ArriveCan scandal a reminder of how badly Canada needs its own DOGE
Independent estimates pegged the cost of development of the COVID-era app at around $80,000 — only for the government to spend $54 million and dish out lavish bonuses on the project. David Menzies looks at how this scandal is a stern reminder of how badly Canada needs its own government efficiency department.
In the spirit of DOGE — a.k.a., the Department of Government Efficiency in the U.S. — Rebel News is currently exposing the amount of outrageous and egregious waste that can be found in the spending habits of the current Canadian federal government.
It's a gruesome undertaking to be sure. And the immediate conclusion is this: we desperately need a Canadian version of DOGE for our great Dominion. I personally hope Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre feels likewise.
In this regard, what’s left to be said of that multimillion-dollar boondoggle known as ArriveCan?
By way of background, the ArriveCan app was “supposed to” save travellers time at certain Canadian international airports during those hellacious COVID years.
And ArriveCan was “supposed to” provide the customs and immigration declarations of travellers to the Canadian Border Services Agency in advance.
But I put the words “supposed to” in quotes because there was one not-so-insignificant hitch regarding ArriveCan: this app often did not work.
And talk about sticker shock! An estimate for the app’s development was pegged at around $80,000. But the off-lot-price ended up being more than $54 million! How is that even possible?
So, to recap: this app was a lemon. And the price tag was more than 66 times the estimate! Meaning ArriveCan was a lose-lose proposition, right?
Wrong. Because in the eyes of the feds, ArriveCan was not something to be denounced as an overpriced clunker, lemon, but rather, it was technology to be lauded.
Indeed, the fine folks at the Canadian Taxpayers Federation have exposed that the federal health executives who were responsible for the ArriveCan app actually received $340,000 in bonuses.
I’m not making this up. ArriveCan was a white elephant that seldom worked and came in hideously overbudget. And the bumbling bureaucrats responsible for this junk received $340,000 in bonus money?!
For what?! How is this even possible?
Indeed, rewarding the executives of ArriveCan would be akin to rewarding the design time at Ford Motor Company for the creation of the 1971 Ford Pinto. Oh, sure this subcompact car looked good on paper… just don’t get rear-ended because you might end up on the expressway to Kingdom Come.
As Franco Terrazzano, the federal director of the Canadian Taxpayers Association adroitly notes:
The government executives involved with ArriveCan should be getting pink slips, not bonuses. This is the ultimate example of failing government executives being rewarded with taxpayer-funded bonuses.
But that’s the thing: incompetent and entitled bureaucrats in Ottawa don’t get reprimanded for bad work. Instead, they get promoted and rewarded. In this country, under Justin Trudeau, you always fail upwards. At our expense, of course.
I repeat: we need a Canadian version of DOGE. And the sooner the better.
This is how we’re fighting back and demanding accountability for every dollar spent.
Please sign our petition to demand transparency and accountability from our elected leaders!
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David Menzies
Journalist and 'Mission Specialist'
David “The Menzoid” Menzies is the Rebel News "Mission Specialist." The Menzoid is equal parts outrageous and irreverent as he dares to ask the type of questions those in the Media Party would rather not ponder.
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