CBSA deleted ArriveCan records before access requests could be properly searched
The digital workspace used during the project, which included roughly 180 users, was deleted by CBSA officials who said they were unaware of the platform and did not search it for access-to-information requests related to the ArriveCan scandal.
Yet CBSA's access-to-information officials were unaware of the platform and did not search it for several requests where responsive records may have existed.
The ArriveCan scandal isn't going away.
A new finding from Information Commissioner Caroline Maynard reveals the Canada Border Services Agency failed to search Slack communications for records related to ArriveCan when responding to access-to-information requests. Even more troubling, the entire Slack workspace used during the project was deleted in May 2023 without any archive being retained.
By the time investigators came looking, the records were gone.
For a project already plagued by missing records, undocumented decisions, and questionable contracting practices, the revelation raises fresh concerns about transparency and accountability.
ArriveCan began as a pandemic travel surveillance app that was initially expected to cost around $80,000. The app was required for all returning travellers to Canada and sent 10,000 people to unnecessary quarantine under threat of $5,500 in fines.
By the time the Auditor General completed her review, the price tag had ballooned to an estimated $59.5 million, though she concluded poor record keeping made it impossible to determine the precise final cost.
The Auditor General's 2024 report found a “glaring disregard” for basic management and contracting practices. CBSA repeatedly failed to document key decisions, could not explain how some contracts were awarded, approved invoices lacking sufficient detail, and relied heavily on outside contractors at costs far above equivalent government employees.
One contractor, GC Strategies, a two-person Liberal-linked consulting company that performed little actual IT work itself, received nearly $20 million connected to ArriveCan and became the focal point of multiple parliamentary investigations.
CPC's Stephanie Kusie details the connection between Kristian Firth of ArriveScam contractor GC Strategies and the Liberal campaign chair, Jeremy Broadhurst.
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) April 17, 2024
We all met Jeremy last week during his testimony at the Foreign Interference Commission. He's the guy to told Trudeau to… pic.twitter.com/0wYydn7eIO
The Auditor General found little documentation explaining why the company received the initial contract through a non-competitive process.
Kristian Firth of the ArriveScam contractor GS Strategies tells the House of Commons he has not been asked by the Liberals to repay the millions he made with his flawed surveillance app. pic.twitter.com/hG2Ef7tShq
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) April 17, 2024
The project was so poorly documented that Karen Hogan told MPs it was among the worst financial record-keeping she had ever encountered. Her office found that 18% of invoices reviewed lacked enough information to determine whether the expenses even related to ArriveCan.
Kristian Firth of GC Strategies, the ArriveScam contractor, won't say why he lied about meeting with government officials in bars and breweries outside of work. pic.twitter.com/y6AFxNA9jo
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) April 17, 2024
Now, Canadians are learning that communications about the project may also have disappeared.
According to the Information Commissioner, roughly 180 users — including public servants, consultants and contractors — used Slack during ArriveCan's development. Yet CBSA's access-to-information officials were unaware of the platform and did not search it for several requests where responsive records may have existed.
The workspace was ultimately deleted without a backup.
Garnett Genuis asks Kristian Firth about a relationship between GC strategy's only other employee, Vaughn Brennan, and the Prime Minister's inner circle, including Trudeau's campaign chair/ Freeland's chief of staff, Jeremy Broadhurst.
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) April 17, 2024
Firth denies knowing about these… pic.twitter.com/sHTCJuPz9w
The commissioner found no evidence of criminal wrongdoing. However, her report paints a familiar picture: a government project already notorious for missing paperwork now has missing communications too.
For taxpayers still looking for answers about ArriveCan, the question remains the same as it was two years ago. How much information about this scandal has been lost, and how much was never properly documented in the first place?
Sheila Gunn Reid
Chief Reporter
Sheila Gunn Reid is the Editor-in-Chief, Alberta Bureau Chief, member of the board of directors, and host of The Gunn Show at Rebel News. Sheila also serves as President of the Independent Press Gallery of Canada. A mother of three and longtime conservative activist, Sheila is the author of bestselling books, including her most recent release, Independence Blueprint: What Alberta Can Learn From Quebec.
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