The Trudeau government is on pace to reach more than $54 million in spending on the controversial ArriveCAN app; more than double what has been spent so far.
The Globe and Mail reports that the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) recently submitted documents to the Canadian Parliament that list 27 contracts involving 23 unique companies all working on the app. This was after the CBSA told media outlets over the summer that only five companies had received contracts, the newspaper said.
The CBSA originally said it has spent $19.7-million on developing the app and $4.9-million on app maintenance, but reports came in from an additional $4.9-million spent by the Public Health Agency of Canada on maintaining and promoting the app. The Globe said those amounts were tied to the fiscal year that ended on Mar 31, and a CBSA official said a further $25-million was approved for the fiscal year starting April 1 of this year. That’s a total spend of more tan $54 million.
The app, which was required to be filled out by Canadian law, required visitors and Canadians alike to fill out their vaccine information on line, and to answer questions about their health, flight status and potential quarantine plans. Critics howled, arguing it was too complicated and prone to breakdown, and that it discouraged Canadians from travelling, and also discouraged visitors from coming to Canada.
(I never found it difficult, except maybe the first time. But there you go.)
Ottawa announced two weeks ago that the app would become optional on October 1. The government also ended mandatory vaccine requirements and random testing at the border as part of the October 1 changes.
