U.S. firm hired by DND leads to complaints
The hiring of a U.S. firm to advise the Department of National Defence on how to improve security at its installations across the country has sparked complaints the job could have been done for cheaper by local firms or by the military’s own police force.
Details of the almost $2-million contract to Watermark, a risk-management firm in Virginia, were recently released under the access to information law.
The hiring of an American company also sparked complaints to Defence Minster Harjit Sajjan from at least one Canadian security contractor, according to documents.
At one point, the U.S. citizens who were to conduct the security review didn’t have the proper paperwork to enter Canada, prompting the Defence Department to help smooth over their border crossing.
Public Services and Procurement Canada issued the contract to Watermark on Aug. 19, 2016, despite having dozens of similar Canadian firms on file. The contract ends Aug. 31 of this year. There is a provision to extend the contract for another two years, but it is unclear if that will be done.
Questions were also raised about the value of work under the contract as Canadian firms stated they could do the job for about half the cost.
But the Department of National Defence said a competitive process was used in awarding the contract and three bids were examined. It didn’t indicate what countries those bids came from.
“As always, we strive to provide best value for taxpayer money, while ensuring our needs are met,” DND spokesman Dan Le Bouthillier said.
Asked about the problems getting Watermark employees into the country, DND noted the Canadian government had made changes to the temporary foreign worker program, but that was not known at the time. “Once informed, the applications for work permits were processed and work permits were issued immediately without causing delay on contractual activities,” Le Bouthillier said.
Some in the security industry have questioned why Canadian military police couldn’t do the security assessments, while others wonder about hiring a U.S. firm for such a sensitive job. They note it is highly unlikely the U.S. military would hire Canadian security experts to assess security at American defence installations.
That is even less likely now that relations between Canada and the U.S. have hit a rocky patch. U.S. President Donald Trump has announced new tariffs against Canadian-made steel and aluminum claiming such products pose a national security threat to the U.S. Trump has also repeatedly criticized Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Twitter for announcing Canada would respond to the U.S. action with tariffs of its own on American products.
DND did not provide exact details of the work Watermark employees performed, but noted the department undertakes assessments aimed at identifying and prioritizing security risks.
Concerns were raised in 2013 about the level of security at Canadian military installations after Canadian Forces Sub.-Lt. Jeffrey Paul Delisle provided secret information to the Russians.