The Conservative government has pledged to closely monitor a $12-million reconstruction contract in Haiti which it doled out without a public bidding process.

The government made the promise in the House of Commons Tuesday after The Canadian Press revealed the contract was awarded to a prominent Alberta company without public tendering.

The project to build a temporary shelter for the Haitian government was given to a subsidiary of Calgary-based ATCO Ltd., which has three Conservative donors on its board of directors.

Public Works Minister Rona Ambrose told the House her department had skipped the process because of the urgency of the situation in Haiti.

The Haitian government, including several of its biggest ministries, was effectively left homeless by January's earthquake.

But opposition parties were unconvinced by the justification, accusing the government of holding a double-standard by asking the NGOs it funds to be accountable.

“This is a slap in the faces of Canadians who opened their hearts and their wallets to help Haiti,” the NDP's Paul Dewar said.

Ms. Ambrose, in turn, promised ATCO wouldn't receive any special treatment as it carries out the contract.

“Like any contract, [the government] will follow all government contracting regulations, including comparing costs, verifying supplier capacity, and conducting post-contract audits,” she said.

She said ATCO had been identified as the only supplier with the suitable expertise for such a project.

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ATCO has some political connections to the governing Conservative party, with several significant donations by high-profile board members.

The chairman of the board, Ronald Southern, has donated $3,750 to the Conservative party since 2007, including a $750 donation to Harper's 2008 riding campaign in Calgary Southwest.

The board also includes Don Mazankowski, a former finance minister under Brian Mulroney, who has donated $1,350 to the Conservatives since 2007.

The company's corporate director, Robert Booth, also made a $411 contribution to Peter MacKay's re-election campaign in 2008.

Ottawa to monitor sole-source Haiti contract - The Globe and Mail
Hm, a company with Tory connections gets given this big contract, with no bidding process, only slightly suspicious.