Public Services and Procurement Canada
Plans at a glance: 2022 to 2023 Departmental Plan

Purchase of goods and services

In 2022 to 2023, Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) will:

• support the Government of Canada's response to the COVID-19 pandemic with the procurement of critical goods and services
• advance the implementation of procurement modernization initiatives, including the electronic procurement solution, contract modernization, vendor performance management regime and a new tendering service on CanadaBuys to better serve clients and suppliers
• continue to advance government-wide initiatives to increase the diversity of bidders on government contracts, including through the development of a program on social procurement
• increase Indigenous participation by implementing new approaches to awarding contracts to Indigenous-led or -owned businesses, and also by incorporating Indigenous participation plans into procurements
• advance efforts, as part of a whole-of-government approach, to eradicate forced labour from Canadian supply chains and ensure Canadian businesses operating abroad do not contribute to human rights abuses
• prioritize efforts to advance green procurement, including a focus on reusable and recyclable products in federal procurement processes in support of the Government of Canada’s goal of zero plastic waste
• deliver on key procurements in support of Canada's defence policy: Strong, Secure, Engaged, including awarding a contract to replace the CF-18 fighter aircraft fleet
• work with other government departments and industry to implement the National Shipbuilding Strategy, which is renewing Canada's federal fleet of combat and non-combat vessels, providing economic benefits to Canadians and rebuilding our country's shipbuilding industry

Payments and accounting

In 2022 to 2023, PSPC will:

• make progress towards resolving outstanding pay issues for public servants through approved projects and initiatives, and strive to improve service standard compliance for incoming pay transactions
• deliver high quality, client-centric services by meeting service delivery goals, ensuring the ongoing integrity of pension data, and expanding digital service capabilities, so that more than 935,000 active and retired members of pension plans administered by PSPC can readily access pension information, and receive timely and accurate pension payments

Property and infrastructure

In 2022 to 2023, PSPC will:

• advance sustainability, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and greening government initiatives for PSPC real property and infrastructure assets by integrating sustainable development, the use of clean electricity, energy reduction, and greenhouse gas reduction into the decision-making, planning and delivery of real property projects
• advance the definition of the post-pandemic work environment in terms of workforce, workplace and organization of work
• continue implementing the Laboratories Canada Strategy which seeks to provide federal scientists with leading-edge, collaborative, accessible, and sustainable science and technology facilities
• advance the rehabilitation of the Parliamentary Precinct through the Long Term Vision and Plan
• continue to improve crossings in the National Capital Region and advance the assessments and planning associated with a sixth crossing to ensure the health and safety of users and to further decrease greenhouse gas emissions

Government-wide support

In 2022 to 2023, PSPC will:

• adapt to the rapid pace of digital transformation in linguistic services, by experimenting with artificial intelligence and collaborating with other government departments and agencies to increase remote interpretation for official, Indigenous and foreign languages, and video remote interpretation for sign languages
• enhance and evolve government-wide services and solutions by providing agile and digitally enabled environments such as the cloud, increasing information processing capacity and integrating modern tools that enable and support Government of Canada’s business needs
• improve the Contract Security Program and the Controlled Goods Program to respond to an evolving external threat environment, and develop a more client-focused delivery approach to safeguard sensitive and strategic government information and assets accessed by the private sector
• explore the development of better tools to support enhanced due diligence of suppliers in order to further protect the integrity of the federal procurement system

Procurement Ombudsman

While operating at arm’s length from federal organizations, including PSPC, the Office of the Procurement Ombudsman will:

• review the procurement practices of federal organizations to promote fairness, openness and transparency
• review complaints from Canadian suppliers and make recommendations for compensation where appropriate
• provide alternative dispute resolution services which offer an opportunity for suppliers and federal organizations to come together in a neutral setting with the purpose of finding solutions, preserving business relationships and avoiding costly litigation
• share procurement-related information amongst federal organizations and Canadian suppliers to promote simplification and transparency in the federal procurement process

Diversity and inclusion

PSPC is committed to establishing an inclusive culture and providing services that value diversity, combat racism and address systemic barriers. In 2022 to 2023, the department will take actions to promote diversity and inclusion through various procurement initiatives aimed at bringing positive benefits to under-represented communities, ensuring that goods and services procured are accessible to all, and increasing bidder diversity. PSPC will strengthen its application of gender-based analysis plus in procurement to support inclusive procurement initiatives. PSPC will also engage with under-represented supplier communities to design a program on social procurement and other targeted procurement initiatives to expand procurement opportunities to non-traditional businesses.

In order to align with the Accessible Canada Act and its enabling regulations, the department will remain a leader in the provision of an accessible built environment and accessible workplaces. PSPC will use existing tools and leverage other mechanisms, such as private sector property management contracts, to roll-out the next phase of the technical accessibility assessments of PSPC Crown-owned real property portfolio. This will create a benchmark and enable the department to establish a long‑term action plan to improve the accessibility in the built environment.

In 2022 to 2023, PSPC will continue providing linguistic services to Canadians in both official languages, sign languages and other languages spoken across Canada, as well as offering video remote interpretation for sign language interpretation services. Through its provision of interpretation services in American Sign Language and langue des signes québécoise, the department will also continue supporting the Government of Canada’s efforts in promoting diversity and inclusion at major events.

Reconciliation

Federal procurement is an important lever for advancing reconciliation as it provides significant economic opportunities for Indigenous businesses and peoples. In 2022 to 2023, PSPC will continue working in close collaboration with the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat and Indigenous Services Canada, along with Indigenous partners and other government departments, to advance work on the target that at least 5% of the total value of federal contracts be awarded to businesses managed and led by Indigenous peoples.

The procurement and supplier engagement teams in PSPC’s 6 regional offices across Canada (Pacific; Western; Ontario; National Capital Region; Québec and Atlantic) continue to be at the forefront of efforts to increase the participation of businesses owned or led by Indigenous peoples in federal procurement. As an example, in 2022 to 2023, a procurement process underway for the rehabilitation of an envelope of buildings at the Citadelle of Québec, including the residence of the Governor General of Canada, will include an Indigenous participation plan developed in collaboration with local Indigenous communities. Indigenous participation plans may consist of employment, skills development and training opportunities for Indigenous peoples, subcontracting opportunities for Indigenous businesses, and other indirect benefits, in local areas.

In the coming year, PSPC will also work to maintain its capacity to deliver translation and interpretation services in the most-requested Indigenous languages, enhancing visibility and supporting the efforts of Indigenous peoples in the reclamation, revitalization, and strengthening of Indigenous languages as a foundation for culture and identity.

Greening government

In its capacity as common service provider for procurement, PSPC supports greening government goals through its procurement activities on behalf of federal departments and agencies. In 2022 to 2023, among its various procurement-related initiatives, the department will work to increase the procurement of sustainable plastic and plastic-alternative products, as well as reduce plastic packaging waste, through the introduction of standard procurement language. In addition, PSPC will continue to incorporate environmental considerations into the development of common-use procurement instruments, particularly those enabling the adoption of zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) across government fleets. To reach the target of 80% ZEVs by 2030, PSPC will advance the conversion of the interdepartmental fleet to ZEVs where operationally feasible and where infrastructure exists. To further support greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions associated with government fleet vehicles, the department is installing electrical car charging stations across many of its Crown-owned or leased buildings.

PSPC will advance net-zero carbon neutral implementation strategies for each asset in its portfolio by 2030, such as the inclusion of a greenhouse gas analysis in the Investment Analysis Report. Several activities are currently underway in accordance with the Greening Government Strategy (GGS) such as the PSPC Net-Zero Carbon Neutral Portfolio Plan, clean electricity initiative, building level carbon neutral studies, and the Energy Services Acquisitions Program. These activities will contribute to the significant progress already achieved to date towards reaching the 90% GHG emissions reduction target set in the Greening Government Strategy for 2050.

For more information on Public Services and Procurement Canada’s plans, see the "Core responsibilities: planned results and resources, and key risks" section of this report.