OTTAWA — The federal procurement department has asked the RCMP to investigate at least $5 million in suspected fraud by IT sub-contractors who were billing multiple departments for the same work and taking advantage of poor data-sharing inside the go
vernment.
"The good news, if there is good news here, is that it shows that the investments in what we call electronic procurement, in data-gathering and data analytics, over the last few years are starting to work really well," Duclos said at a press conference. The government said it is not naming the individuals or departments involved to protect the integrity of the RCMP investigation.
Auditor general Karen Hogan's report on the controversial contracts found the government's record-keeping was poor and its reliance on outside contractors allowed the cost to balloon to $60 million. The guidance given to departments last fall on procuring professional services has been updated to reinforce managers' responsibilities, and a revised directive on conflict of interest will enforce that conflicts must be disclosed at the time of contracting.
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