Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that clear contracting rules were not followed during the development of the controversial ArriveCan app.

Trudeau added that the app was developed at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic when everything was uncertain, but rules still need to be followed even in difficult times.
He also mentioned that investigations are ongoing and there will be consequences in cases where employees do not comply with the rules.

The federal government launched the ArriveCan app in April 2020 to track health and contact information for people entering Canada during the pandemic and to digitize customs and immigration declarations.

The Canadian Auditor General said earlier this month that there was blatant disregard for basic management and contracting practices during the development and implementation of ArriveCan.

The oversight body said the government's reliance on sole-source external contractors led to increased application costs, and these costs were not properly tracked.

Trudeau also told reporters at a press conference in Vancouver on Tuesday when asked if he would take responsibility for the problems: "Clearly, contracting processes and rules were not followed in this case."

He added: "We need to make sure there is accountability and transparency around this."