The co-founder of Mitel says the city's procurement process is flawed to a point that Ottawa taxpayers are being negatively affected.
Terry Matthews' statements came after Mitel lost a multi-million dollar municipal phone and technology bid to Bell and Cisco.
Mitel later offered the City of Ottawa $2 million in free telephone technology with some conditions. After review by the city's fairness commissioner, the city refused the offer.
After getting legal advice, Matthews said the entire procurement process from the start was unfair.
"It was not a level playing field. This entire thing is flawed," Matthews told CTV Ottawa on Friday.
Matthews, the company's owner and chairman, wouldn't elaborate on why he considers the process to be unfair. Rather, he said his complaint would be detailed in a letter to city councillors on Monday.
Matthews told reporters he feels this is an important issue, especially for local Ottawa tech companies, adding his position is about a "desire for fairness and not for special treatment for Mitel."
Matthews said if the dispute is not resolved, he's prepared to go to court over the issue.
Coun. Rick Chiarelli said he hopes a city committee will re-examine the situation over the next couple of weeks.
Erin Kelly of the Ottawa Chamber of Commerce said others have also been complaining about the city's procurement process, especially tech companies.
With a report from CTV Ottawa's Paul Brent
