Ottawa suspends ArriveCan firm’s security status for some federal contracts

GC Strategies, the largest contractor to work on the scandal-plagued ArriveCan app, has just had its security status suspended — a key requirement for bidding on many federal contracts.

The move comes as a new government tally revealed Wednesday the two-person IT firm has received tens of millions of dollars’ worth of government federal contracts.

Canada’s comptroller general Roch Huppé told a parliamentary committee Ottawa-based GC Strategies and its predecessor Coredal were awarded 118 federal government contracts valued at more than $107 million since 2011.

2:05 Trudeau says anyone who took advantage during ArriveCAN app development to ‘get rich’ will face consequences

“Providing open and accurate information about our contracts is essential to safeguarding the trust Canadians put in their institutions,” said Huppé.

“I am deeply concerned by the findings of the auditor general’s report,” he told MPs.

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GS Strategies has been under widening scrutiny, which only grew last month when auditor general Karen Hogan released a blistering report on ArriveCan, calling it the worst financial record-keeping she has ever seen.

Hogan slammed the pandemic-era program for its “glaring disregard for basic management and contracting practices.”

Last November, Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) suspended all government contracts with GC Strategies and then on Wednesday also suspended the firm’s security status.

That clearance is needed to land some of the government’s most sensitive deals, including military planning and financial record contracts.

“The suspensions are in place until further notice,” PSPC said in a statement.

Global News asked PSPC why it took so long to suspend the company’s security status, since concerns were raised more than a year ago about GC Strategies and its contracting practices. No response has yet been received.

The IT firm was hired to build ArriveCan, but then subcontracted the work to six other companies.

The auditor general found scant explanation as to why GCStrategies was awarded the initial contract.

“There was little documentation or proof as to why they were selected or how they had the skills and competencies to deliver on the contact,” Hogan told a parliamentary committee last month.