After Devastating ArriveCAN Report, Will The NDP Finally Say “Enough Is Enough”?

InsightSpencerFernando

Almost certainly not. Jagmeet Singh and the NDP will instead appear to be upset while continuing to keep the Liberals in power.

It is increasingly clear that both Justin Trudeau & Jagmeet Singh have decided that keeping the Conservatives from power is all that matters.

It is also clear that the Liberals & NDP are largely functioning as one party while maintaining the fiction that they are operating independently.

At every key moment, the NDP makes sure to do what the Liberals want.

They let the Liberals delay an inquiry into China’s foreign interference – and then watered the inquiry down.

They let the Liberals ignore the will of Parliament on countless issues, including when the government even refused to provide documents to the Speaker of the House of Commons regarding the expulsion of two Chinese researchers from Canada’s National Microbiology Lab.

They voted with the Liberals time and time again to raise the carbon tax.

They kept Trudeau in power even after his politically-cynical move of giving a carbon tax break to Atlantic Canada while continuing to subject the rest of the country to the tax – even when the move was denounced by NDP Premiers and politicians in Western Canada.

They sought to deflect blame for inflation away from Trudeau’s inflationary spending and deficits, and onto grocery store CEOs, even though the narrative of ‘greedflation’ has been discredited.

They have made countless ‘threats’ to back off their pact, only to relent each time.

In short, the NDP has made it clear that what they value above all else is keeping the Liberals in power, and the Conservatives out of power.

And so, in the wake of the devastating ArriveCAN report by the Auditor General, it’s tough to believe Jagmeet Singh’s anger is genuine:

Now, if the NDP were truly serious about improving the level of governance in this country, today would be the day to announce the revocation of their pact with the Liberals.

After all, the ArriveCAN report is indeed devastating.

From the Auditor General’s office, here is a summary of what they found:

“Overall, 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. As a result of the many gaps and weaknesses we found in the project’s design, oversight, and accountability, it did not deliver the best value for taxpayer dollars spent. The enduring benefit of the ArriveCAN application is that it remains available for customs and immigration declarations. As of October 2022, ArriveCAN is no longer used to collect travellers’ contact and health information.

The Canada Border Services Agency’s documentation, financial records, and controls were so poor that we were unable to determine the precise cost of the ArriveCAN application. Using the information that was available, we estimated the cost at approximately $59.5 million. At the onset of the COVID‑19 pandemic, the agency determined that it did not have the resources needed to develop the application and that it would therefore rely on external resources. The agency’s decision to work with external resources, as well as the continued reliance on them throughout the project, increased the cost of ArriveCAN.

The Canada Border Services Agency’s disregard for policies, controls, and transparency in the contracting process restricted opportunities for competition and undermined value for money. We found that the agency had little documentation to support how and why GC Strategies was awarded the initial ArriveCAN contract through a non‑competitive process. We also found that GC Strategies was subsequently involved in the development of the requirements that the agency ultimately included in the request for proposal for its competitive contract. Although departments and agencies were encouraged to be flexible given the urgent need to respond to the pandemic, the need to document decisions and demonstrate transparency and prudent use of public funds remained.

We also found deficiencies in how the Canada Border Services Agency managed the contracts, again raising concerns about value for money. Given the number and value of competitive and non‑competitive contracts used to carry out this project, we are concerned that essential information, such as clear deliverables and required qualifications, was missing. We found that details about the work performed were often missing on invoices and supporting time sheets submitted by contractors that the agency approved.”

Something that was supposed to cost $80,000, ended up costing up to $60 million:

This should be the end of this government, but it probably won’t be

Canada needs an election ASAP.

In the past, the awful state of the nation and this latest scandal would be enough to bring down the government.

Indeed, it should bring down the government.

But it almost certainly won’t.

Ethical standards have slipped almost beyond recognition under Justin Trudeau, owing in large part to the fact that the government operates more like a personality-cult than a traditional administration. Trudeau has removed those who would question him, dispensing of people like Jody Wilson-Raybould who have their own sense of ethics and values.

Jagmeet Singh has also shown little commitment to ethical norms, as can be witnessed in his tacit approval of MPs making horrendous anti-Israel statements – statements that are fuelling the awful sruge of anti-Semitism in this country.

So long as Justin Trudeau and Jagmeet Singh put their short-term political survival above all else, Canada will continue to be subjected to misgovernance and scandal on a grand scale.

Spencer Fernando

Photo – YouTube

***

I will never take government media bailouts. Instead, I am funded by voluntary contributions from Canadians. If you value my perspective, I encourage you to contribute what you are able through PayPal at the button below.