Ottawa says it has banned the largest contractor that worked on the ArriveCan app from entering into contracts or real property agreements with the government for seven years.
Public Services and Procurement Canada has announced that GC Strategies Inc. has been deemed “ineligible” after an assessment of the supplier’s conduct.
Last year, the department suspended the security status of GC Strategies, which the auditor general says was awarded more than $19 million for the project.
A report by Canada’s Auditor General Karen Hogan found the government’s record-keeping was poor and its reliance on outside contractors allowed the cost of the project to balloon to $60 million.
The first ArriveCan contract was initially valued at just $2.35 million.
I lead a number of projects many times as complex as this silly little app, and I don’t think they all came to $2.35M in billings, let alone $60M. Everyone involved from the private and public side should be facing corruption and fraud charges.