lot of work was done on it in that time," Green MLA Megan Mitton said. "There were some things completed and some things very recently completed, but I would have liked to see more progress." The report by the legislature's committee on climate change and environmental stewardship made a number of recommendations on the future of herbicide spraying in the province. It followed extensive hearings with scientists, foresters, Health Canada researchers, First Nations, industry and the public. The recommendations included larger setbacks from dwellings and watercourses, that N.B. Power phase out aerial glyphosate spraying and an analysis of potential alternatives. In an update to the committee, Christie Ward, the assistant deputy environment minister, said 11 of 20 recommendations have been "completed" to date, while the remaining nine are underway. Some MLAs pointed out, however, that what the department has implemented is not what the initial report actually recommended. "When you went through the recommendations of the committee that were unanimously adopted, you pointed to a number of those recommendations that were marked as completed, which were not implemented as recommended," David Coon told department staff Wednesday. "So essentially you rejected those recommendations." For example, the report called for setbacks from dwellings to increase to one kilometre from 500 metres. Ward said permits for aerial glyphosate spraying issued last year increased setbacks to 500 metres from 155 metres. Instead of the minimum 100-metre setback from watercourses recommended in the report, ground application requirements were moved to 30 metres from 15 metres, and aerial spraying requires a minimum distance of 65 metres. Ward said that the department has spent time trying to understand the intent of the committee's recommendations and to carry out the spirit of them, even those based on a misunderstanding of the regulations that already existed. "These recommendations are complex in some cases, many of them require rigorous scientific review, they also require a baseline of information, so you know where you're starting from and where you need to get to," she said. "There's been a lot of work done in the background to really understand all aspects of the pesticide program." But Mitton said she'd prefer a more direct answer from the department on whether the committee's recommendations have been followed. "When the auditor general has a report, there's a response from the department and then there's an update," she said. "I almost feel like we need a bit more of a formal process, or to bring them in more often, to keep that accountability going because I don't accept some of those answers as a checkmark." Environment Minister Gilles LePage backed up his staff, noting the report, which he helped prepare as an opposition member of the committee, did err at times in its understanding of existing regulations. However, LePage agreed with other comments over the pace of action on the report over the last few years. "In the past six years, I think there was a lack of work on that file, and that's why it's part of my mandate," he said. "I was part of the evolution of pesticides in this province, with the research on this committee, and I take it personally, and we are going to focus on pesticides even more than the previous government." LePage's mandate letter from Premier Susan Holt includes two mentions of herbicide spraying. One is to implement all recommendations from the committee's report. The other is to investigate alternatives to pesticide and herbicide use and "re-evaluate the safety of glyphosate with new and comprehensive data specific to New Brunswick." "We're looking daily and monthly on the impacts of how it's done," he said. "But don't forget, our regulations are very strong and very rigid for application and for use."
Globe and Mail
33 minutes ago
- Globe and Mail
GME Earnings: GameStop Reports Mixed Financial Results and 4,710 Bitcoin
GameStop's (GME) share price is down about 5% after the video game retailer reported mixed first-quarter financial results. Confident Investing Starts Here: Easily unpack a company's performance with TipRanks' new KPI Data for smart investment decisions Receive undervalued, market resilient stocks right to your inbox with TipRanks' Smart Value Newsletter The Texas-based company announced earnings per share (EPS) of $0.09, which topped the $0.04 consensus expectation of analysts. However, revenue for the quarter came in at $732.4 million, which was below the consensus Wall Street estimate of $754.2 million. The company also reported an improved operating margin of -1.5%, which was up from -5.7% in the same quarter of 2024. GameStop's free cash flow at the end of the quarter totaled $189.6 million, which was a big improvement from negative -$114.7 million a year earlier. GameStop's profitability. Source: Main Street Data Bitcoin Purchases Along with its financial results, GameStop disclosed that it bought 4,710 Bitcoins (BTC) between May 3 and June 10 of this year. It's not known what the average purchase price of the Bitcoin was. However, GameStop's BTC holdings are currently worth $516.6 million based on the current price of Bitcoin. GameStop announced previously that it planned to begin buying and holding cryptocurrencies, adopting a similar playbook to that of software developer turned serial BTC acquirer Strategy (MSTR). GameStop has said it plans to use its excess cash to make investments in risk assets such as crypto and stocks. The company made its first Bitcoin investment in May of this year. Is GME Stock a Buy? Currently, only one Wall Street analysts offers a rating and price target on GME stock. So instead, we'll look at the stock's three-month performance. As one can see in the chart below, GameStop's share price has gained 33% over the last 12 weeks.
CBC
37 minutes ago
- CBC
Mooseheads asking city for $1.6M to expand Dartmouth training facility
The Halifax Mooseheads are asking Halifax regional council for up to $1.625 million to expand the training facility they lease at the RBC Centre in Dartmouth. Mooseheads general manager Cam Russell and Elizabeth Powell of architecture firm Fathom Studio outlined plans for a proposed 4,700-square-foot addition at a standing committee meeting on Wednesday. They said the project at the municipally owned centre would benefit both the team and the public. Russell, who has been with the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League organization for 25 years, told the committee the current training facility is challenging to use. "Our gym isn't big enough, we have to work out in two or three different groups," he said. "We have a lounge that only seats three to four players. We don't have a wellness area that would be good for the kids, for their mental health and their well-being." Russell told the committee a state-of-the-art facility would enhance the Mooseheads' ability to attract top talent, putting the team on the same level as NCAA teams, universities and colleges. Russell said the proposed expansion would include a high-performance gym equipped with hockey-specific training gear, a 21-metre turf training track, and a dedicated shooting room for skill development, which he said would be a first in the QMJHL. The plans would also incorporate a sauna, steam room and cold plunge recovery area, a more spacious player lounge and a publicly accessible, barrier-free washroom. The timeline for the project is about six months for the design and eight months for construction, said Powell, the project architect. Russell said the Mooseheads are asking the municipality to fund the construction of the building shell, while the team would cover interior costs and remain the exclusive tenant of the training facility. The Mooseheads' current lease, set to expire next year, costs the team about $45,000 annually, he said. Coun. Patty Cuttell said while she understood the need for the expansion, she had concerns about the municipality paying for a space for the exclusive use of a privately owned franchise. "If we build this, what's the cost recovery through the lease?" she asked. Maggie MacDonald, the executive director of parks and recreation, recommended a staff report to examine the financial implications, the assessment of public good, and potential cost recovery mechanisms. Cuttell said she would be willing to ask for a staff report once she examined the motion in greater detail.
