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The hiring of a U.S. firm to advise the Department of National Defence on how to improve security at its installations across the country has sparked complaints that the job could have been done for cheaper by local firms or by the military’s own police force.

Details of the almost $2-million contract to Watermark, a risk management firm in Virginia, were recently released under the Access to Information law.

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The hiring of an American company also sparked complaints to Defence Minster Harjit Sajjan from at least one Canadian security contractor, according to documents.

Photo by THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

At one point, the U.S. citizens who were to conduct the security review didn’t have the proper paperwork to enter Canada, prompting the Defence department to help smooth over their border crossing.

Public Services and Procurement Canada issued the contract to Watermark on Aug. 19, 2016 despite having dozens of similar Canadian firms on file. The contract ends August 31 of this year. There is a provision to extend the contract for another two years but it is unclear if that will be done.