TPG files complaint against Crown prosecutor for bid-rigging case

By Elizabeth Howell, Ottawa Business Journal Staff

Tue, Aug 25, 2009 11:00 AM EST

A firm involved in a bid-rigging case involving government contracts in 2005 has jointly launched a formal complaint with the Public Sector Integrity Office alleging the Crown prosecutor assigned to the matter is in a conflict of interest.

Charged firm TPG Technology Consulting Inc. and related firm The Powell Group, which was not charged, have raised concerns about prosecutor Denis Pilon’s Conservative candidacy for the Temiscamingue, Que. riding in 1997.

The joint statement asks for Mr. Pilon’s resignation, claiming he violated the Values and Ethics Code for the Public Service.

“In addition to outlining an apparent conflict of interest, the … complaint also alleges that Mr. Pilon has mismanaged media relations according to the guidelines of the Federal Prosecution Service Deskbook,” read the statement.

“The alleged mismanagement includes: issuing a press release on the charges laid prior to informing the people charged, leaking information to the media prior to properly filing it in court, and being involved in a campaign designed to smear people’s reputations.”

TPG is one of seven firms accused of rigging bids for a number of government IT services contracts. The case, first brought forward by the Competition Bureau in February, is still in pre-trial negotiations.

The tech firm is also embroiled in an unrelated lawsuit with the federal government concerning the process for selecting Montreal’s CGI group for a separate contract, in which TPG alleges favouritism.

When TPG and the Powell Group – headed by Donald Powell, who was also accused in the case – first threatened to file the complaint in June, a representative of Mr. Pilon’s employer said the allegations were false.

“His political activity – which ended in 2000 – it’s a matter of public record and doesn’t give rise to a real or an apparent conflict of interest,” said Dan Brien, the director of communications with the Public Prosecution Service of Canada, at that time.

“The PPSC is independent; the notions of political motivation or anything like that are completely off base.”

http://www.ottawabusinessjournal.com/295266333650871.php