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The ETS Scandal is an ongoing Canadian political scandal involving alleged wrongdoing by Canadian government officials in the award of a $400-million information technology services contract and allegations of political interference in the ensuing cover-up. ==Background== In 2006, Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC), the federal department in charge of contracting information technology (IT) services, issued a request for proposal for an Engineering and Technical Services (ETS) contract. The contract would involve the right to manage and maintain PWGSC’s main computer systems and networks.〔http://www.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?DocId=3562432&Language=E&Mode=1&Parl=39&Ses=2〕 From 1999 to 2006, the firm that had been providing those services was TPG Technology Consulting Ltd (TPG), an Ottawa-based IT professional services company. After initially being ruled ineligible for bidding on the new ETS contract based on its size, TPG was finally ruled eligible after partnering with another organization. However, in the new request for proposals, the government officials overseeing the evaluation decided not to use certain standard government procurement practices, such as requiring a fairness monitor to review the evaluation process and providing a debrief once the contract was awarded.〔http://www.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?DocId=3412493&Language=E&Mode=1&Parl=39&Ses=2〕 On October 31, 2007, the $400 million contract was awarded to Montreal-based CGI Group. However, there were some inconsistencies in the scoring. Before the award of the contract, TPG raised concerns about the scoring of the technical evaluation in a press conference.〔http://www.obj.ca/Other/Archives/2007-04-16/article-2236440/TPG-files-grievance-against-Public-Works-department/1〕 Believing the process had been conducted unfairly, TPG launched a lawsuit in March 2008, raising concerns about the procurement process as well as possible political intervention, particularly from PWGSC Minister, the Honourable Michael Fortier. In his previous role as Credit Suisse First Boston’s key Montreal executive in 2004, Fortier had helped to underwrite CGI’s $858 million acquisition of AMS Inc. Based on this apparent conflict of interest, opposition parties and the media called for a public inquiry.〔http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/editorialsletters/story.html?id=143cca7f-7917-4641-9770-fee438973b1e〕 These calls were denied by the Conservative government. On June 10, 2008, Don Powell, President of TPG, testified at a Parliamentary Committee about the irregularities in the ETS procurement.〔http://www.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?DocId=3562432&Language=E&Mode=1&Parl=39&Ses=2〕 In early 2009, TPG and 17 other defendants were charged with bid-rigging〔http://www.obj.ca/Other/Archives/2009-02-17/article-2303242/UPDATE-2%3A-Seven-tech-firms-accused-of-contract-rigging/1〕 by a newly appointed Crown Prosecutor, who had run for the Progressive Conservatives in the 1997 election. This charge has been presented by the media as retribution by the government against TPG and Powell for alleging unfairness in the procurement process and a political cover-up.〔http://www.obj.ca/Other/Archives/2009-08-25/article-2301928/TPG-files-complaint-against-Crown-prosecutor-for-bid-rigging-case/1〕 Since 2009, the legal battle has continued, with more information coming out to indicate political intervention.〔http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Businessman+files+complaint+about+judge/5808643/story.html〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「ETS Scandal」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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