We did conclude that the best value for money was not achieved here. There was some value. I'll point back to our report in 2021. We issued two reports looking at border measures. The second actually noted that, because of ArriveCAN, the government was able to improve the quality of information collected from travellers, and they were able to follow up with travellers in a more timely way. Now, there were still many travellers who weren't followed up with, but the app sped up the paper process that was originally there.
I would add that there is also an enduring value to this application, as CBSA has now springboarded off what was done here to automate the border, something they had been working on before the pandemic. They used this as a sort of springboard to go there. There is some sort of enduring value left, post its use during the pandemic.
We did look at what it might cost for a piece of paper versus automation. It really isn't a linear calculation. I think we probably would have landed at somewhere around $3 or so for a piece of paper, but again, I think it's more about the quality of the information and the timing. The paper was making its way to the Public Health Agency 28 days after an individual had crossed the border; that's really hard to follow up on a 14-day quarantine.
I don't think the value should be quantified. It should be in the fact that there was a more timely follow-up with travellers during the height of the pandemic.