National Post

Former CBSA head stands by Arrivecan

• 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.

“We were shutting down the largest unprotecte­d border in the world. It took a lot of effort to co-ordinate 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.

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. 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 as 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.