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Chris Malette Voted Against Recovering $59.5 Million from ArriveCAN Contractor

While ratepayers across Ontario dodge crater-sized potholes, wait endlessly for a family doctor, and face property taxes that outpace inflation, our federal government continues to throw away money like confetti—on everything from foreign wars to corrupt, no-bid contracts that deliver little public value.

The $59.5 million ArriveCAN fiasco, and the fact that MP, Chris Malette, voted against recovering those funds from the contractor who received them — GCStrategies Inc. When Parliament was given a chance to claw back nearly $60 million of taxpayer money wasted on a dysfunctional app, Malette voted “No.”

Ask MP Chris Malette why he voted “No”.

Email: chris.malette@parl.gc.ca

Telephone: 613-992-0752

You can see the voting record for yourself here:

The ArriveCAN Disaster in Numbers

According to the Auditor General’s report, ArriveCAN ballooned from an initial $80,000 estimate to nearly $59.5 million, much of it steered through opaque subcontracting chains.
GCStrategies — a two-person IT consultancy — received lucrative contracts despite having no in-house developers.

The Auditor General found:

  • No clear documentation of how contractors were chosen.
  • Inflated costs and “potential conflicts of interest.”
  • No proof the government got what it paid for.

Yet when Parliament voted on whether to recover those funds from GCStrategies, Malette sided against it.

Why That Vote Matters

This wasn’t some abstract procedural motion. It was a straightforward question: Should taxpayers eat the loss, or should the vendor pay it back?

For any household or business, that’s not a hard choice. But in Ottawa, accountability seems optional. When elected officials like Malette vote to protect contractors over constituents, it sends a clear message: the political class is more interested in managing damage than demanding justice.

Canadians suffer while the Liberal government has committed nearly $22 billion in aid to Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, including over $12.4 billion in financial support, making it the largest per capita financial contribution among G7 countries. For comparison, Ontario’s healthcare budget in 2024 was $84 billion.

Meanwhile, Back Home…

Here in Ontario, families are asked to tighten their belts while governments at every level waste with impunity.

  • Roads are crumbling — potholes big enough to swallow a tire.
  • Property taxes rise every year, with no visible improvement in services.
  • Healthcare remains stretched to the breaking point.

And yet, while residents pay more and get less, the federal government refuses to claw back millions from a company that built a glorified web form for the cost of a hospital wing.

A Matter of Principle

Some will argue that recovering the funds is legally complex — that contracts must be honored, even when poorly written. That’s nonsense. When a private firm fails to deliver value, the government has an obligation to investigate and recover taxpayer funds. Period. If the Auditor General can flag misuse, Parliament can demand restitution. And if our local MP can’t stand up for that, what exactly is he standing for?

The Bottom Line

Ratepayers have every right to be outraged. The ArriveCAN saga isn’t just about a broken app — it’s about a broken system. When a Member of Parliament votes against holding a contractor accountable for wasting $59.5 million of public money, they’re voting against taxpayers. We deserve representatives who understand that accountability isn’t partisan — it’s fundamental. Because every dollar sent to Ottawa should be working for Canadians — not padding the pockets of politically connected contractors.

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