Creating and launching the ArriveCan app in April 2020 cost the federal government just $80,000, but other factors such as maintenance and operating costs shot total spending up to $54 million, says the Canada Border Services Agency.
“The $54M we expect to have spent by March 31, 2023, was not just budgeted and spent on the creation and launch of the app itself, which [cost] $80K to launch in April 2020, but also on all the necessary work to operate, maintain and upgrade the app over the last two years,” said the CBSA in an Oct. 17 email to The Epoch Times.
“ArriveCAN is not a simple information sharing app, its a secure transactional tool that used industry standards,” added CBSA spokesperson Sandra Boudreau….