Language selection

Government of Canada / Gouvernement du Canada

Search

Procurement: Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates—April 24, 2020

Document navigation for "Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates: April 24, 2020"

On this page

Supplying the Canadian response to Covid-19

In this section

Given the extremely high global demand for Covid-19 related goods, there are many risks and challenges associated with procurement of these supplies. This situation is further complicated by export restrictions on personnel protection equipment (PPE) and other goods, which many countries have begun implementing.

In response Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) is actively engaged in identifying and strengthening a domestic supply chain for critical supplies, services and equipment and is working closely with Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) to identify and strengthen domestic manufacturing capacity.

As a result of the highly competitive marketplace, the negotiating of contracts has also evolved rapidly, with a number of terms being requested by suppliers that do not come up in the normal course of business including: [Redacted]. PSPC has been working closely with central agencies and the Department of Justice to ensure that risk is appropriately identified and managed for the Government of Canada so that front line workers get the equipment they need.

Public Services and Procurement Canada actions taken to equip essential service workers with the supplies and equipment they need to combat Covid-19

The Government of Canada is collaborating with provinces and territories on an ongoing basis to identify their needs and purchase required equipment, supplies, and services to combat Covid-19.

As the Government of Canada’s central purchaser, PSPC is spearheading the consolidated purchase of emergency supplies and services required for Canada, including at the federal, provincial and territorial levels.

PSPC has stood-up a dedicated team of procurement specialists who are implementing flexible procurement approaches to best meet Canada’s needs. We are awarding contracts in order to ensure we are acquiring the goods and services that front line workers need, including personnel protective equipment, medical equipment, nursing and support services, air charters, accommodations, transportation, and security.

In addition to leveraging existing supply sources, we are proactively engaging industry to help meet Canada’s needs and ensure suppliers globally have a clear pathway through our BuyandSell website to connect with the Government of Canada if they are able to supply goods and services that may be of use.

A call to suppliers was posted to the Government of Canada’s BuyandSell webpage on March 12. To date we have received more than 26,000 responses to the call-out. (buy and sell)

By working directly with both new and existing suppliers and manufacturers, mobilizing Canadian industry and ensuring that suppliers have a clear pathway to supply goods and services that may be of use in response to Covid-19, we have placed orders and received millions of PPE supplies including masks, gloves and gowns.

PSPC is negotiating contracts with manufacturers who have stepped up with offers to retool their facilities to meet Canada’s needs. To date, we’ve established 13 contracts with Canadian manufacturers and negotiations are underway with others.

Repatriation efforts

As the Covid-19 crisis has evolved rapidly, with increasing border restrictions and fewer commercial air carrier options for Canadian travellers, we changed our approach to securing transportation for stranded Canadians. The department has put in place contracts with air charters on behalf of Global Affairs Canada to transport Canadian citizens home from around the world. Given that domestic airlines now have capacity, the government is negotiating with them to repatriate Canadian nationals and/or family members and permanent residents.

Roles and responsibilities of other federal departments and agencies

The Government of Canada is leading a coordinated approach to provide needed supplies and equipment across the country. This involves PSPC, the Public Health Agency of Canada, Health Canada, ISED, the National Research Council of Canada, and Public Safety Canada. Global Affairs Canada is also implicated in the repatriation of Canadians.

Public Services and Procurement Canada

Public Health Agency of Canada

Health Canada

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada

National Research Council of Canada

Public Safety Canada

Global Affairs Canada

Future considerations

Our procurement approach has evolved with respect to responding to the Covid-19 pandemic and our efforts have provided important experience for future emergency planning, including the need to continue to leverage a combination of international and domestic supply chains.

We must also continue to work closely and collaboratively with our provincial and territorial partners.

These activities are key to making sure that Canada stands ready.

Partnerships

In this section

Key messages

Amazon Canada, Purolator and Canada Post

Messages

Health and safety

Our government believes that every Canadian has the right to a safe and healthy workplace. We fully expect Amazon Canada to follow the guidelines put forward by Canada’s public health organizations and protect their workers during this crisis.

On April 1, 2020, PSPC, on behalf of the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), signed a $5 million contract with Amazon Canada to efficiently get health care professionals the personal protection equipment (PPE) and supplies they need to protect themselves and continue caring for Canadians during the COVID-19 pandemic. PHAC will maintain oversight of all orders from provinces and territories to ensure supplies are distributed appropriately.

The agreement with Amazon Canada allows access to its technology interface where supplies will be catalogued and registered to allow provincial and territorial health authorities to order them directly through the Amazon business store.

The delivery of PPE and supplies ordered by PSPC will be done by Purolator for large shipments on pallets and by Canada Post for smaller shipments such as a box. PPE and supplies will be warehoused at the facility of Maritime Ontario in Brampton, where the technology of Amazon has been installed for the orders of provincial and territorial health authorities. Maritime Ontario is an on-going key sub-contractor of Canada Post.

Amazon Canada is offering their assistance to Canada for no profit until June 30, 2020. Fees beyond June 30 will be less than Amazon Canada’s standard commercial fees, and will be determined before May 30. The bulk of the $5M announced is to pay Purolator or Canada Post for transportation charges.

Canadian Embassy in China

With the global market being challenged by the overwhelming need for medical supplies, Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) has been working closely with Global Affairs Canada (GAC) in Ottawa, the Canadian Embassy in Beijing and the Canadian consulates in Shanghai and Guangzhou. This collaboration is intended to help navigate and expedite the rapidly changing environment in China when it comes to the supply of personal protection equipment (PPE) such as masks, gowns, swabs, test kits, and other products needed in Canada in support of the COVID-19 pandemic.

To support these efforts, PSPC has engaged a broker and various experts to help officials navigate what had suddenly become the world's most competitive industry. They are assisting Canada to identify sources of supply that will meet Canadian standards, secure the supply chain and to help through the export process.

Through 2 morning and evening teleconferences, we are taking stock of the status of planned shipments to the warehouse at the airport to assist with the planning of flights from Shanghai to Canada, identify issues and find solutions or mitigations. This provides 24/7 coverage.

As of end of day April 19, 2020, we have had 10 flights so far from Shanghai to Canada and we have entered into contractual arrangements with Cargojet and Air Canada to provide sufficient capacity going forward.

Bolloré Logistics

At the end of March, PSPC entered into a contract with Bolloré Logistics Canada Inc using established emergency contracting authorities to provide urgent logistics and transportation services related to the procurement of PPE and medical supplies from China.

Bolloré Logistics Canada Inc is on a standing offer with the Government of Canada for freight and cargo services and was selected due to its previous experience providing brokerage services to Canada and its significant footprint in China. The decision was based on minimizing risks and on the urgency of the requirement.

We are making adjustments as we go based on the evolving situation on the ground. Given the urgency of delivering products to Canada and the challenging procurement circumstances in China, we are proceeding cautiously to avoid inserting additional complexity into the process, keeping in mind that our immediate priorities are expediency and minimizing risks.

Airlift from China

As of end of day April 17, 2020, we have had 8 flights so far from Shanghai to Canada and we have entered into contractual arrangements with Cargojet and Air Canada to provide sufficient capacity going forward. The first 2 flights organized as part of this effort arrived in Toronto on April 1 and April 6, delivering a resupply of personal protective equipment. The April 6 flight arrived with approximately 8 million surgical masks ordered by the federal government, and other orders made directly by the governments of Ontario, Nova Scotia and Quebec. When Cargojet flight 1392 touched down in Hamilton on April 11, along with 3 Air Canada flights on April 12 and 13, it brought in large quantities of N95 respirator masks to help in the fight against COVID-19.

More flights are being arranged on a regular basis.

On April 11, Air Canada publicly announced that it was boosting its cargo capacity by stripping the seats out of 3 of its enormous Boeing 777 aircraft to double their cargo capacity. "Bringing critical medical and other vital supplies rapidly to Canada and helping distribute them across the country is imperative to combating the COVID-19 crisis," Tim Strauss, vice-president of cargo at Air Canada, said in a statement.

Domestic capacity

In this section

Key message

Our goal is to be over prepared and we are ordering supplies in anticipation of future needs, while at the same time directly supporting Canadian industry to scale-up and re-tool to build domestic capacity.

Background

Thousands of firms and individuals have reached out in response to the government’s call to action to offer support for personal protective equipment.

Companies with a viable product or service are being triaged into one of 3 places:

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) is leading the Plan to Mobilize Industry to fight Covid-19 and is introducing new measures to directly support businesses to rapidly scale up production or retool their manufacturing lines to develop products made in Canada that will help in the fight against COVID-19. Amongst these measures, the Strategic Innovation Fund will deliver direct support to Canadian companies for large-scale projects; and Innovative Solutions Canada will be helping companies commercialize products more quickly.

To date, PSPC has placed orders for millions of key items, such as masks, tests, and ventilators, and we have established agreements with Canadian companies that are stepping up to support Canada’s efforts to combat COVID-19:

Canadian entrepreneurs: Pivoting to personal protective equipment production

Canada Goose

Canada Goose has announced its plans to ramp up domestic production of personal protection equipment (PPE) for frontline healthcare workers across Canada. Over the next 2 weeks, the company will begin to reopen all of its 8 Canadian facilities. Once operating at full capacity, as many as 900 employees will be working to support these efforts.

Canada Goose has signed supply contracts directly with the provinces. Additionally, it will be delivering 246,000 gowns by May 22, at cost, to the Government of Canada. Any unintentional profits potentially derived from efficiencies will be donated to national COVID-19 relief funds.

This announcement builds on its commitment to manufacture and donate 14,000 units of gowns and scrubs at no charge. Produced in 2 of its Toronto and Winnipeg facilities, product shipments to hospitals and healthcare facilities across Canada began this week.

Bauer

Located in Blainville, Quebec, Bauer has shifted its ice-hockey skate production lines to make face shields for front-line healthcare workers. Canada has ordered a quantity of 1M face shields from Bauer.

Stanfield’s Ltd.

An historic Canadian undergarment factory famed for long johns and boxer shorts is about to rapidly reinvent itself as a domestic producer of medical gowns.

Jon Stanfield, the chief executive of the fifth-generation family firm, said in an interview he’s already sourced approved fabric from nearby Intertape Polymer, and is ready to be producing medical clothing within days. Stanfield said the firm has patterns and machinery that would initially produce more than 2,000 gowns daily per shift to help feed a Canadian demand for garments that emerged after the pandemic sliced supply from China.

In the 1890s, the company invented shrink-proof heavy woolen underwear used by workers during the Klondike gold rush; in the First World War, the factory was converted to provide wool blankets to keep soldiers warm in the trenches; and in Second World War, it supplied base layers of underclothing.

CAE Inc.

CAE Inc. (formerly Canadian Aviation Electronics) is a Canadian manufacturer of simulation technologies, modelling technologies and training services to airlines, aircraft manufacturers, healthcare specialists, and defence customers. CAE was founded in 1947 and is situated in Quebec.

CAE has proposed an innovative ventilator design that will leverage its capability as a powerhouse manufacturer and vast supply chain, while leveraging 3D printing technology. PSPC has put a contract in place for 10,000 units. To develop and manufacture this ventilator, CAE has engaged over 100 of its employees to work on engineering, procurement, manufacturing facilities, testing, configuration management, etc.

Supply chain for personal protective equipment

In this section

Key messages

If pressed on faulty medical supplies

International context: Buying in China

Countries around the world are competing aggressively to acquire personal protection equipment (PPE) from a finite number of suppliers, many of which are located in China. This is resulting in a complex and unpredictable supply chain. At the same time, industry is trying to scale up to meet the demand, which means new players are emerging rapidly.

Normally, Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) would procure goods exclusively through Canadian distributors, but given the rapidly changing market conditions, the emergence of new players, and the shortage of supply, PSPC can no longer rely solely on Canadian distributors to obtain these goods. Departmental officials are working closely with partners in other countries, including embassies. This on-the-ground support and expertise is proving invaluable as diplomatic staff and external partners assist in vetting companies in advance to better ensure quality.

Additional on-the ground support is in place to ensure product delivery, as well as logistics and warehousing expertise that help to secure our shipments and bring them to Canada. This support includes receiving product as it comes off production lines, quickly inspecting for quality, arranging for shipment to a warehouse PSPC has secured at the airport and actively securing customs clearance.

Countries have begun implementing export restrictions on the goods critical to combating COVID-19, such as PPE. This environment has made it increasingly challenging to source and acquire the PPE that Canada needs. This is why we have been collaborating with provinces and territories on an ongoing basis to identify their needs and establish bulk buys to purchase required equipment, supplies, and services to combat COVID-19.

By working directly with both new and existing suppliers and manufacturers, mobilizing Canadian industry and ensuring that suppliers have a clear pathway to supply goods and services that may be of use in response to COVID-19, we have placed orders and received millions of PPE supplies including masks, gloves and gowns.

Quality assurance

Our main priority is making sure we get safe, effective equipment and supplies into the hands of front-line healthcare workers. Given the high level of complexity in the global supply chain due to extremely high demand, new suppliers entering the market, and multiple countries competing for the same items, ensuring quality of the product PSPC is purchasing is extremely important.

Quality assurance is happening at multiple points. First, manufacturers are required to certify that they are meeting specific standards and requirements. Second, new controls introduced by the Chinese government require additional oversight before products are cleared for export. And third, PSPC is working closely with the Public Health Agency of Canada and Health Canada on all purchases, to ensure they meet standards and requirements. Once products are delivered, the Public Health Agency of Canada unpacks and inspects items before they are distributed for use.

We have had challenges with respect to quality of goods for both N95 respirators and with test swabs. In both cases we took immediate action including suspending orders with certain manufacturers, and working closely with others to ensure that production issues are identified and corrected as soon as possible. PSPC, PHAC, and Health Canada are taking strong measures to ensure that defective product will not be distributed to frontline workers.

With regard to the N95 respirators that arrived with strap and air filtration issues, we took immediate action to suspend all orders from certain manufacturers, and are working to address quality issues through the supply chain.

With respect to the contaminated testing swabs received, we have signed a contract with PAMA Manufacturing of Mirabel, Quebec, for the sterilization of up to 960,000 swabs.

Testing of material in Canada: Public Health Agency of Canada

PHAC is the lead with respect to testing material in Canada, and specific questions on this matter should be directed to PHAC officials.

Buyandsell website: COVID-19 activities

Key messages

If pressed on timelines: We must make sure that the equipment that our frontline workers rely on is high quality, so they can stay safe, and keep us safe too. That is why we have strong processes in place to ensure that the supplies we procure meet the necessary standards.

Role

Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) is proactively engaging industry to help meet Canada’s needs and ensure suppliers have a clear pathway through our BuyandSell website to connect with the Government of Canada if they are able to supply goods and services that may be of use.

The Government of Canada needs information about products and services that businesses can supply in support of Canada’s response to COVID-19. This includes personal protection equipment (PPE), like disposable N95 masks, vinyl gloves and hand sanitizer. It also includes different services, such as security, nursing, and food services. The full list is posted on Buyandsell.gc.ca. Information regarding product specifications is also available on the website.

A call to suppliers was posted to the Government of Canada’s BuyandSell webpage on March 12. As of April 21, we have received more than 28,000 responses to the call-out, of which more than 16,000 are domestic responses.

Process for receiving, assessing and triaging requests

A centralized approach allows us to receive, assess and triage information in a systematic manner.

Forms submitted online are uploaded into a database that identifies company names, product(s) available, quantities and contact information.

The information provided by domestic suppliers is assessed and triaged into 4 tiers. A total of 16,277 domestic forms, comprising all domestic forms submitted up to 5 pm (Eastern daylight time (EDT)/Ottawa time) on April 21, have been triaged (triaging done by PwC; numbers in brackets represent total companies in each tier):

Contacting companies

An email was sent to domestic applicants on April 23, 2020, to inform them that they should expect to hear from PSPC officials shortly in order to obtain more information on their submission.

Note

Not all domestic applicants received the email. We found roughly 800 to 1,000 email addresses that were invalid or problematic, and we are exploring options to deal with these in an alternate manner.

Note that PSPC officials have communicated with nearly all tier 1 companies and most tier 2 companies. We are also contacting, tier 3 companies. To-date we have contacted more than 6,300 (nearly 39%) of all domestic companies who have submitted forms.

Status of contracts (as of 3 pm EDT April 23)—6,305 total:

In addition, we have responded to just over 6,000 (6,037) emails to our generic inbox (bpme.osme@tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca) and thousands of phone calls to our hotline (1‑800‑811‑1148) since the start of the pandemic.

Officials from Public Services and Procurement Canada are currently contacting domestic companies who submitted proposals to obtain additional information. This is particularly true of those offering PPE. In those situations officials are contacting companies to obtain information such as:

Assessed and prioritized submissions are then provided to a dedicated procurement team for further review and action. In those instances, procurement officers will directly contact companies for commodities that are needed in order to:

To date, the focus has been on procuring PPEs and other commodities deemed urgent or critical (for example, transportation services to repatriate Canadians).

Domestic companies: Defined

A response is considered to be from a domestic company (or source) when:

Contracts awarded

To date, approximately 286 contracts have been awarded (primarily for PPE). Of these 137, 129 (48%) have been awarded to companies that submitted forms through the COVID-19 call to action page.

Additional Information: Suppliers communicating with Public Services and Procurement Canada

Communication with suppliers is centralized through a generic email address (bpme-osme@tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca) on the COVID-19 Buyandsell webpage. Companies can ask questions, check on the status of their submission or provide new information (quantities, specifications, etc.) to be included in the database.

As communication with suppliers is key to the success of this initiative, we have sent an email to all domestic applicants, and are working to contact each one of them to obtain more information on their submissions.

For companies offering goods or services that are not urgent at the moment but may be in time (for example, editing or translation services, or offering artificial intelligence (AI) solutions), we are contacting them to acknowledge their submission, keep their information on file and to encourage them to register to the automated email notification service on Buyandsell. We are also encouraging them to avail themselves of the services provided by the Office of Small and Medium Enterprises (OSME) to learn about how to participate in federal procurement.

Donations: How they are being used

The Government of Canada is receiving donations of medical supplies both internationally and domestically from companies and is working to make them available for use by frontline healthcare workers.

Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) is leading the co-ordination of donations of medical supplies and equipment in partnership with a number of key partners including the Canadian Red Cross, and the Canadian Armed Forces.

Individuals, businesses and other organizations can contact PHAC through the Donations to help combat COVID-19 portal on the Government of Canada website. A representative of the PHAC personal protection equipment (PPE) donation team will follow-up with the potential donor to guide them through the process.

Donated medical supplies received by PHAC are reviewed by an interdepartmental, multidisciplinary technical assessment committee to verify that they meet the Government of Canada technical specifications for COVID-19 as available on the Public Services and Procurement Canada’s buy and sell website.

The process for verification varies depending on the medical device. For example, KN95 respirators, as an accepted alternative to N95 respirators, are visually inspected to verify for defects in design and construction, and tested to confirm they meet specifications for filtering face pieces. Gowns and surgical masks are visually inspected and tested for fluid penetration.

Assessed supplies that meet the appropriate technical specifications are deployed to provinces and territories following an agreed upon allocation strategy. Donations are shipped with documentation that identifies the contents as donated material and confirms that the specifications are met. Where necessary, documentation is included offering instructions for use.

For example, donations received from China will have labelling in Mandarin. To ensure rapid deployment, PHAC is not able to re-label each individual item. To that end, provinces and territories are advised to follow the PHAC instructions provided with the donated supplies, conducting the appropriate training with frontline healthcare workers.

PHAC has received some supplies that do not meet Government of Canada specifications. Although such products are non-compliant for frontline healthcare response, they are subsequently assessed to determine potential use in non-healthcare settings.

To date, PHAC has received donations of gloves, masks, and other PPE from generous donors such as the Jack Ma Foundation/Alibaba, Home Depot, Apple, CBC/Radio-Canada, Shell, AstraZeneca, Bell Canada, Shell and many others. We expect this number to grow as Canadians and our friends answer the call to make a difference.

Key legislation

In this section

Department of Public Works and Government Services Act

Sections 6 and 7 of this legislation outline in detail the powers, duties and functions of the minister including the acquisition and provision of services for departments; planning and organizing of the provision of materiel and services required by departments; acquisition and provision of printing and publishing services for departments; and construction, maintenance and repair of public works, and federal real property. In addition, section 9 gives the minister the exclusive authority for the acquisition of goods.

Sections 20 and 21 provide the necessary contracting powers of the minister, including the power to fix terms and conditions of contracts, and instructions, terms and conditions with respect to other documents relating to contracts and their formation. Section 22 gives the minister the power to incorporate contractual clauses by reference.

Order in Council—Expanded application of ministerial procurement authorities.

March 2020—An order in council was approved so that during the COVID-19 emergency, the Minister of PSPC may procure on behalf of any person or any body. This is an expansion of her current authority to procure on behalf of other federal departments/agencies, provincial/territorial/municipal governments, and international bodies

Treasury Board Policy—Expanded emergencies contracting limits:

Defence Production Act

With respect to the Defence Production Act (DPA), this only applies to the military defence of Canada—not to a pandemic. Unlike the Defense Production Act in the United States, our act does not provide powers over industry and sources of supply in times of national emergency.

The Minister of Public Services and Procurement is responsible for the administration of the DPA and the exclusive authority to buy or otherwise acquire defence supplies and construct defence projects required by the Department of National Defence, subject to exceptions listed at subsection 10(2) of the DPA. All PSPC contracts for defence supplies or projects are governed by the provisions of the DPA.

The DPA includes the following 3 parts:

Under Part 1 of the DPA, section 11 permits the minister, if authorized by the governor in council, to do or undertake, on behalf of an associated government, any act or thing that the minister is empowered to do or undertake under the act. Sections 12 to 15 deal with the minister's mandate to organize and control the Canadian defence industry. Section 16 provides wide powers to the minister with respect to the procurement, production or disposal of defence supplies or defence projects. Sections 21 to 25 deal with the administration of defence contracts including an ability to set price, and require audits.

Emergencies Act

Each province has its own legislation on emergencies, which usually specify the responsibility of each level of government (municipal, provincial and federal). At the federal level, the Emergencies Act sets out the roles of each federal department, to assure an effective response.

The Emergencies Act was passed by Parliament in 1988 and is a federal law that can be used in the event of a national emergency. It replaced the War Measures Act, which was repealed when the Emergencies Act become law in 1988. To date, the Emergencies Act has never been used.

There are 4 types of national emergencies: a public welfare emergency, a public order emergency, an international emergency and a war emergency. The federal government, under the leadership of the Department of Public Safety, can assist with any type of emergency.

In the context of the COVID-19 situation, the applicable emergency is that of public welfare dealing with threats to the life, health or safety of Canadians: “an urgent and critical situation of a temporary nature that seriously endangers the lives, health and safety of Canadians and is of such proportions or nature as to exceed the capacity or authority of a province to deal with it … and that cannot be effectively dealt with under any other law of Canada”.

Under the Emergencies Act, once the government makes a formal declaration, the declaration is in place for a limited period of time, subject to oversight by parliament. In the case of COVID-19, that time limit is 90 days, however parliament can revoke it at any time, as can the government. Any extension of the declaration must be confirmed by parliament.

In addition, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms applies during a declaration of an emergency, and continues to protect fundamental individual rights as the Government of Canada takes the necessary steps to safeguard the health and safety of Canadians.

Looking forward to post COVID-19 for procurement

In this section

Procurement activities

Looking forward beyond the immediate emergency brought on by COVID-19, procurement will play a critical role in ensuring a quick and full recovery of the Canadian economy.

Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) will continue working with other government departments to ensure that their procurement needs are actioned quickly. For example, partnerships with Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED) will continue as the government continues to leverage Canadian innovation and ingenuity through the Innovative Solutions Canada programs. There will also be contracts established, such as the one awarded to Medicom Canada, to continue to strengthen Canada’s domestic capacity to respond to another pandemic, or a potential re-appearance of COVID-19.

The current challenges and constraints to the procurement of personal protection equipment (PPE) are providing a number of lessons learned that will likely impact future procurement activities:

In addition to potential changes in procurement activities, it can be expected that the guidelines being developed to support the transition back to work will drive demand for new and additional PPE, equipment and goods.

As overall government operations resume, PSPC will continue playing an important role in ensuring that contracts are competed, awarded, and managed so that the goods and services that are provided to Canadians continue to be provided. PSPC will pursue delivering on the government’s mandate in a number of key procurement areas:

Modernizing procurement

Defence

Indigenous

Create a new target to have at least 5% of federal contracts awarded to businesses managed and led by Indigenous Peoples

Climate change

Skills and trade

Develop a proposal to require that government suppliers participate in the Canadian Apprenticeship Service, and require that federal construction contracts meet targets for greater inclusion of women in the trades.

Future reporting requirements

PSPC will be working closely with central agencies and other government departments to ensure that appropriate measures have been put in place to deliver on reporting requirements.

From a procurement standpoint, there are a number of existing requirements that PSPC will continue to meet including those for the Public Accounts of Canada, departmental reporting, as well as other requirements to report on specific activities to central agencies, such as the use of an emergency contracting authority.

The response to COVID-19 procurement has necessitated the use of tracking tools and the development of different tracking reports. As an example, new reports have been developed to track supplies through the logistical process, from production to export and custom inspections, shipments and deliveries.

Post COVID-19, PSPC will draw lessons learned from these reporting activities and carry forward best practices.

Future audit requirements

It is anticipated that future audits and evaluations could focus on the use of non-traditional procurement authorities with an emphasis on the documentation, due diligence and controls used in exercising special authorities granted during this COVID period.

Another potential avenue of audit activity could involve work on lessons learned on COVID, to continue efforts that worked well and to identify potential areas to better prepare for the next emergency and/or pandemic.

Document navigation for "Procurement "

Page details

Date modified: