‘Negative Trends’: Procurement Obmudsman Finds Dozens of Unethical Federal Contracting Instances

There have been dozens of instances of unethical federal contracting cited by whistleblowers in the past year, according to Procurement Ombudsman Alexander Jeglic’s annual report. “This year, stakeholders contacted my office 30 times with concerns about the behaviour of federal officials being inconsistent with the Values And Ethics Code For The Public Sector. Concerns about questionable federal procurement activities have negatively impacted public trust,” wrote Mr. Jeglic. “I remain concerned regarding negative trends related to the lack of competitive processes and deficient documentation practices that continue to pose problems and undermine transparency in federal procurement.” Mr. Jeglic, whose office reviews the practices of federal departments for acquiring goods and services, said the contracting process is “unnecessarily complex,” which has been a contributing factor in the lack of participation in solicitations since 2018....