Justice Complex in Montreal Architectural and Engineering Services

1. Attestation of assurance

The fairness monitor (FM) hereby provides the following unqualified assurance statement concerning the competitive selection process for the Architectural and Engineering Services for the New Montréal Justice Complex (NMJC) commencing with the issuance of the Request for Proposal (RFP) until its evaluation phase.

It is our professional opinion that the competitive selection process we observed or monitored for the above activities, was carried out in a fair, open and transparent manner.

2. Project requirement

Samson was engaged on July 7, 2020 as an FM to observe the competitive acquisition process for the Architectural and Engineering Services for the NMJC, undertaken by Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) as part of solicitation EF926-210260/A. Samson and Associates is an independent third party with respect to this activity.

This report covers the activities of the FM starting with the RFP from September 4 to November 20, 2020, until the end of the proposal evaluation process on January 8, 2021.

The objective of this project is to build a new justice complex with a gross area of approximately 12,708 m² in Montreal. This building will house the Courts Administration Service and the Administrative Tribunals Support Service of Canada, as well as those of the building manager.

This new building will be built on a vacant lot, located at 46 St-Jacques Street in Montreal, in a densely built-up urban area.

We reviewed all of the information provided and observed all relevant activities subsequent to our engagement.

This report includes our attestation of assurance, a summary of the scope and objectives of our assignment, the methodologies applied and relevant observations from the activities undertaken.

3. Fairness monitoring engagement and observations

In accordance with the terms of our engagement, we familiarized ourselves with the relevant documents and observed the procurement activities (for example, the RFP and related amendments, the related questions and answers process and the bid evaluation), identifying fairness-related matters to the contracting and technical authorities, and ensuring that responses and actions were reasonable and appropriate.

3.1 Activities and observations: request for proposal phase

The RFP was posted via buyandsell.gc.ca on September 4, 2020 and had a closing date of November 20, 2020.

10 amendments were posted on buyandsell.gc.ca, the last of which was on November 18, 2020. Questions from potential bidders were accepted and answers were provided and distributed on buyandsell.gc.ca. The FM reviewed the RFP documents, as well as all questions and answers provided during the RFP posting period, to ensure that fairness considerations were satisfactorily addressed.

7 bids were submitted by interested bidders.

No fairness issues were identified.

3.2 Activities and observations: proposal evaluation phase

The FM reviewed the evaluation plan, framework, and the scoring grid. An information session for the technical evaluation team was held on November 17, 2020, which the contracting authority and FM attended. The evaluation team consisted of 3 evaluators. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a replacement assessor was part of the team.

The evaluation of the bids consisted of a review of the documentation submitted by the bidders as indicated in the RFP. In addition, an oral presentation of the bidders was evaluated in order to assess the proponent's interdisciplinary coordination and stakeholder management skills, as well as the proponent's communication and public presentation skills.

The evaluation of bids began on November 21, 2020. Of the 7 bids received as part of this procurement process, only 1 did not meet all of the mandatory criteria.

The contracting authority and the FM attended the oral presentations of the bidders as well as the consensus meetings with the evaluation team. Oral presentations by bidders took place on December 1 and 2, 2020, while consensus meetings took place from January 5 to 7, 2021.

The FM has reviewed the results of the financial evaluation as well as the summary report on the overall technical and financial evaluation produced by PWGSC on January 8, 2021 to confirm the winning bidder.

No fairness issues were identified.

4. Reference documents

Documents related to the solicitation EF926-210260/A are available on buyandsell.gc.ca and through the project office.

5. Addendum to final report

Addendum to the FM final report dated January 18, 2021 regarding the competitive selection process for the Architectural and Engineering Services for the NMJC, undertaken by PWGSC.

This Addendum to the FM final report covers the period following the conclusion of the evaluation phase, including contract award and debriefings.

Fairness monitoring activities related to contract award and debriefings

7 bids were received in response to the RFP's and only 1 bid received did not meet the mandatory requirements.

The successful bidder was informed of contract award on May 17, 2021. 6 bidders requested debriefing meetings, including the winning bidder. The FM reviewed the correspondence with bidders and participated in debriefing meetings for bidders that requested one.

Attestation of assurance

The FM hereby provides the following unqualified assurance statement concerning the competitive selection process for the Architectural and Engineering Services for the NMJC.

It is our professional opinion that the competitive selection process that we observed or monitored was carried out in a fair, open and transparent manner.