Faulty ArriveCan app ‘was still the right answer’: former CBSA head

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OTTAWA – The former head of the CBSA said the scandal plagued ArriveCan app was the only way to deal with the border issues the pandemic presented and he is proud of how his agency responded.

John Ossowski, led the border agency from 2016 to 2022, before leaving and joining PriceWaterhouseCoopers, an international consulting firm. He told MPs on the House of Commons public accounts committee Thursday that the pandemic presented a set of challenges unlike anything they had ever faced.

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“We were shutting down the largest unprotected border in the world. It took a lot of effort to coordinate with our U.S. colleagues to make sure that there would be continued flow of food and medicine and supplies in and out of the country,” he said. “There was remarkable flexibility on behalf of the workforce and all of my colleagues and other departments to do the best we could. There was no playbook.”

The ArriveCan app was developed by the border agency during the pandemic. It initially required travellers to provide their contact information and information on where they would be quarantining to border officers, which was then passed along to provincial health officials who could follow up.

Later it was made mandatory and travellers had to use it to provide vaccination information. The app malfunctioned at one point sending thousands of travellers into quarantine. Costs for the app also spiralled and it ended up costing at least $60 million.

An Auditor General’s report on the app found the exact price was hard to pin down, because of the poor record keeping and missing documents on how the app was contracted. The RCMP is investigating and has executed search warrants on the homes

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Ossowski said spending on the app should have been better documented and better controlled, but he still believes it was necessary, noting it replaces a cumbersome paper process. He said it still provides value to the government as travellers can use it to speed up customs forms.

“The app was still the right answer to the challenge that we had. It facilitated our ability to manage the border, and it will continue to facilitate, in its new form, legitimate travel and trade across the country,” he said.

While no longer mandatory, travellers can still use ArriveCan to submit customs declarations and use express lanes when they arrive at the airport.

Conservative MP Kelly Block said after everything that has happened with the app she was stunned to see Ossowski celebrating it.

“It is absolutely mind boggling to have the former president of the CBSA state he remains proud of the work his department undertook,” she said.

Conservative MPs also asked about contracts Ossowski signed to temporarily return to CBSA and prepare for his testimony. Ossowski was signed on a casual employee, he said he was told this was necessary for him to be able to review his emails and calendars to be able to respond to the committee’s questions.

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He said it had nothing to do with his current work as a consultant.

“Let me be clear, no business advantage has been sought or received as a result of this arrangement and I have always followed all conflict of interest requirements,” he said.

Conservative MP Michael Barrett said he was concerned Ossowski and his new employer, which does significant business with the government, could benefit.

“It seems that there would be a commercial advantage to having there now their senior advisor and executive with this firm to have access to all of their information from their calendar emails and associated documents.”

Ossowski rejected that and said he acted entirely appropriately.

“Given all that’s gone on for this ArriveCan discussion over the last couple of years. Do you really believe that I would further put myself into jeopardy by pursuing something that had some conflict of interest.”

National Post
rtumilty@postmedia.com

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