North American Household Goods and Effects Relocation Services

Introduction

Deloitte LLP (Deloitte) was engaged on January 15, 2019 as a fairness monitor (FM) to observe the Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) competitive procurement process for North American Household Goods and Effects Relocation Services (NHGRS), issued by Public Works and Government Services (PWGSC) under solicitation EN578-221811. Deloitte is an independent third party with respect to this activity.

The relocation services include but are not limited to the physical movement of the personal household goods and effects and personal motor vehicles of federal government employees, Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members, and Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) members between the service area of Canada to and from North American destinations (includes Canada, United States and Mexico).

NHGRS is planned to be delivered through three contracted service providers that administer the provision of relocation services to 3 client organizations (that is the Department of National Defence (DND), PWGSC’s Central Removal Services (CRS), and the RCMP.

We reviewed all information provided and observed all relevant activities conducted to date.

We hereby submit the final report covering the activities of the FM commencing with a review of the letter of interest (LOI) which is also identified as request for Information (RFI), dated April 5, 2022 , continuing through responses to industry questions, one-on-one meetings with industry participants, the request for proposal (RFP) published on August 2, 2022, the subsequent 15 amendments to the RFP (that included answers to questions from interested parties), the RFP closed on November 3, 2022, and concluding with an evaluation kickoff meeting, evaluation consensus meetings and review of technical and financial evaluation scoring on December 15, 2022.

This report includes:

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

Attestation of assurance

The FM hereby provides the unqualified assurance statement below concerning the competitive procurement process to date for NHGRS.

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

Original signed by:

Project requirement

Canada has employees and their families who are stationed throughout North America. Historically, approximately 14,000 employees are relocated to and from North American locations, including Hawaii, Alaska and Mexico each year.

This procurement is for the provision of NHGRS, which includes but is not limited to the physical movement of the personal household goods and effects and personal motor vehicles of federal government employees, CAF members, and RCMP members between the service area of Canada to and from North American destinations (includes Canada, United States and Mexico).

The relocation services include:

• pre-move consultation
• packing
• loading
• scaling
• transportation
• storage-in-transit
• long-term storage: bonded and regular (non-bonded)
• unloading
• unpacking
• replacement cost protection (insurance)
• claims settlement services

NHGRS is planned to be delivered through 3 contracted service providers that administer the provision of relocation services to the 3 client organizations (that is the DND, PWGSC’s CRS and the RCMP). The consolidation of relocation services requirements will provide Canada with a turnkey solution and management oversight for the delivery of NHGRS to its employees.

Objectives of the fairness monitoring assignment and methodology

The overall objective of the assignment is to provide an independent observation of the process and to provide fairness-related comments to the contracting authority (CA), as early as possible, so that appropriate action could be taken before fairness was impacted.

To accomplish the objective, we undertook the following activities and, where applicable, provided fairness-related comments to the CA:

• familiarized ourselves with the project governance structure and relevant background information
• reviewed the LOI documents
• reviewed responses to industry questions
• attended one-on-one sessions with industry participants;
• reviewed draft RFP
• reviewed the RFP’s 15 amendments that included answers to questions from industry
• reviewed evaluation guidance for evaluators
• observed instructions provided to RFP evaluators during 2 evaluation kickoff meetings
• observed evaluation team consensus meetings
• reviewed technical and financial evaluation documentation

Fairness monitoring engagement and observations

In accordance with the terms of our engagement, we:

• familiarized ourselves with the relevant documents
• reviewed RFP documents and amendments and answers to questions from interested parties
• identified fairness-related matters to the contracting and technical authorities
• ensured that responses and actions were reasonable and appropriate

The following describes the FM activities undertaken during the course of the engagement and our related observations.

Request for information release

From January 10, 2022 to May 5, 2022, we reviewed the LOI/RFI documents and provided fairness-related comments to the CA as required. Appropriate action was taken by the CA and no fairness deficiencies were identified.

The LOI/RFI was posted on April 5, 2022 and closed on May 9, 2022.

Request for information amendments including question and answer process

From April 13, 2022 to May 6, 2022, we reviewed the 7 LOI/RFI amendments, feedback from interested parties, as well as responses to questions from interested parties, and provided fairness-related comments to the CA as required. Appropriate action was taken by the CA and no fairness deficiencies were identified.

One-on-one sessions with industry participants

From May 25, 2022 to May 26, 2022 we attended 3 one-on-one sessions with industry participants. No fairness deficiencies were identified.

Draft request for proposal

From July 14, 2022 to July 28, 2022, we reviewed the draft RFP documents and provided fairness-related comments to the CA as required. Appropriate action was taken by the CA and no fairness deficiencies were identified. The RFP was published on August 2, 2022.

Request for proposal amendments including question and answer process

From the date that the RFP was published on August 2, 2022 to the date that the RFP closed on November 3, 2022 we reviewed the RFP’s 15 amendments that included answers to questions from interested parties, and provided fairness-related comments to the CA as required. Appropriate action was taken by the CA and no fairness deficiencies were identified.

Evaluation process

From October 28, 2022 to November 3, 2022 we reviewed evaluation guidance for evaluators. No fairness deficiencies were identified.

On November 7, 2022 and November 22, 2022 we attended 2 evaluation kickoff meetings (one for each of the 2 evaluation teams). No fairness deficiencies were identified.

On November 21, 2022 and November 28, 2022 we attended 2 evaluation consensus meetings (one for each of the 2 evaluation teams), and provided fairness-related comments to the CA as required. Appropriate action was taken by the CA and no fairness deficiencies were identified.

On December 1, 2022 we reviewed the evaluator’s technical evaluation consensus report, and the compliance assessment reports, and no fairness deficiencies were identified.

On December 15, 2022 we reviewed the financial evaluation documentation and no fairness deficiencies were identified.

Reference documents

Documents related to LOI/RFI EN578-221811-A are available on CanadaBuys or through the project office.

Documents related to RFP EN578-221811-B are available on CanadaBuys or through the project office.

Addendum to the final report

March 31, 2023

This addendum is related to the final report dated March 31, 2023 for the competitive procurement process for NHGRS.

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

On December 16, 2022 we reviewed the contract award letters to be sent to the 3 successful bidders. It should be noted that no bidders were unsuccessful. No fairness deficiencies were identified.

On January 26, 2023, PWGSC awarded contracts to the 3 successful bidders.

Attestation of assurance

The FM hereby provides the unqualified assurance statement below concerning the procurement for NHGRS.

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

Original signed by: