RCMP probing $9-million contract awarded to a Montreal-based construction firm
A $9 million contract for renovations on Parliament Hill is now the subject of an RCMP investigation. The probe will focus on on the relationship between construction firm LM Sauvé and long-time Conservative organizer and business adviser Gilles Varin. According to internal LM Sauvé documents obtained by The Globe and Mail and Radio-Canada, LM Sauvé paid out $140,000 to Varin between 2007 and 2009, with the first payment coming one day after Public Works Canada launched a tendering process for the restoration of the West Block. Investigators will be focusing on the rules on lobbying and anti-corruption laws. Tory insiders have already said the construction firm and Varin have no links to the current Conservative government. In addition, the Harper government has said it will allow the RCMP to probe potential
breaches of the Lobbying Act and the Accountability Act.