Defence Department Brushed Aside ‘Bad Optics’ Of American Contracts

 

Canadian official raised questions about whether or not CACI should be awarded federal contracts.

Canada’s Department of National Defence (DND) brushed aside concerns about a pair of controversial contracts with an American company as little more than a question of bad “optics,” records obtained by The Maple show.

As reported by The Maple in July 2025, DND announced it was awarding two contracts worth $169 million to American defence company CACI for new counter drone systems.

Eight months prior, a federal jury in the United States found that one of CACI’s subsidiaries shared responsibility with the U.S. Army for abusing Iraqi detainees at the infamous Abu Ghraib prison in 2003 and 2004.

Before the deals were announced, a Canadian official raised questions about whether or not CACI should be awarded the contracts, documents newly obtained through an access to information request reveal. But the concerns primarily centred around fears of negative publicity.

In May, Col. Chris Poole, director of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) armament sustainment program, emailed Eric German, senior director of Public Services and Procurement Canada’s munitions and tactical systems procurement directorate.

Poole noted that CACI “has been found legally responsible in a US federal lawsuit for abuse suffered at US military’s Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.”

He then listed a series of questions, including whether or not the ruling was legal grounds for DND not to award the contracts to CACI.

Poole wrote: “One of my concerns is negative publicity potentially affecting subsequent contract awards and timely delivery of capability to our soldiers.”

He also suggested that DND’s public affairs staff might be notified “just in case this breaks before we have more info.”  (more...)

Defence Department Brushed Aside ‘Bad Optics’ Of American Contracts