Class-action suit filed over ArriveCAN app, alleging incorrect quarantine advice for Canadians
Consumer Law Group stated, 'Ultimately the Auditor General found that there had been a glaring disregard for basic management and contracting practices surrounding the ArriveCAN application.'
A class-action lawsuit application has been launched due to problems with the ArriveCAN app, leading to numerous Canadians being wrongly advised to quarantine instead of being exempt.
On February 19, 2024, a lawsuit was filed against the Attorney General of Canada in the Federal Court in Montreal by Consumer Law Group. This action follows a 2024 report by the Auditor General of Canada, which identified problems with the ArriveCAN app, stated The Montreal Gazette. The report highlighted that one of the updates in June 2022 led to the erroneous instruction for approximately 10,000 individuals to quarantine.
“There was an obligation on the government to make sure the app was functioning properly, because there were serious consequences if it was not,” said Jeff Orenstein, a lawyer at Consumer Law Group.
Conservative MPs are calling for another Auditor General investigation into ArriveCan sweetheart GC Strategies, who pocketed $258 million in federal contracts for no IT work.https://t.co/wALgFbkt3v
— Rebel News Canada (@RebelNews_CA) February 14, 2024
According to Consumer Law Group:
On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared a global pandemic due to coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Following the declaration of a global pandemic, the Government of Canada implemented various travel requirements for persons entering Canada.
On April 29, 2020, the Canada Border Services Agency launched the digital application ArriveCAN – available through the web, iOS, and Android mobile apps – to collect contact and health information from people entering Canada. On November 21, 2020, the use of the ArriveCAN app became a mandatory requirement for travellers entering Canada.
The class-action lawsuit stated that following the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, the Government of Canada eased some of its travel restrictions for "fully-vaccinated" travellers. These individuals were exempt from most COVID-19 travel requirements mandated by the Order-in-Council at the time, including the need for quarantine. Instead, they were only required to undergo the first post-arrival COVID-19 test, conducted upon entry if randomly selected, and to fulfill the ArriveCAN app obligations.
A Parliamentary committee has ordered a ten-year audit into all ArriveCan contractors to further investigate ‘irregularities’ with the faulty pandemic app.
— Rebel News Canada (@RebelNews_CA) February 20, 2024
MORE: https://t.co/6WbieuiL48 pic.twitter.com/JEehRLLzGg
“The ArriveCAN app had various problems, including from June 28 to July 20, 2022, approximately 10,200 Apple device users received erroneous quarantine instructions directly from ArriveCAN (via an application notification) and from an email generated by ArriveCAN,” the lawsuit read.
The Auditor General's 2024 report submitted to the Parliament of Canada determined the following:
(a) The Canada Border Services Agency, the Public Health Agency of Canada, and Public Services and Procurement Canada repeatedly failed to follow good management practices in the contracting, development, and implementation of the ArriveCAN application;
(b) “Practices to manage ArriveCAN were missing at the most basic levels”, which affected “sound project design, implementation, oversight, and accountability”;
(c) There were deficiencies in how Canada Border Services Agency and the Public Health Agency of Canada managed the experience and qualification requirements of its professional services contracts in outsourcing the ArriveCAN app leading to improper resources with inadequate IT experience;
(d) There was a “Lack of clear deliverables and task descriptions”; and
(e) “There were deficiencies in the testing of the ArriveCAN application” and “Poor documentation of application testing”.
“Ultimately the Auditor General found that there had been a glaring disregard for basic management and contracting practices surrounding the ArriveCAN application,” Consumer Law Group stated.
Andrew Scheer takes aim at the Trudeau Liberals over the $60M ArriveCAN scandal and for giving wrongful quarantine orders.
— Rebel News Canada (@RebelNews_CA) February 20, 2024
"We need to make sure that Canadians understand what happened during the pandemic — not just with their money, but with their lives as well." pic.twitter.com/qQnnvWtkEO
Additionally, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada conducted an investigation into the app, recommending that the Canada Border Services Agency rectify inaccurate information in its database. The investigation revealed that the agency failed to meet the requirements of the Privacy Act, as it did not take adequate steps to ensure the accuracy of information used for administrative decision-making.
As of October 1, 2022, the ArriveCAN app is no longer mandatory.
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