The RCMP has raided the offices of the company GC Strategies, the company that was given $50 million by the Trudeau government to create the ArriveCan app.

The RCMP says that the search was not connected to the ArriveCan app investigation.

Initially, the RCMP did not provide the name of the business being investigated. However, police provided the CBC with the address of the company it had a search warrant for, which was the same one previously listed by GC Strategies.

In February, Canada’s Auditor General Karen Hogan provided a scathing critique of the federal government’s handling of the ArriveCAN app development, revealing a “glaring disregard” for fundamental management and contracting practices. 

During a committee meeting where she was presenting her audit report on the app, Hogan said even basic documentation was lacking, leading to her inability to account for the project’s cost.

The ArriveCan app, designed for travelers during the pandemic, sparked months of controversy and committee hearings after details of outlandish spending were revealed by The Globe and Mail last year. 

According to Hogan, the mishandling of the ArriveCAN app project represents one of the most glaring examples of mismanagement she has encountered.

“This audit shows a glaring disregard for basic management and contracting practices throughout ArriveCAN’s development and implementation,” she told committee members.

“By piecing together information available, we estimated that ArriveCAN cost approximately $59.5 million,” Hogan said.

Conservative MPs seized the opportunity to question Hogan about the implications of her findings, particularly focusing on whether Canadian taxpayers received value for money and the extent of the Trudeau government’s involvement in the project’s mismanagement. 

Hogan replied, “We concluded that the public service did not ensure that Canada received best value for money. I would tell you that we paid too much for this application.”

The auditor general’s testimony painted a picture of a project plagued by poor planning, oversight, and execution, with Hogan stating that COVID was no excuse. 

“An emergency does not mean that all the rules go out the window, and that departments and agencies are no longer required to document their decisions and keep complete and accurate records,” she said.

Note: This is an ongoing story and will be updated as more information is released.