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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Questions have been raised about a federal contract awarded last year to the man now managing the Conservative campaign in Western Arctic.

Richard Bargery, campaign manager for Brendan Bell, had a sole-sourced $69,304 contract with Health Canada from Nov. 12, 2007, to May 31, 2008.

Bargery led negotiations over fees with pharmacy associations in the NWT, Yukon and Nunavut.

Questions about the contract are being asked by New Democrat incumbent MP Dennis Bevington.

Bell declined to speculate whether those questions might be part of an NDP strategy before the Oct. 14 federal election.

"There is no way for me to know or presume to know the motives and tactics of other campaigns," he said.

However, Bell said, "The timing, (a few) days before an election is interesting, I'll say that."

Bell was referring to the first news report about the contract by the CBC on Oct. 8.

However, Bevington pointed out the issue of the contract was first raised in the spring in his written questions to Health Canada, the NDP did not put out a news release on the matter and he was interviewed in early September by CBC.

The NDP didn't control when the story was released, he said. "The timing is up to CBC, not up to us."

Bevington added his legislative assistant gave a tip to a CBC reporter in August.

John Agnew, managing director with CBC North, said the story was not put in anyone's back pocket to run close to the election.

"It went to air as soon as it was finished," he said.

Agnew explained the reason for the length of time between CBC's interview with Bevington and the story airing was the reporter went on vacation in between. Once back at work on Oct. 6, the reporter arranged interviews to complete the story and it went to air on Oct. 8.

Bevington said his concern is about sole-sourced contracts.

"That's what I feel the fundamental issue is here," he said, adding such contracts could lead to abuses.

Asked if he is concerned about the contract going to the manager of a Conservative campaign, Bevington replied, "I really don't have a comment on that right now."

Bargery said the contract and his role as campaign manager are separate.

"This happened in my private life," he said of the contract.

Bargery doesn't recall the exact date he became campaign manager for Bell, who won the party's nomination in November 2007.

Earlier this year, Bevington's office found Bargery's contract on public accounts records and, in April, sent a written inquiry to Health Canada for more information and received a reply in June.

"The government of Canada has a rule that anything over $25,000 can't be a sole-sourced contract, except in the case of an emergency," the MP said.

"There wasn't really much of an emergency there," he said of the contract to Bargery.

The person set to lead negotiations with the pharmacists withdrew just weeks before the scheduled start of talks, Health Canada's information stated. "This created an immediate, and urgent, need for Health Canada to find a replacement negotiator."

Health Canada approached three qualified candidates, including Bargery. Two were unavailable and the contract went to Bargery, a former deputy minister with the GNWT.