Canadian Dental Care Plan

In this section

• Request for information phase
• Stage 1: Invitation to qualify
• Invitation to qualify evaluation
• Stage 2: Review and refine requirements
• Stage 3: Request for proposals
• Request for proposal evaluation phase

Request for information phase

An RFI was posted via buyandsell.gc.ca on July 25, 2022, and closed on August 23, 2022. The purpose of the RFI was to inform industry of HC’s potential requirements for the CDCP, as well as to seek industry feedback. The RFI contained 37 questions to solicit feedback about various aspects of the CDCP from interested stakeholders.

Canada received 26 RFI responses by the closing date. After reviewing the responses, Canada scheduled 10 one-on-one meetings between August 30 and September 2, 2022, with respondents that were deemed to be Tier 1 insurance and/or claims processing companies, as well as with other stakeholders who requested a meeting. The purpose of the meetings was to give Canada an opportunity to ask questions regarding the RFI responses, as well as to discuss other pertinent information related to the CDCP requirements.

The FM reviewed the RFI document, and all of the responses provided by interested parties. The FM also participated in all of the one-on-one meetings with stakeholders.

No fairness issues were identified.

Stage 1: Invitation to qualify

The ITQ was posted on October 28, 2022, with a closing date of December 5, 2022. The objective of the ITQ was for Canada to select up to 3 compliant respondents who have attained the highest score. Those selected respondents would be deemed qualified suppliers and be considered for the next stages of the procurement process.

The FM reviewed the draft ITQ prior to posting and provided some fairness related comments for consideration to the contracting authority (CA). The FM reviewed the 28 questions and answers that were submitted during the ITQ posting period. These questions resulted in 3 amendments to the ITQ. The ITQ document was written in a clear and understandable manner, and all questions submitted were responded to in an understandable fashion.

Canada received 8 responses to the ITQ. Upon the initial review of the mandatory criteria, 6 responses were deemed to contain all of the necessary information, while 2 respondents were sent compliance assessment reports (CAR) in order to seek clarifications and provide an opportunity to provide any missing information in order to demonstrate compliance with the criteria that were found non-responsive. The FM reviewed the CAR, as well as the new information submitted by the respondents.

No fairness related issues were identified.

Invitation to qualify evaluation

The FM reviewed the ITQ evaluation plan, the evaluation tools and the evaluator training presentation. An information session for the evaluation teams was held on December 2, 2022, and a separate briefing was conducted for the FM on the same day. The evaluation of the bids consisted of a review of the documentation submitted by the bidders, by 1 of the 3 independent evaluation teams. Each evaluation team was assigned 1 or more criteria, and their review was independent from the other teams. The evaluation of bids began on December 6, 2022. The CA and the FM attended the consensus meetings with the evaluation teams, which took place between December 12 and December 21. Some fairness-related observations were communicated to the CA and were successfully resolved.

Following the consensus evaluation sessions, the results were forwarded to the evaluation review committee (ERC), comprised of senior executives from HC and PWGSC, for final review on December 22, 2022. The draft report submitted to the ERC was an overall summary of the results for mandatory and rated criteria. All company names were removed from the report; therefore, the ERC discussion was done anonymously to avoid any bias. The ERC provided feedback and comments to the evaluation teams, and a final consensus evaluation report was prepared and approved on January 12, 2023. No fairness related issues were identified.

The 3 successful respondents were informed on January 25, 2023, that they were qualified suppliers. The unsuccessful respondents were notified of the results of the ITQ on January 27, 2023. Three of the unsuccessful respondents requested debriefs on their ITQ results, and they were provided with written debrief letters in February and March 2023. The FM reviewed all correspondence, and no fairness related issues were identified.

Stage 2: Review and refine requirements

The purpose of the review and refine requirements (RRR) stage was to allow a more focused interaction with the qualified suppliers to further refine the requirement by addressing the qualified suppliers’ concerns and considering the qualified suppliers’ recommendations. Only the 3 qualified suppliers who were successful in the ITQ stage participated in the RRR process. The qualified suppliers signed a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) at the RRR stage, as well as a participation agreement.

The FM attended the kick-off meeting that was held on February 2, 2023, and all 3 qualified suppliers were in attendance. The RRR consisted of 6 workshops in total, where each workshop week began with an introduction for all qualified suppliers, followed by one-on-one sessions for each supplier, which were scheduled as follows:

The FM attended all the workshop sessions and reviewed all of the questions and answers prepared for each of the topics. Some fairness related observations were communicated to the CA and were successfully resolved.

Following the workshops, Canada sent updated versions of the draft RFP and statement of work (RFP Solution Inc.) to the qualified suppliers to obtain their feedback. The FM reviewed the draft documents, as well as the feedback provided from the suppliers and responses from Canada. Some fairness related observations were communicated to the CA and were successfully resolved.

During the draft RFP review period, 2 of the qualified suppliers informed Canada that they had decided not to submit a bid for this solicitation. Both suppliers indicated that the overall risk level of the program was higher than their risk tolerance. They cited factors such as financial risks, the size and scale of the program, as well as the timeline for implementation. The FM and CA reviewed all of the factors that led to this outcome and concluded that the decision was not caused by a fairness related issue.

Stage 3: Request for proposals

The RFP was initially posted via CanadaBuys (WS4053399035) on June 21, 2023, and had a closing date of July 7, 2023. Two amendments were issued, the last of which was on July 7, 2023. Questions from potential bidders were accepted and answers were provided and distributed through the amendments. The FM reviewed the RFP documents, as well as all questions and answers provided during the RFP posting period. Only 1 qualified supplier submitted a bid. No fairness issues were identified.

Request for proposal evaluation phase

Since only 1 bid was received, the originally planned technical evaluation process was not required. Instead, PWGSC and HC undertook a comprehensive technical proposal validation process to ensure it met all essential requirements, specifications and timelines outlined in the RFP and RFP Solution Inc.. Several clarifications were requested from the respondent, and additional information was provided. The validation process concluded on July 27, 2023, that the technical proposal responded to Canada’s requirements and timelines outlined in the RFP. The FM reviewed the technical bid, and all of the questions and answers during this review. No fairness related issues were identified.

Fairness monitoring activities related to contract award and debriefings

Following the RFP evaluation phase, the successful bidder entered into an early work agreement contract on August 22, 2023, and into contract negotiations with the CA and the project authority. A detailed review of all the contract requirements was conducted by all parties to the negotiation to ensure feasibility and a mutual interpretation. The project team also undertook a comprehensive cost analysis review of the bidder’s pricing with the Price Support Directorate of PWGSC. The FM reviewed the correspondence with the bidder and attended the contract review meetings on October 5, 6, 12, 13 and 19, 2023. The contract award notice was posted on CanadaBuys on December 1, 2023. No fairness issues were identified.

No debriefing meetings were requested by any bidders.

Attestation of assurance

The FM hereby provides the unqualified assurance statement below concerning the CDCP procurement process up to and including the conclusion of the contract award and debriefing activities.

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

Original signed by: