Long-awaited reports on controversial ArriveCAN app coming. What to expect

Two long-awaited reports into the government’s controversial ArriveCAN app are set to be released soon.

The reports by the Auditor General of Canada and the Office of the Procurement Ombud will come out over the coming days, with the former being released Feb. 12.

Deputy auditor general Andrew Hayes shared the date with members of the House’ public accounts committee on Thursday. His office issued a news release confirming the date on Friday.

The auditor general was tasked with assessing the controversial application, which was launched in April 2020 as a way to manage travel during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The audit was “looking at whether the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), Public Health Agency of Canada, and Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) managed all aspects of ArriveCAN, including procurement and expected deliverables with due regard for economy, efficiency and effectiveness,” Hayes said.

He said he was not able to discuss the report’s findings as it hasn’t been tabled before Parliament yet. The House of Commons adopted a motion calling on the auditor to conduct an ArriveCAN audit on Nov. 2, 2022.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Office of the Procurement Ombud told Global News in an email on Friday that its report will be published on its website “on or around” next Monday.

MPs on the House operations committee asked the ombud on Nov. 14, 2022, to “assess whether contracts awarded by departments in relation to the ArriveCAN application were issued in a fair, open, and transparent manner, and whether contracts awarded on a non-competitive basis were issued in compliance with the Financial Administration Act, its regulations, and applicable policies and procedures.”

The office began its work last January,