‘Significant changes’ to procurement needed after ArriveCan scandal, Trudeau says

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OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says there have to be “important modifications” in public sector procurement and contracting amid rising controversies round ArriveCan and bureaucrats having undeclared contracts with the federal government.

Trudeau stated Wednesday his authorities is “rethinking” how the general public service does contracting and procurement in mild of a scathing auditor common report on the ArriveCan utility and a rising variety of examples of public servants with undeclared authorities contracts on the aspect.

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“That is an unacceptable scenario and there must be modifications on this. Authorities must make it possible for everybody from the political degree to the general public service degree are accountable, clear stewards of the general public cash,” Trudeau stated.

“What we’ve seen by way of the procurement course of that’s ongoing inside authorities: there must be important modifications,” he added. “We will likely be making modifications.”

Trudeau was responding to questions over a narrative from Nationwide Publish reporting that the auditor common’s workplace had not too long ago found that three of its personal staff have been incomes aspect cash off undisclosed authorities contracts. Two have since been fired and their instances have been referred to police, whereas the third continues to be underneath investigation.

The firings, which occurred between September and December final yr, come to mild as questions swirl about how the corporate of a federal public servant, David Yeo, was capable of receive a virtually $8-million contract to work on the ArriveCan app by way of a third-party firm.

He has since been suspended from the general public service and the corporate in query has stated in an announcement that he was employed full-time by authorities solely after work on the ArriveCan app was accomplished.

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The pinnacle of the federal procurement division additionally revealed final week that 5 staff who had breached battle of curiosity guidelines — together with for having a second job contracting for the federal government — had been fired or resigned within the final yr.

Final month, Auditor Basic Karen Hogan printed a report on the event of the ArriveCan app that discovered the procurement course of was riddled with a “obvious disregard” for fundamental ideas that allowed the prices to spiral uncontrolled.

She famous that the price of the appliance ballooned from $80,000 to round $60 million, however she wasn’t capable of verify the ultimate quantity due to poor authorities bookkeeping that she stated was the worst she had seen in her years as a public service auditor.

Trudeau stated ongoing revelations about authorities procurement, contracting and undeclared conflicts of curiosity present that there are “unacceptable practices” throughout the public service.

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“That’s why we launched investigations into the matter and we count on there to be profound modifications in the way in which the federal government and the general public service maintain procurement,” he stated in French.

When requested for extra element about how the federal government was rethinking procurement and contracting practices Wednesday, Procurement Minister Jean-Yves Duclos’ spokesperson Marie-France Proulx pointed to some modifications the division has carried out because the ArriveCan report.

“Extra measures have already been carried out, together with bettering the analysis necessities and guaranteeing there’s extra transparency from suppliers round their pricing and use of subcontractors,” Proulx wrote in an announcement.

Trudeau’s workplace didn’t instantly responded to questions on what modifications it was contemplating.

Talking to a Home committee final week, each federal comptroller common Roch Huppé and Hogan warned in opposition to including new layers of crimson tape and forms to an already heavy federal procurement course of.

“We don’t imagine that extra guidelines are the reply. Procurement is already complicated sufficient,” Huppé stated.

“Relatively, this subject serves as a transparent reminder that departments and companies want to make sure that they’re putting the utmost significance on guaranteeing that procurements are honest, open, clear and stand up to the closest public scrutiny.”

Nationwide Publish

cnardi@postmedia.com

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