Contract to Quebec firm is disputed

An Alberta company is asking a federal tribunal to cancel a defence contract awarded by the Conservative government just before last summer’s election, alleging it was unfairly given to a Quebec-based firm.

Raytheon Canada of Calgary alleges that soldiers from Garrison Petawawa in the Ottawa Valley, along with officials from Public Works, now known as Public Services and Procurement, did not follow proper procedures in their evaluation of high-tech equipment for the battlefield.

The equipment from the Integrated Soldier System Project, or ISSP, will improve field communication.

Raytheon Canada filed its complaint with the Canadian International Trade Tribunal in September and is expecting a ruling next month.

“We expect to receive a result from this protest process in February,” said Terry Manion, vice-president of Raytheon Canada. “We look forward to a positive outcome that produces a fair, reliable and objective result. Because deliberations are currently ongoing we are unable to comment further at this time.”

Just days before the federal election was called in August, then defence minister Jason Kenney announced that Rheinmetall Canada, of Saint- Jean- sur- Richelieu, Que., had been awarded an initial $7-million contract for the Integrated Soldier System Project. The deal is potentially worth up to $250 million if all the proposed gear is eventually purchased and Rheinmetall is selected for the follow-on related projects.

Rheinmetall Canada was selected to provide the hightech gear which would not only allow troops to track each other as they move throughout the battlefield, but feed communications and targeting information into their helmets or data devices they could carry.