ArriveCan is a mess — but the scandal hides some bigger questions

Perhaps every government gets the spending scandal it deserves.

During the last Conservative government's time in office, it was the G8 Legacy Fund — $50 million used to spruce up a cabinet minister's riding, nominally for the purposes of celebrating the hosting of the G8 summit in 2010. The auditor general found that Parliament wasn't informed and no paper trail existed to explain how the projects were selected.

The resulting controversy was big enough that even a young parliamentary secretary named Pierre Poilievre had to field questions about it.

Given that experience, one might have expected Poilievre to be more guarded in his response to the Liberal government's ArriveCan troubles. Instead, the Conservative leader is committed to the idea that the ill-fated app — "ArriveScam," the Conservatives call it  — is indicative of a profligate and incompetent government.

"He took $60 million of your dollars and put it into this ArriveScam," Poilievre told Canadians during a news conference on Monday. "Think of that when you see homeless people who can't afford a place to live. Justin Trudeau took their money for this ArriveScam app."

In fairness, the Liberal government is already committed to spending $4 billion to alleviate homelessness (although $60 million toward that effort certainly wouldn't hurt).

There is undoubtedly much to be said — and asked — about the ArriveCan endeavour. But it's not clear (and not for the first time) that any elected official is ready or willing to think about it too deeply.

The government's very limited defence involves the plea that the app was being developed in the midst of an unprecedented pandemic — that time was of the essence.

But the unique circumstances and demands of the moment scarcely offer a fig leaf to cover what the auditor general laid bare on Monday. 

"Overall, this audit shows a glaring disregard for basic management and contracting practices throughout ArriveCan's development and implementation," Karen Hogan told reporters. "I don't believe that an emergency is a reason that all the rules are thrown out the window."

Hogan's report also may not be the last word. The Canada Border Services Agency is doing its own investigation and has referred matters related to "certain employees and contractors" to the RCMP.

If there is a mitigating factor here for the Liberals, it's that the mess is contained to the public service side of the government. No ministers or political staff have been linked to the app's contracting and development.

Not that the lack of any such connection stopped the Conservatives from invoking the prime minister as much as possible when discussing ArriveCan on Monday.

"Will the prime minister not admit the app is just like him, not worth the cost and not worth the corruption?" Poilievre asked during question period.