Liberals under fire for botched $6.6B pension software scandal
By 2030-2031, the project is expected to cost taxpayers 6.6 billion making it the most expensive government IT modernization project in Canadian history.
Author: Quinn Patrick
The Bloc Quebecois is calling for an independent public inquiry into the Liberals’ Cúram project, software used to distribute federal payments. Launched nearly a decade ago, the project remains plagued by problems and has ballooned far beyond its original budget.
The project was estimated to cost $1.75 billion in 2017, but is now projected to reach nearly four times that amount by 2030-31. Despite that, Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu maintains the project remains within budget.
The Liberals’ plan to modernize Ottawa’s payment system for Old Age Security and other federal benefits could cost taxpayers as much as $6.6 billion, with most of the spending going to private firms involved in the IT overhaul.
In February, as many as 85,000 seniors reported problems receiving their payments.
Sébastian Lemire said the Liberals have “proven that an inquiry is absolutely necessary” because they are well aware of the problems in processing payments with the Cúram software, “and have been for years.”
“As recently as Monday, they were still filibustering in committee to hide information,” said Lemire in the House of Commons on Tuesday. “What do they have to hide? When will there be an independent public inquiry?”
Hajdu responded by claiming that the project remains “within budget.”
“We are proceeding exactly as the member opposite has urged us to do - with urgency to make sure that people are not on waitlist and that the most urgent cases are seen,” said Hajdu. “We’ve seen a decline by at least 20,000 cases in the waiting list and more to come.”
Calls for a public inquiry come as the pension payment system continues to face ongoing technical issues, with the Liberals recently committing another $451 million to fix the platform.
The Ministry of Employment and Social Development has already doled out $1.3 billion in “non-salary expenses” to external companies to date for expenses such as professional services, software, IT infrastructure, and consultant travel.
Federal payments are distributed via Cúram software, a project initially launched in 2017 to replace the outdated system used for Old Age Security, Employment Insurance and Canada Pension Plan benefits.
While the project was estimated to cost $1.75 billion in 2017, it is now projected to reach nearly four times that amount by 2030-31.
By 2030-31, the project is expected to have cost taxpayers $6.6 billion, nearly four times the initial estimate, making it the most expensive government IT modernization project in Canadian history.
Some of the largest contracts awarded by Ottawa for the Curám project have been awarded to Deloitte, which has received $388 million since 2022 as well as Accenture, which has received $174 million.
In 2023, the Auditor General published a report on the project expressing concern that its “constant changes” and “cost increases” would lead to further delays and jeopardize parts of the Cúram project.