Government accused of setting up pay-to-play contract scheme
The Bloc Québécois claims at least three Conservative party donors were handed federal contracts by the Public Works department in recent years. One of those contracts went to Montreal businessman Paul Sauvé, who says he gave $140,000 to Conservative insider Gilles Varin to lobby on his behalf. (Varin denies receiving the bonus and says all he did was pass along a resumé.) Natural Resources Minister Christian Paradis, who previously held the Public Works portfolio for the government, defended attending a fundraiser at which he congratulated Sauvé. "I can congratulate them, I can say good job," the minister said in French. "But never did I discuss the contracts with the individuals."
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