Tag: flag of Canada

Two of the three companies that competed for a federal contract to deliver job placement services for Canada's veterans were disqualified for "not having sufficient experience" — even though one of them was doing the work already for Veterans Affairs, CBC News has learned. For over a year, officials at Agilec have refused repeated interview requests and directed all inquiries from CBC News to the Department of Veterans Affairs. It was rebranded weeks after the 2015 federal election and held a series of contracts with the Ontario government. Provincial public accounts records show the company received at least $14.3 million in two separate contracts from two different departments in its last year operating as Northern Lights Canada. Wellstead said the company has not had "any issues providing services to veterans and their spouses." The two companies that lost the federal bid were the non-profit charity Canada Company and Maxsys Staffing and Consulting, which is headquartered in Montreal. Sources with knowledge of the file, who were granted anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the procurement process, said the federal government didn't examine the costing proposals from either Canada Company or Maxsys before rejecting their bids. The federal government appeared to be solidly behind the charity and invested $1.1 million in the group's online MetPathfinder system one year before the contract went to Agilec. At first, Public Services and Procurement Canada would not comment on the tender evaluations, but after repeated questions, a department spokesman confirmed the bids were rejected and suggested there were good reasons. So this is an important contract.