Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre is pressing for a review of the federal government’s ArriveCan app, pointing out that the Liberals should cut as much “wasteful spending” as possible. The Conservatives will also set the agenda in the House of Commons on Tuesday, as it is their opposition day — an opportunity for the party to bring forward a motion for MPs to debate — they have set their sights on the contentious federal mandate. Through the motion, the official opposition seeks to have the House of Commons “call on the Canadian Auditor General to conduct a performance audit, including payments and contracts for all aspects of the ArriveCan app, giving priority to this investigation.” The motivation behind this motion seems to be a series of stories about the estimated $54 million cost of the app and the contracts awarded to build and maintain it. Also, Poilievre said on Tuesday when speaking about his party’s motion: “When $54 million goes out the door and government officials can’t give a straight story about where it went, the least we can do is an audit.”

The ArriveCan program was introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic and became mandatory as a method to screen travelers coming to Canada for travel information and health-related information, including vaccination status. After months of sometimes flawed defense of the app and insistence that it was a “critical tool” despite pressure from the travel industry and opposition MPs to cancel it, the federal government made the use of ArriveCan optional on October 1, while also dropping several other COVID-19 border measures such as proof of vaccination, quarantine and isolation requirements, pre-arrival and on-arrival testing. Additionally, travelers can still use the app to fill out customs and immigration data before arrival, with the federal government announcing that this option will save Canadians time at the airport. While the Conservatives are pushing for a vote on this motion — likely to happen later this week — their motion is non-binding. This means it will remain in Auditor General Karen Hogan’s hands to decide whether this is a study her office will undertake.

In the same vein, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino argued in the House of Commons that having ArriveCan was “necessary” to collect the health information needed to facilitate the processing of travelers at the border. Mendicino acknowledged in French at one point that there were sometimes challenges with the technology, saying that the costs of ArriveCan include both its development and maintenance, adding that appropriate procurement processes were followed and contract reviews are underway, adding: “At every critical stage, we strictly followed the policies put in place when it comes to procurement to make sure we can get value for taxpayers’ money.”

While the Liberals may be unlikely to support this motion, since its preamble states that “government costs drive up the cost of living,” Conservatives are likely to find enough support among other opposition parties to see it pass. Speaking in French, René Villemure, an MP for the Bloc Québécois, questioned why a “huge organization” like the Canadian government can’t do this work internally.