Companies at heart of ArriveCan app scandal get more than $100M in government contracts

OTTAWA — Companies run by two consultants at the heart of the ArriveCan scandal received over $100 million in government contracts since 2011, according to a new government tally.

Speaking to the House public accounts committee on Wednesday, federal comptroller general Roch Huppé said he ordered a tally of all contracts given to GC Strategies and its predecessor Coredal — both owned by Kristian Firth and Darren Anthony — following mixed reports by the government and media.

In total, he said GC Strategies and Coredal received 118 contracts worth over $107 million, a number that is sure to raise more questions about the value-for-money offered by the two-person company that billed itself as an IT staffing firm.

GC Strategies is at the heart of the ArriveCan app scandal, particularly following a scathing auditor general report that found the cost of the application ballooned from $80,000 to potentially over $60 million. Part of the issue was a “glaring disregard” for “basic” procurement principles.

GC Strategies received nearly $20 million of that amount, which auditor general Karen Hogan said she could not confirm because the government’s bookkeeping for the project was the worst she’d ever seen.

“I am deeply concerned by the findings of the auditor general’s report,” said Huppé, the head of government’s internal financial management.

In light of the audit’s findings, he said he ordered that all government heads of internal auditing conduct a review of their department’s procurement rules within a year to ensure that they are enforcing all the rules and processes.