Permanent Resident Cards

1. Attestation of assurance

The fairness monitor (FM) hereby provides the following unqualified assurance statement concerning the competitive selection process for the Permanent resident (PR) cards commencing with the industry engagement phase until the conclusion of the request for proposal (RFP) evaluation.

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 January 22, 2020 as a FM to observe the competitive acquisition process for the permanent resident (PR) cards , undertaken by Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC), on behalf of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). Samson is an independent third party with respect to this activity.

This report covers the activities of the FM from January 22, 2020 to November 29, 2020. The request for information (RFI) was issued under solicitation B8362-190251/A on November 29, 2019 and had a closing date of January 15, 2020, prior to our engagement. However, we subsequently reviewed the related documentation available to bidders. The RFP was issued on August 6, 2020 as solicitation number B8362-190251/B.

The Government of Canada (GC) currently issues centrally personalized machine-readable travel documents, called PR cards through the Permanent Resident Program Division of IRCC. The card is designed to meet the International Civil Aviation Organization standards.

Canada recognizes that the evolving international environment has created increasingly sophisticated threats to the security and integrity of the Canadian PR card. In order to increase the security of Canadian PR cards and maintain their integrity as a means of identifying Canadian permanent residents, Canada is exploring options for the production of a highly secure PR card.

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
• the relevant observations from the activities undertaken

3. Methodology

In accordance with the terms of our engagement, we familiarized ourselves with the relevant documents and observed the procurement activities (for example: RFI, RFP document and related questions and answers), 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: Industry engagement

The RFI, issued as solicitation number B8362-190251/A, was published on November 29, 2019 and had a closing date of January 15, 2020.

The GC received RFI responses from 2 firms. Canada submitted follow-up questions to both respondents on January 27 and 28, 2020 in preparation for the 1-on-1 sessions. The questions were reviewed by the FM prior to release. Both firms had 1-on-1 meetings on January 29, 2020 and February 3, 2020, which the FM attended.

No fairness issues were identified.

3.2 Activities and observations: Request for proposal

The RFP was posted via buyandsell.gc.ca August 6, 2020 and had a closing date of September 30, 2020. The closing date was extended through amendment until October 28, 2020. The FM reviewed the RFP documents prior to their publication.

Questions from the potential bidders were accepted and answers were provided and distributed via buyandsell.gc.ca prior to the closing date. The FM reviewed all questions and answers provided during the RFP posting period to ensure fairness-related considerations were satisfactorily addressed.

There were 10 amendments issued during the RFP phase and 37 questions were responded to through the amendments. The responses to the questions were reviewed by the FM prior to release.

No fairness issues were identified.

3.3 Activities and observations: Evaluation

A pre-evaluation briefing was held on November 9, 2020 by the contracting authority with the technical evaluators to review roles and responsibilities.  While the FM was not in attendance, he reviewed all the supporting documentation which was clear and comprehensive. Additionally, prior to the initiation of the final consensus meetings, the requirements of the evaluation process were reviewed with the evaluators in the presence of the contracting authority and the FM.

There was only 1 response submitted to the RFP.

Evaluators conducted their individual evaluations separately and met virtually on January 21 and 25, 2021 for the consensus meetings, which the contracting authority and the FM attended. As a result of the consensus the sole bidder was deemed responsive.

No fairness issues were identified.

4. Reference documents

Documents related to the solicitation B8362-190251/B are available on buyandsell.gc.ca or through the project office.

5. Addendum to final report

July 21, 2021

Addendum to the FM final report dated March 2, 2021 regarding the competitive selection process for the PR Cards.

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

There was only 1 bid received in response to the request for proposal. The sole bid was deemed responsive. The successful bidder was announced and the contract awarded on June 24, 2021.

An email was sent on June 16, 2021 to advise the successful bidder. The email also provided the evaluation grid detailing the technical evaluation scores for each rated criteria and the results of the evaluation. The information set out in the email was provided to the bidder as a debriefing regarding the outcome of this solicitation. The FM reviewed all communications to bidders and attended debriefings.

The debriefing process concluded June 16, 2021.

Attestation of assurance

The FM hereby provides the following unqualified assurance statement concerning the competitive selection process for the PR Cards.

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.