No, the app could have never cost $80,000. The $80,000 was to build a digital prototype that moved paper onto, basically, an online form that could be used on a mobile phone. It was used to demonstrate that you could digitize something, which is something the Government of Canada has been very interested in doing. Through doing that it demonstrated there was a doorway to building an app.
On February 22nd, 2024. See this statement in context.