Public Services and Procurement Canada
Results at a glance: 2021 to 2022 Departmental Results Report
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What funds were used
Public Services and Procurement Canada’s (PSPC) actual spending (authorities used) for 2021 to 2022: $4,172,352,231.
Who was involved
Public Services and Procurement Canada’s actual full-time equivalents for 2021 to 2022: 16,775.90.
Diversity and inclusion
At PSPC, accessibility is about creating an equitable and inclusive department for employees, government partners, and Canadians through the services and programs that the department delivers. Reaffirming its commitment to advancing accessibility and inclusion, PSPC published its refreshed interim accessibility plan, reflecting the department’s forward movement towards the adoption of Accessible Canada Regulations under which all departments are required to develop and publish a 3‑year accessibility plan and yearly progress reports.
The department also launched its Policy on Social Procurement, which provides a framework to integrate socio‑economic measures in procurement, as well as the Supplier Diversity Action Plan, which outlines concrete steps to increase the participation of businesses from under-represented groups in federal procurement. The plan stems from continued engagement with suppliers from under-represented groups to better understand their needs and the barriers they face. PSPC also established an interdepartmental community of practice to mainstream accessible procurement practices across federal departments and agencies.
In February 2022, PSPC’s Pacific Region and Procurement Assistance Canada held a roundtable which featured representatives from Canada's Black communities and PSPC executives. Focusing on the experiences of Black entrepreneurs and the barriers to their participation in federal procurement will support the department’s effort in identifying and reducing these barriers.
Also, through the Long Term Vision and Plan for the Parliamentary Precinct—a multi-decade strategy to restore and modernize the precinct—PSPC has committed to ensuring that buildings and grounds are accessible, family-friendly and open to the public. That’s why the new and restored buildings on Parliament Hill are now being designed and built with enhanced accessibility and inclusion measures, such as:
- barrier-free amenities
- tactile signage
- enhanced broadcast capabilities and simultaneous interpretation
Reconciliation
In support of Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples and in collaboration with Indigenous Services Canada and the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, PSPC continued its work with Indigenous Peoples to increase the participation of Indigenous businesses in federal procurement. A key milestone was achieved as the Treasury Board Directive on the Management of Procurement was amended to reflect the target to award at least 5% of the value of federal contracts to Indigenous businesses.
In addition, PSPC procurement teams continued to work with their client departments to seek opportunities to engage Indigenous businesses and communities in key procurements. Illustrative examples over the course of 2021 to 2022 included a contract for construction management and care and maintenance services at the Faro Mine Complex, which will bring socio-economic benefits to northern and First Nations communities:
- 2 contracts for the redevelopment of the Atlantic Science Enterprise Centre which include Indigenous participation plans that will benefit Indigenous businesses and communities in New Brunswick
- a contract to upgrade the road surface of the Alaska Highway around Fort Nelson, British Columbia which will employ the local labour force and Indigenous companies
- a contract related to the Canadian High Arctic Research Station for which the competitive process was limited to registered Inuit firms
PSPC also continued to support Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC) and Indigenous partners in the development of a long term vision for the Indigenous Peoples Space, as part of the modernization of the Parliamentary Precinct. Achievements include supporting CIRNA and Indigenous organizations in fostering broader Indigenous and public engagement to support the development of the long term vision, governance and programming of the Indigenous Peoples Space. PSPC’s interdepartmental collaboration to advance reconciliation also included becoming a member of the Interdepartmental Indigenous science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) cluster.
Greening government
PSPC is committed to supporting climate action and sustainability through greening government procurement. As part of the Low Carbon Procurement Project, the department is working to develop science-based methods and tools to measure greenhouse gas emissions associated with the goods and services that PSPC buys. In 2021 to 2022, 2 contracts were awarded to develop carbon footprint methodologies in the categories of office furniture and professional services. Work also progressed, in collaboration with the National Research Council, to develop a carbon footprint methodology for the light duty vehicles category.
In addition, the department continued its multi-year trend of increasing the number of electric vehicles available for purchase by federal departments. PSPC also made significant strides in making other types of electric vehicles available for purchase by federal departments, through the establishment of new procurement instruments for electric buses, trucks, snowmobiles, all‑terrain vehicles and utility task vehicles.
Procuring clean electricity remained a priority throughout 2021 to 2022, with 92% of the electricity used by the Government of Canada in the Crown-building portfolio (excluding housing) being clean. The Energy Services Acquisition Program (ESAP) also made important progress in the modernization of PSPC energy systems, which provide heating and cooling services to a large number of buildings in the National Capital Region. In combination with other initiatives, this modernization project will result in a reduction of 92% of greenhouse gas emissions over the 2005 baseline for ESAP operations.
PSPC also advanced initiatives in its buildings to improve employee engagement levels to reduce plastic waste in federal operations. Measures were also taken to explore how these initiatives could be adapted to new and hybrid workplace environments, including telework. A pilot program to recycle face masks was implemented to identify potential diversion solutions for this new waste stream. The pilot informed additional industry outreach to identify service availability and long-term contracting solutions for diversion of hard to recycle plastics, including disposable face masks.
Results at a glance
| Key priorities for 2021 to 2022 (as stated in the 2021 to 2022 Departmental Plan) | Achievements for 2021 to 2022 |
|---|---|
| Continue to prioritize the purchase of goods and services in support of the government’s response to COVID-19. | Procurements in support of the Government of Canada’s response to COVID-19 continued to be a priority for PSPC. Among the most critical requirements were vaccines and therapeutics, testing equipment and border testing services. Securing these goods and services was central to supporting the reopening of the economy, schools and other industries for Canadians. In 2021 to 2022, 865 contracts, call-ups and amendments were issued, valued at more than $5 billion, in support of the government’s response to COVID-19, excluding the value of vaccines and therapeutics. |
| Advance the implementation of the cloud-based Electronic Procurement Solution (EPS) within PSPC, to simplify how suppliers of all sizes and regions of the country do business with the Government of Canada. | The implementation of the EPS is well underway to make it easier for PSPC to procure goods and services, as well as for suppliers to do business with the Government of Canada. By the end of March 2022, it had been used to award nearly 500 contracts and over 12,000 suppliers had registered in the new platform. |
| Examine new approaches to procurement to provide greater opportunities for supplier diversity, including the launch of pilot procurements to open bidding opportunities for Black owned and/or operated businesses. | PSPC’s Policy on Social Procurement came into effect in May 2021, allowing the department to integrate socio-economic measures in the procurement of goods, services and construction led by PSPC. In addition, the Supplier Diversity Action Plan was announced in January 2022, outlining concrete steps to increase the participation of businesses from under-represented groups in federal procurement. |
| Continue to modernize procurement, including continuing the phased implementation of a Vendor Performance Management Regime (VPMR) to incentivize suppliers to deliver high-quality goods and services, and developing and implementing innovative procurement approaches to help federal organizations meet their business needs. | PSPC is continuing to prioritize the modernization of procurement through a number of initiatives. The implementation of the new VPMR is underway in 6 commodities, and the department has begun planning for expansion into additional commodities. Through this regime, PSPC is building strong relationships with vendors who perform well and holding poor performers accountable. As part of its efforts to address the risk of forced labour and human trafficking in federal procurement supply chains, PSPC also updated its Code of Conduct for Procurement and implemented new anti-forced labour clauses in all goods contracts to ensure that it can terminate contracts where there is credible information that goods have been produced in whole or in part by forced labour or human trafficking. In addition, as part of the Contract Modernization Initiative, PSPC continued to work towards simplifying its contract structure and language. This initiative also aims at ensuring a closer alignment to commercial best practices. Approximately 75% of standard contract clauses have been modernized, and the department has received favourable feedback on the new model for requests for proposals posted on BuyandSell. |
| Deliver on key procurements in support of Canada’s defence policy, Strong, Secure, Engaged, including by releasing requests for proposals for a number of defence air and land requirements, as well as making key strides in the competitive process to replace the fighter aircraft fleet. | PSPC has made significant progress in delivering on key defence procurements. The department released requests for proposals to pre-qualified suppliers for 4 major defence procurements: In addition, a key advancement was made in replacing Canada’s fighter aircraft fleet, as the federal government announced it would enter into the finalization phase of the procurement process with the top-ranked bidder. |
| Continue to work with other government departments and industry to renew Canada's federal fleet of combat and non-combat vessels, providing economic benefits to Canadians and rebuilding our country’s shipbuilding industry. | Work continued to advance under the National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSS), which is providing the Canadian Coast Guard and the Royal Canadian Navy with modern vessels and delivering important economic benefits to Canada. Significant achievements included the delivery of the 2nd Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ship, and the award of a contract for vessel life extension work on the Canadian Coast Guard Ship (CCGS) Louis S. St-Laurent. In addition, the Canadian surface combatant entered the preliminary design review phase of the definition contract in December 2021. |
| Key priorities for 2021 to 2022 (as stated in the 2021 to 2022 Departmental Plan) | Achievements for 2021 to 2022 |
|---|---|
| Continue progress towards the elimination of the backlog of outstanding pay issues for public servants as a result of the Phoenix pay system. | As of March 30, 2022, the backlog of financial transactions beyond the normal workload had been reduced to 137,000 transactions from the January 2018 peak of 384,000. The overall queue of transactions waiting to be processed at the pay centre had been reduced to 319,000 transactions, from the peak of 633,000. |
| Deliver high quality, client-centric services by meeting service delivery goals, ensuring the ongoing integrity of pension data, and enabling more services through innovation, so that more than 908,000 active and retired members of pension plans administered by PSPC can readily access pension information, and receive timely and accurate pension payments. | As one of Canada’s largest pension administrators, serving more than 935,000 active and retired members, PSPC issued over 5.1 million pension payments valued at $14.5 billion in 2021 to 2022. All standards for service delivery to plan members were met during the year. Pension payments are subject to a rigid verification and quality assurance process that ensures they are made accurately. The Pension Program successfully implemented innovative solutions to streamline service delivery to pension plan members and improve data quality. |
| Key priorities for 2021 to 2022 (as stated in the 2021 to 2022 Departmental Plan) | Achievements for 2021 to 2022 |
|---|---|
| Advance sustainability, climate resiliency, and the green agenda for federal real property and infrastructure assets by integrating sustainable development, the use of clean energy, energy reduction, and greenhouse gas reduction into the decision-making, planning and delivery of real property projects. | PSPC published the Real Property Sustainability Handbook to provide national guidance for the adoption of sustainable portfolio management strategies, which describe concrete actions put forward in order to effectively support greening priorities. Work continued on reducing plastic waste from federal operations through the implementation of the Real Property Plastics Action Plan. In response to COVID-19, PSPC launched a pilot project for the recycling of disposable face masks in buildings and tracked waste trends and building performance through waste audits. |
| Build a comprehensive approach that takes into consideration opportunities brought upon by the COVID-19 pandemic to rethink the workplace, and the return to the office, through stakeholder engagement. | PSPC continued to actively engage with client departments to highlight trends, needs and expectations regarding the future of work. The information gathered through this engagement and collaboration will support the office long term plan. It will also allow PSPC to highlight risks and opportunities to advance the office portfolio modernization and to develop specific tools and services to assist client departments with their strategies and their gradual return to the workplace. |
| Continue to advance the Laboratories Canada Strategy which seeks to provide federal scientists with leading-edge, collaborative, accessible, and sustainable science and technology facilities. | PSPC achieved key milestones for the Laboratories Canada Strategy in 2021 to 2022, including the release of the Laboratories Canada long term vision and plan. Important progress was also made in the planning and construction of various Laboratories Canada hubs including:
|
| Continue to implement the rehabilitation of the Parliamentary Precinct through the Long Term Vision and Plan (LTVP). | PSPC made significant strides regarding the Centre Block rehabilitation. Construction activities were mainly focused on excavation work for the new Parliament Welcome Centre (completion rate of 65%), on the interior demolition
and abatement of hazardous materials (completion rate of 65%), and on the masonry rehabilitation, which includes the repair and repointing of the entire building, including the Peace Tower (completion rate of approximately 25% on the north facade of the Centre Block, and 5% overall).
PSPC launched the Block 2 design competition, in partnership with Parliament, to transform an entire city block of aging and underutilized buildings into an integrated and sustainable facility to support the needs of a 21st
century Parliament. PSPC also completed the East Block rehabilitation phase 1 project to address the more pressing health and safety issues on 4 areas of greatest concern prior to the building’s full rehabilitation.
This included completing the work on:
|
| Continue to improve crossings in the National Capital Region (NCR) in order to improve fluidity and increase transportation options to ensure the health and safety of users and to further decrease greenhouse gas emissions. | PSPC worked with the National Capital Commission to complete a long-term plan for integrated interprovincial crossings in close collaboration with provincial, municipal and Indigenous partners. With regard to the Alexandra Bridge replacement, activities included public and stakeholder consultations and engagement with Indigenous partners, which will feed the impact assessment of this project. |
| Key priorities for 2021 to 2022 (as stated in the 2021 to 2022 Departmental Plan) | Achievements for 2021 to 2022 |
|---|---|
| Continue to 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. |
In 2021 to 2022, PSPC continued to provide translation and interpretation services to the Parliament of Canada and the Government of Canada in official, foreign and Indigenous languages. These linguistic services were crucial in the delivery of national communications to all Canadians. PSPC continued to advance its linguistic services management system, GClingua, by successfully implementing automated billing, onboarding 4 client departments, and migrating employees to the new platform. In parallel, the department tested artificial intelligence solutions and continued research projects in collaboration with the National Research Council. PSPC also updated and implemented a number of precautionary measures to protect the health and safety of interpreters, and formalized its contract provisions to include remote interpretation working conditions. The department also offered an increasing amount of video remote interpretation for sign language interpretation services for deaf, deafened and hard of hearing public servants. |
| Support the transition to a digital government to improve the delivery of services and solutions, enhancing the capacity and integration of modern tools and methodologies. |
The 2021 annual review of Our services, standards and results was conducted by engaging service providers to support PSPC client-centric standards for continuous improvement of digital service design and delivery. The annual Client satisfaction snapshot survey 2022 was conducted to identify areas of improvement in the delivery of PSPC services and solutions by engaging with over 5,000 Government of Canada employees. |
| Continue to improve the Contract Security Program (CSP) and Controlled Goods Program (CGP) to respond to an evolving external threat environment, and develop a more client-focussed delivery approach to safeguard sensitive and strategic government information and assets accessed by the private sector. | PSPC engaged with industry and Government of Canada stakeholders to refine the CSP security screening process. Under this initiative, only suppliers participating in a federal government procurement process would be registered and only the personnel security screening requests supported by a valid security requirement would be processed. These changes are improving the delivery of security screening services, both in terms of robustness and expediency, reducing the administrative burden on industry, and better integrating security requirements into the procurement process. |
| Key priorities for 2021 to 2022 (as stated in the 2021 to 2022 Departmental Plan) | Achievements for 2021 to 2022 |
|---|---|
| Review the procurement practices of federal organizations to promote fairness, openness and transparency. | The Office of the Procurement Ombudsman (OPO) completed 7 systemic procurement practices reviews, made 31 recommendations for improvement, and launched an additional 6 reviews and 1 follow-up review to be completed in 2022 to 2023. The reports are made available on the Office of the Procurement Ombudsman’s website once completed, and summarized in the Procurement Ombudsman’s annual report which is tabled in Parliament by the Minister of Public Services and Procurement. |
| Review complaints from Canadian suppliers and make recommendations for the improvement of federal procurement practices. | The OPO received a total of 5 complaints that met the criteria set forth in the Procurement Ombudsman Regulations to launch a review. The reports are made available on Office of the Procurement Ombudsman’s website once completed, and summarized in the Procurement Ombudsman’s annual report which is tabled in Parliament by the Minister of Public Services and Procurement. |
| Provide low-cost 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. | The OPO received a total of 7 requests for alternative dispute resolution (ADR) services. In 1 case, both parties to the contract agreed to use the OPO’s ADR services but it did not result in a signed settlement agreement. In 3 cases, the federal department declined to participate in the ADR process. In 1 instance, the nature of the request for ADR services did not meet the Procurement Ombudsman Regulations and could not be considered any further. In the 2 remaining cases, the supplier withdrew the request. |
| Share procurement-related information amongst federal organizations and Canadian suppliers to promote simplification and transparency in the federal procurement process. | The OPO completed 2 research studies on topics of interest to federal procurement stakeholders, entitled Social Procurement—Set-aside Programs, and National Security Exception. These studies will be available on OPO’s website and discussed at conferences and events. Additionally, in January 2022, the OPO hosted virtually its 4th annual Diversifying the Federal Supply Chain Summit to connect diverse and Indigenous Canadian businesses with representatives from the Government of Canada, supplier councils, and other organizations who can help them access federal contracting opportunities. |
For more information on Public Services and Procurement Canada’s plans, priorities and results achieved, see the “Results: what we achieved” section of this report.