The lawyers for seven Ottawa technology firms and 14 of their employees charged with bid-rigging, involving nearly $70 million in federal government contracts, appeared in court Tuesday.

A spokesman for TPG Technology Consulting, one of the companies charged, said the case was all about political interference.

"The charges are so serious … and this is why it concerns us even more that they would go to the extent of drumming up those fake charges," Serge Buy told CBC News. "We're concerned here about a government that circles the wagons and attacks anyone who attacks them."

Last year, TPG Technology launched a court case against the federal government for allegedly awarding a $400-million contract unfairly.

Don Powell, president of TPG who is also personally named in the charges, said he is not giving up his lawsuit against the government.

"Once you get into this and see what's right and what's wrong, I'm not going to let it go," he said.

However, Donald Plouffe, assistant deputy commissioner with the Competition Bureau said its investigation predates Powell's lawsuit.

The bureau regards bid-rigging as a top enforcement priority, Plouffe said.

"At the end of the day, it's an important matter."

The bureau alleges the accused firms secretly co-coordinated bids for $67 million worth of government work.

TPG Technology Consulting was a bidder in all 10 contracts under investigation. In 2007, TPG filed a grievance claiming the federal government had altered a competitive bid for computer support services to favour a Quebec-based firm. Servicing federal government technology contracts is a multi-billion dollar business.

In recent years, the government has tried to streamline the process, cutting out smaller firms in favour of large multi-nationals.

A pre-trial hearing in the case is scheduled to start in June.