Backgrounder: The new Procurement Ombudsman of Canada’s four priorities
Backgrounder
Image to the right:
A flow chart showing that in the past year there were 411 total contacts:
- 264 procurement-related
- 147 not procurement-related
Under the educate pillar there were 88 contacts:
- 22 on doing business with the federal government
- 20 OPO mandate and services
- 46 procurement rules and process
Under the facilitate pillar there were 141 contract inquiries:
- 117 contract award
- 24 contract administration
9 ADR Requests:
- 4 resolved through OPO's help
- 2 organisations declined
- 1 withdrawn
- 2 ongoing (Note: ADR request launched in 2016-2017 was completed in 2017-2018)
Under the investigate pillar there were 26 written complaints:
- 24 contract award
- 2 contract administration
22 complaints did not meet regulatory criteria:
- 12 award
- 10 withdrawn
4 complaints met regulatory criteria:
- 4 award:
- 2 reviews completed
- 2 reviews carried over to 2018-2019 (Note: 6 additional reviews launched in 2016-2017 were completed in 2017-2018)
Issues raised by both suppliers and federal officials
| Title | Issue | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Keeping it simple | The federal government needs to simplify its procurement processes. There are too many overlapping procurement rules, regulations, policies and trade agreements, which results in excessive time and effort to respond to a solicitation. |
| 2 | Problematic procurement tools | Procurement tools, such as standing offers and supply arrangements, can sometimes be cumbersome to use and difficult to qualify for. These tools also seem to disproportionally favour suppliers located in the National Capital Region. |
| 3 | Security clearances | Obtaining security clearance is a constant frustration. Examples include the inability to transfer clearances between departments and the length of time it takes to get one. |
Issues raised by suppliers
| Title | Issue | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | “Don’t bite the hand that feeds you” | Suppliers are hesitant to raise their procurement‑related concerns to federal organizations and oversight entities out of fear of being blacklisted from future contracting opportunities. |
| 2 | Can’t compete | Small businesses raised issues about national requirements and contract bundling. While having the potential to increase efficiencies and save the Crown money, they make it extremely difficult for small businesses to compete as a prime contractor. |
| 3 | Difficulty with innovation | Suppliers noted that it is difficult to sell innovative products to the federal government as criteria are often too stringent, or it is too difficult to educate federal officials about their innovative product. |
| 4 | Rigged solicitations | Suppliers alleged that specifications in Statements of Work seemed tailored for specific suppliers or are “rigged” to eliminate competition. |
| 5 | Not worth the costs | Canadian small businesses reported that it is often “not worth it” to do business with the federal government due to the high costs of submitting bids in relation to the overall dollar value of the contract. |
| 6 | Suppliers underbidding | Suppliers expressed frustration regarding competitors that purposely underbid to win contracts, just to raise prices afterwards through an amendment. |
| 7 | Neglecting subcontractors | Subcontractors shared their frustration about how there is no one to turn to when they run into contract issues. |
Issues raised by federal officials
| Title | Issue | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Competing objectives | Procurement officers often get pushback from program managers, who see the procurement process as an obstacle that is preventing them from doing their job. |
| 2 | Sole-source threshold too low | Federal organizations are allowed to direct a contract to a supplier for contracts of less than $25,000 – an amount that has not increased since it was established in the 1980s, despite the loss of purchasing power over the years. |
| 3 | Standardization not optimal | Federal officials have made some positive comments on the evolution of procurement tools, but generally speaking, the tools have not found the perfect balance between standardization and effectiveness. |
| 4 | Not a community yet | Procurement officers have stated that the procurement community needs to be strengthened. Resource capacity is running low, training/certification is difficult to acquire or ineffective and expectations regarding procurement officers is inconsistent across federal organizations. |
| 5 | Procurement training for everyone | Procurement officers voiced their opinion that more procurement training should be required for any public servant, regardless of role, who deals with any form of contracting. |
| 6 | Poor project planning | Procurement officers stated that a challenge they face is when they are confronted with requests that require unnecessarily short turnaround times. |
| 7 | Frustrations over furniture | Procurement officers have specifically pointed out how supply arrangements for the purchase of furniture can be particularly complicated and cumbersome to use. |