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Here's a tricky communication challenge: How does a tough-on-crime federal government water down controversial supplier integrity rules without appearing soft on corruption?

The easy answer is to quietly make the changes in the dog days of summer, when Parliament isn't sitting and Canadians aren't paying attention.

That may be exactly what the Conservative government is planning. Various industry sources say a key cabinet committee recently approved a new "integrity framework" after widespread complaints that its strict 10-year ban on suppliers convicted of corruption anywhere in the world is draconian and unfair.

"We are waiting to see what happens, but we're hopeful," said Warren Everson, senior vice-president of policy at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.

It's not clear when Ottawa will move, and how. Amber Irwin, a spokeswoman for Public Works Minister Diane Finley, would say only that the government would be making an announcement "in the coming weeks."

But with Parliament now in recess until after the Oct. 19 federal election, business groups are anxious to see changes in place as soon as possible.

The government is believed to be ready to modify the debarment period, create a limited appeal process and make exceptions for some crimes, such as those committed by loosely related offshore affiliates.

A tougher regime introduced last year by Public Works and Government Services Canada – Ottawa's main purchasing arm – has become a quagmire, both for the government and businesses.

The rules put at risk billions of dollars worth of federal contracts and endangered its relationship with several key suppliers, including SNC-Lavalin Group Inc., Hewlett Packard Inc., IBM Canada Ltd., Brookfield Asset Management Inc. and Siemens AG.

The threat of banishment has fanned uncertainty throughout Ottawa's vast network of suppliers. For example, companies that may have acquired businesses with previous foreign convictions risk banishment in Canada. Many may choose to not bid for fear of being punished retroactively.

"There are hundreds and hundreds of people out there who are uncertain about their situation," said Mr. Everson of the Chamber of Commerce.

"It's not in Canada's interest to see a lot of people not bidding for projects because of uncertainty."

A number of developers who lease office space to the government have balked at renewing leases until Ottawa makes changes.

The government promised action in its April budget, saying it would introduce a "government-wide integrity regime" that is "transparent, rigorous and consistent with best practices in Canada and abroad."

The government has been struggling to create a revamped set of rules that is workable, while also protecting it against unscrupulous and unethical suppliers.

Waiting until the summer recess to act may look bad. But the government is right to fix the problems it created.

Ottawa put in place an excessively rigid and sweeping regime – rules that, on paper, are tougher than in most other developed countries. Inexplicably, the government failed to anticipate that many of its leading suppliers would be caught in its policy dragnet.

Ottawa will no doubt sell the latest changes as an enhancement and a step forward for integrity in government. It will, for example, extend the policy to cover all government purchases, not just those done through Public Works.

But it doesn't have much choice.

Waiting until after the election could put at risk a range of vital government contracts, including office leases and information technology purchases. Some foreign suppliers have threatened to pull operations out of Canada. And longer-term, a range of critical defence contracts would be affected.

The good news is that there are a range of sensible steps Ottawa can take, while still disqualifying unethical suppliers.

The government could, for example, do as other countries do and create a system that allows banned suppliers to appeal a debarment decision and seek reinstatement as a supplier. And it could make a much clearer distinction between crimes committed by foreign affiliates and those more directly linked to Canadian individuals and operations.

The government can still do the right thing, even if no one is paying attention.

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