That's what we're trying to figure out here.
I think one of the steps that we suggested or discussed in the last meeting was, I believe, a step before that to have confirmation from a doctor or a physician providing that information to verify or confirm the extent of those health concerns and provide, for example, either a timeline for when it would be appropriate to bring those witnesses to testify at the earliest date, but at the same time to perhaps even spell out some of the accommodations that should be introduced here to accommodate the folks we are trying to bring to committee. I appreciate Madame Vignola's including that in her motion, talking about working with the chair in terms of determining which accommodations need to be brought forward to address some of the health issues and the health concerns here.
I think that's where we're at right now in terms of our conversation. I don't think we're quite there yet in terms of summoning someone who has a health concern or asking the Sergeant-at-Arms to do that. We call it taking into custody, but it sure as heck sounds a lot like arresting, from what I'm seeing there. That seems like a very drastic move. I think we want to find that balance here, and I'm not sure if we're there yet.
Again, I want to emphasize just how absolutely rare it is to utilize this particular power. As has been stated before, committees and members of Parliament have powers, almost unlimited in so many ways, but I think we have to be judicious in how we do that.
I also want to talk a little bit about something that I began talking about yesterday, but I didn't get a chance to finish. It's really important here, because in addition to being sensitive about this particular issue, I really believe strongly that we need to couch our discussions in facts. Around this table, I get that there's a lot of politics at play here. Obviously we know how this works. This isn't anything new under the sun. Folks say things for political advantage.
Facts, for example, are oftentimes used for various purposes, but an issue as important as this gets to the heart of the challenges that are facing our procurement processes. I think it's really important, if we are to be serious and if we are to do the people's work, to fix these issues, to fix the issues that clearly the Auditor General has spelled out in stark light, in black and white. If we are to address these issues, the issues that the procurement ombudsman has spelled out, the issues of process, I think we need to couch our discussions in fact.
Sometimes fact is not the loudest. In fact, I think there's an inverse relationship. When we hear politicians screaming and yelling and whatnot, oftentimes that screaming and yelling is inversely proportional to fact, and oftentimes the facts are sort of quietly established, but we need to speak about those facts.
When we talk about the ArriveCAN app, I hear repeated not just in this committee chamber but in newspapers, on The National, in discussions and repeated by opinion-makers, that the ArriveCAN app cost $80,000 and that the cost of ArriveCAN ballooned to $50 million. I really want to get this on the record, because it's really important, I believe, that we establish the facts here when we talk about this.
Again, it's really important so that we can focus on the issue at hand, which is the fact that processes were not strong enough. There were serious gaps and oversights in processes and documentation. That's the focus of what we're getting at here. I want to really quickly run through this, because it bears repeating, and I didn't get a chance to complete it the last time I had an opportunity to speak.
The document is called “Border Public Health Measure Costs (From April 1, 2020 through to March 31, 2023) ArriveCAN Related Forecast and Actuals”. You can find this one-page document on the CBSA website.
It talks about the fact that yes, the original version of the ArriveCAN app was $80,000. Where did the other costs go to? The other costs include all of the back-end things that make the ArriveCAN app work.
I'll give you an example. A Service Canada call centre needed to be stood up. This was to accept “Calls and emails from travellers on the COVID health measures in general and the app” that could be answered by PHAC and CBSA. The actual cost was $6.1 million, and $7.5 million was forecast for the Service Canada call centre.