ArriveCan contractor grilled in House of Commons in rare reprimand

An ArriveCan app is shown on a smartphone in Montreal, Thursday, February 15, 2024.

For the first time in over 100 years, the House of Commons has reprimanded a private citizen over the ArriveCan app, in the latest development in a widening scandal over the nearly $60 million pandemic-era project.

GC Strategies partner Kristian Firth – whose firm is the contractor behind the program – was admonished and grilled Wednesday, after he refused to answer questions to a parliamentary committee and was held in contempt of Parliament.

It’s just the latest example of ArriveCan fallout as MPs point fingers over the Liberal government’s failure to manage development of the COVID-era app.

A hush fell over the House of Commons as he appeared shortly after question period alongside his lawyer, and appeared before the bar of the House.

“On behalf of the House of Commons, I admonish you,” Speaker Greg Fergus said directly to Firth, who stood upright and did not look away.

In addition, Firth was ordered to respond to questions that he refused to answer during a House committee meeting last month. His testimony was delivered under oath and under the authority of the House.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre and several cabinet ministers left prior to his public scolding.

The last time a private citizen received this rebuke was 1913. Since then, a handful of private citizens have received the admonishment, but none were forced to answer questions in the House.

In 2021, the former head of the Public Health Agency of Canada was admonished for neglecting to release documents related to the firing of two scientists from a Winnipeg lab.

More on Canada

The bar of the House is a brass rod in the Chamber that represents a symbolic barrier between members and non-members of Parliament.

In a report last February, auditor general Karen Hogan determined the cost of ArriveCan ballooned to at least $59 million but said “a glaring disregard” for basic management practices made it impossible to determine the exact price tag.

Hogan called it the worst example of financial record keeping she had ever seen and found little explanation why GC Strategies – which subcontracted the work to other companies – was hired in the first place.

The RCMP is examining her findings.

In an appearance at a House committee last month, Firth said he has had the full weight of government come down on him over false claims against his company.

Those claims, he said, have led to threats against him and his family, including his children.

More to come…

-with files from Canadian Press