Scandals are to Justin Trudeau and his Liberal government like wine is to cheese, or peanut butter to jam. The number of scandals and corruption cases have become so numerous that Canadians have become largely numb to it – but maybe we have finally hit the tipping point.
When Canadians hear that billions of dollars are being thrown away in some investment bank or another so-called environmental program, it doesn’t really resonate just how much money that is. It’s difficult to even picture what a billion dollars looks like. But when a scandal about a Government-funded mobile phone application that was supposed to cost $80,000, and ended up costing over $60 million with no receipts to prove where that money went, Canadians are right to be in utter disbelief.
But that is exactly what happened. ArriveCAN or ArriveSCAM, A COVID-era phone app that was meant to track border restrictions and vaccination status (which was problematic in itself) cost you, the Canadian taxpayer $60 million. That’s according to the Auditor General who completed her report after Conservatives passed a motion in the House of Commons to investigate this fiasco.
At the centre of the AG’s report is the poor record keeping – so much so that the precise cost of the app is impossible to determine. So that begs the question: who got rich and where’s the receipts? Were they purposely destroyed? Is the public service, after 8 years of Justin Trudeau so incompetent and loose with Canadian dollars that they just don’t care anymore?
Not to mention that ArriveSCAM sent over 10 thousand Canadians into wrongful quarantine during COVID restrictions – that is simply unacceptable. But the app was also cloned as a joke by two college students on a weekend! That’s how simple it could have – and should have – been.
It’s an absolute mess. That’s why Conservatives are pressing to investigate this FULLY at a number of Parliamentary committees including Public Accounts and Government Operations.
The silver lining? A Conservative Motion in the House of Commons calling on the Government to table ALL documents and costs associated with ArriveCan PASSED. I was proud to vote in favour of this motion so Canadians can get answers.
To read the Auditor General’s full report, click here.
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