Top court’s refusal to hear federal contracts case prompts call for new laws
TORONTO — A company that argued the fairness and integrity of Canada’s public-procurement process has been compromised is calling on the government to legislate changes now that the country’s top court has refused to get involved in the case.
In a decision this week, the Supreme Court of Canada refused to hear an appeal from Ottawa-based TPG Technology, which lost a $428-million federal contract in 2007.
TPG had maintained that the winning bidder for the contract to run the main computer networks at the Public Works department was unable to deliver what it had promised. Rather than disqualify the company, the government instead helped it become compliant by way of a new contract, TPG alleged in a $250-million lawsuit its president, Don Powell, filed against Ottawa.
Lower courts, however, rejected the lawsuit despite one judge’s finding that the government had indeed been unfair to TPG. The company turned to the Supreme Court, which declined to hear the appeal.