Company vows to fight bid rigging charges

Donna Cona, one of Canada's leading Aboriginal business technology solutions companies, pledges to fight recent allegations the company was involved in bid rigging and conspiracy.
Donna Cona CEO John Bernard called the charges an absolute travesty and said the allegations are completely bunk and unfounded.
"We are innocent entirely, wholly; categorically innocent and we are going to fight this." Bernard said.
Donna Cona was one of a group of seven tech companies charged by the federal Competition Bureau. Fourteen individuals were also charged. The charges revolve around an investigation of government contracts worth $67 million. The bureau claims that the companies secretly co-ordinated bids to win contracts, effectively shutting other bidders out in the process, and then divided the contracts up among themselves.
Bernard denies any collusion with other companies on the contracts listed, and stated Donna Cona surely did nothing illegal.
"The bottom line is we made no money at all on any of the contracts, and I am surprised we got charged," said Bernard.
Donald Plouffe, the acting assistant deputy commissioner at the Competition Bureau, said the investigation was extensive and he stated he didn't think the Director of Public Prosecution would move forward with the charges unless he were comfortable with the evidence submitted.
"These are very serious allegations," said Plouffe.
"You would not lay criminal charges against an individual for the pleasure of doing so," Plouffe explained.
Bernard said the real sham is the Competition Bureau is immune to any recourse, and if Donna Cona wanted to counter the allegations in court they couldn't.
If they (the Bureau) were liable to be sued, there would be a lot less charges going around. It's no sweat off their back to throw everybody's name in there," said Bernard.
Investigations by the Competition Bureau began in 2005 after a complaint was filed by Public Works Government Service Canada (PWGSC) about certain bidding processes.
According to a bureau press release, it claims to have evidence indicating bidders, in response to calls for bids for the supply of IT services to the Canada Border Service Agency, PWGSC, and Transport Canada, secretly agreed in advance on the technical and financial proposals they would submit,.
"After executing search warrants at head offices and private residences of those suspected, which was eight companies, a total 125,000 records were secured," Plouffe said.
Donna Cona senior business development officers, David Gelineau and Barry Dowdall, were individually charged under the Criminal Code, but Bernard is standing firmly behind his employees.
"They did nothing wrong. Absolutely nothing wrong," said Bernard emphatically.
Donna Cona will appear in court March 17 where the company is expected to plead not guilty to all charges.
"As a matter of fact, we are hoping it gets thrown out of court. We hope the judge looks at the evidence and throws out the case," said Bernard.
"The travesty is that we even have to be here," he said.