Supplying the Canadian response to COVID-19: Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates—July 23, 2020
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As the Government of Canada’s central purchaser, Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) is procuring goods and services required by federal departments and agencies, such as personnel protective equipment (PPE), medical equipment, nursing and support services, air charters, accommodations, transportation, and security. This includes procuring significant quantities of PPE and medical supplies on behalf of the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), for distribution to provinces and territories. In some cases, PSPC may procure pandemic-related supplies and equipment earmarked for provinces, territories, municipalities, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), industry etc.
The surge in global demand for PPE and medical supplies due to the pandemic has resulted in a highly competitive marketplace and volatile supply chains. COVID-19 related procurements have been carried out under a national security exception (NSE). An urgent and accelerated timeline for contracting has been required in many cases, and solicitation documents have not been published on the Government of Canada’s Buy and sell website. PSPC has engaged the domestic and international supply communities through other means.
Notably, a call to action was posted on the Buy and sell webpage from March 12 to July 10, 2020, to seek information on the ability of suppliers to provide emergency products and services. More than 26,000 unique responses were received, including nearly 17,000 from Canadian suppliers. PSPC has signed nearly 150 contracts with companies around the world as a result of the call to action; the majority of these were awarded to Canadian suppliers.
As PSPC enters the next phase of the response for COVID-19 related procurements, the priority is to revert to competitive procurement processes and post solicitation documents on the Buy and sell webpage, particularly where the timeline to secure a particular good or service allows for more flexibility or the search for information or sources of supply needs to be broadened. For example, recent competitive procurements for goods such as non-medical masks and face shields have received hundreds of bids.
New content has been published on the Buy and sell website to help suppliers find COVID-19 related competitive procurement opportunities. This includes support for suppliers who may be new to federal procurement.
PSPC is also taking steps to increase the number of contracts awarded to Indigenous businesses. For example:
- 2 competitive procurements currently in progress for non-medical face masks and cloth masks are limited to Indigenous suppliers
- PSPC’s Office of Small and Medium Enterprises has run 5 webinars targeted for Indigenous businesses and communities on how to find opportunities to provide goods and services to the Government of Canada during COVID-19. These webinars were delivered in partnership with the Council for the Advancement of Native Development Officers (CANDO) and the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business (CCAB), and in close collaboration with Indigenous Services Canada
Roles and responsibilities of other federal departments and agencies
Public Health Agency of Canada
- PHAC leads collaboration with federal partners, provinces and territories to identify needs and requirements of front line health care workers for the COVID-19 response and is responsible for distribution of essential goods
- The agency also oversees Canada's National Emergency Strategic Stockpile, which contains supplies that provinces and territories can request in emergencies
- PHAC has played a critical role in ensuring that the testing of goods and equipment is undertaken to ensure that it meets the standards established by Health Canada before being delivered to front line health care workers
Health Canada
- As the regulatory body for health products, Health Canada is working to expedite access to the supplies Canadians need to help limit the spread of COVID-19, as well as set out the standards and requirements for the goods and equipment being brought in to fight the pandemic
- On March 18, the Minister of Health signed an interim order to allow expedited access to COVID-19 related medical devices. Health Canada also introduced an interim measure to help facilitate access to certain products, such as PPE
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada
- Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) is leading Canada’s plan to mobilize industry to fight COVID-19. ISED introduced new measures to directly support businesses seeking to rapidly scale up production or re-tool their manufacturing lines to develop products made in Canada that will help in the fight against COVID-19. On March 20, ISED issued a call to action for manufacturers and business
- On June 2 , the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, Navdeep Bains, announced the names of 9 business leaders who will join Monique Leroux—a strong business leader with a distinguished career in Canadian finance—on the new and recently announced Industry Strategy Council. This council serves as an advisory board to assess the scope and depth of COVID-19’s impact on industries and inform government’s understanding of specific sectoral pressures. By enlisting senior business leaders, the council will build on Canada’s strong partnerships between government and industry, notably the economic strategy tables, to support Canadians and their jobs. This proactive and strategic approach is designed to bring the private sector to the table to directly share its perspective on the scope of the challenges being faced across industries. The council will hold virtual meetings every 2 weeks over a period of 90 days
National Research Council of Canada
The National Research Council (NRC) is collaborating with ISED's Innovative Solutions Canada Program to organize a COVID-19 Challenge Program, composed of teams of government, academic, and private sector partners, to address a range of medium-term needs of PHAC and Health Canada, including PPE, sanitization products, diagnostic and testing products, therapeutics, and disease tracking technology. The NRC’s Industrial Research Assistance Program will also build on its existing relationships with thousands of Canada’s most innovative small and medium-sized businesses to pose challenges to the marketplace for innovative solutions to address these needs. The most promising solutions will be selected for procurement, working with Innovative Solutions Canada.
Public Safety Canada
Public Safety Canada is the lead federal department with respect to the co-ordination of all government efforts with respect to addressing an emergency. It has a government operations committee that all other federal department and agencies feed into, as well as a federal/provincial/territorial committee to co-ordinate/manage efforts with provinces and territories.
Global Affairs Canada
- Global Affairs Canada continues to provide consular services and leads efforts on the repatriation of Canadians. PSPC has put in place contracts with air charters on behalf of Global Affairs Canada to transport Canadian citizens home from around the world
- In addition, the department has played a critical role in providing consular services to PSPC with trade contracts, vetting suppliers, and assisting with international logistics
Indigenous Services Canada
- Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) collaborates with PHAC, other Government of Canada departments, and provincial and territorial governments as well as Indigenous partners to protect the health and safety of Indigenous peoples. This includes supporting Indigenous partners in responding to public health threats
- ISC's network of regional health emergency management coordinators, communicable disease nurses, environmental public health officers and medical officers advises and supports First Nation communities and leads on public health emergency preparedness and response south of 60. ISC funds or directly employs public health, home care and primary care nurses across many First Nation communities
- ISC is working closely with Indigenous partners as well as with Government of Canada departments to support the new Indigenous Business COVID-19 Response Task Force which has created a comprehensive and searchable Indigenous business database that can be used by federal government departments that are looking for COVID-19 related suppliers
Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada
- Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC) continues to renew the nation-to-nation, Inuit-Crown, government-to-government relationship between Canada and First Nations, Inuit and Métis; modernize Government of Canada structures to enable Indigenous peoples to build capacity and support their vision of self-determination; and lead the Government of Canada's work in the North
- In response to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on First Nations, CIRNAC is working collaboratively with the First Nations Finance Authority to provide financial relief so that the First Nations can focus on the health and safety needs of their communities during the pandemic