The CBC is reporting that the government of Quebec is being sued by the province's open-source software association - Facil. The association says the government of Quebec refuses to entertain competing bids from software providers, choosing instead to purchase products from proprietary vendors such as Microsoft and Oracle. The CBC says "Government buyers are using an exception in provincial law that allows them to buy directly from a proprietary vendor when there are no options available, but Facil said that loophole is being abused and goes against other legal requirements to buy locally." Facil president Mathieu Lutfy told the CBC that "It goes against the public markets policy of the government, which requires them to stimulate competition and look for local alternatives. It's really an absurdity." Facil estimates that the government is spending over $80 million a year on licences for Windows Vista alone!
