In a further blow to the track record of the Competition Bureau
and the Public Prosecution Service of Canada in contested criminal
trials, on April 27, 2015, a jury in the Ontario Superior Court of
Justice found nine defendants not guilty on 60 charges of
bid-rigging and conspiracy to rig bids. Another individual - David
Watts, who waived his right to a preliminary inquiry, and sought an
order directing a verdict of acquittal for himself only - was
acquitted in February, 2015 of similar charges in a directed
verdict.
The Competition Bureau had commenced a criminal inquiry in 2006
into bid-rigging allegations against 14 individuals and seven
companies, regarding allegations that the accused had coordinated
their bids for certain information technology (IT) services
contracts with the Canadian federal government. The Attorney
General filed the charges in February, 2009. One corporation had
sought immunity from the Competition Bureau
under its immunity program, in
