Victoria Class Trainer In-Service Support Renewal Requirement

Attestation of assurance

The fairness monitor (FM) hereby provides the below unqualified assurance statement concerning the competitive procurement process of the Victoria Class Trainer In-Service Support Renewal Requirement.

It is our professional opinion that the request for proposal (RFP) phase that we observed or monitored was carried out in a fair, open and transparent manner.

Project requirement

BDO Canada LLP was engaged on February 17, 2021 as a FM to observe the competitive procurement process for the Victoria Class Trainer In-Service Support Renewal Requirement, issued by Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) on behalf of Department of National Defence under solicitation number W8482-195554/A . BDO is an independent third party with respect to this activity.

This report covers the activities of the FM, during the RFP phase from February 17, 2021 up to the conclusion of the evaluation phase on October 15, 2021.

We reviewed all of the information provided and observed or monitored all relevant activities.

This report includes our:

• attestation of assurance
• a summary of the scope and objectives of our assignment
• relevant observations from the activities undertaken

Fairness monitoring engagement and observations

In accordance with the terms of our engagement, we familiarized ourselves with the relevant documents, observed the pre-bid and bid solicitation activities, identifying fairness-related matters to the contracting authority (CA) and ensuring that responses and actions were reasonable and appropriate.

The following is a summary of the monitored activities and related observations from the process start date of February 17, 2021 continuing through the end of the evaluation phase that concluded on October 15, 2021.

In this section

• Request for proposal
• Bid open period
• Bid evaluation
• Fairness monitor observations

Request for proposal

During the RFP phase, the FM was provided with the following documents for review:

• draft and final RFP documents
• clarification questions and answers during bid open period
• addenda
• correspondence with industry

Bid open period

The RFP was posted on buyandsell.gc.ca on June 14, 2021. During the bid open period, 5 amendments were issued responding to all clarification questions.

In RFP amendment 3, issued on July 21, 2021, the solicitation closing date was extended to August 31, 2021.

One response was received by the solicitation closing date and time.

Bid evaluation

The FM attended the consensus evaluation meeting on October 15, 2021.

The following process was undertaken to evaluate the technical responses to the RFP:

• all 3 evaluators conducted their own independent review and scoring of the response in their evaluator workbook
• once the independent reviews were completed, the evaluators participated in the meeting to agree on the consensus assessment
• evaluators recorded and marked any changes agreed to during consensus in their individual workbooks
• the CA confirmed with each member of the evaluation team that they were in agreement with the final consensus scores and rationale
• the one-bid submission was declared responsive

Fairness monitor observations

The FM reviewed the draft and final RFP documents and all draft amendments to the RFP including responses to clarification questions.

Any requests for clarification from the potential bidders during the bid open period were addressed via amendments by the CA.

Any observations or requests for clarification made by the FM were addressed by the CA. The CA was responsive in providing clarification when requested by the FM.

The CA confirmed to the FM that the bid was assessed in accordance with the entire requirement of the bid solicitation including the technical and financial evaluation criteria.

The FM’s review of documents and monitoring of activities during the RFP evaluation phase resulted in the following observations:

• the evaluation plan was consistent with the published procurement documents
• the evaluation team members were chosen and confirmed prior to the receipt of responses
• evaluation orientation material was provided to all evaluators
• the scoring criteria and assessment tools were established prior to the receipt of responses and were consistent with the RFP

All observations on potential fairness issues were addressed during the open bid period up to the conclusion of the evaluation phase.

Reference documents

Documents related to solicitation number W8482-195554/A are available on CanadaBuys or through the project office.

Addendum to the final report

December 7, 2021

Addendum to the FM final report dated November 12, 2021, for the Victoria Class Trainer In-Service Support Renewal Requirement procurement process.

This addendum covers the period following the conclusion of the evaluation phase including contract award.

Contract award, communications, and debriefing

The contract was awarded and sent to MDA Systems LTD on October 29, 2021. The FM reviewed the correspondence with MDA Systems LTD. The process conducted was conformed to the requirements of the RFP. No debriefing was requested. The bidder was treated fairly.

Attestation of assurance

The FM hereby provides the below unqualified assurance statement concerning the competitive procurement process for the Victoria Class Trainer In-Service Support Renewal Requirement concluding on October 29, 2021.

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