Supply arrangement for temporary help services in the National Capital Region

A. Supply arrangement

1. Arrangement

The supply arrangement (SA) includes the streams and categories covered by the Temporary Help Services (THS) for the National Capital Region (NCR).

2. Security requirements

There is no security requirement applicable to the resulting SA, contracts issued under an SA are subject to the requirements in the Security Requirement Check Lists (SRCL) identified in each individual request for proposal issued by clients. Common SRCL’s are accessible through Common centralized professional services: Security Requirement Checklist, but other SRCL may be used. Each request for proposal will identify the SRCL that will apply to any resulting contract.

3. Standard clauses and conditions

All clauses and conditions identified in the SA and resulting contract(s) by number, date and title are set out in the Standard Acquisition Clauses and Conditions Manual issued by Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC).

3.1 General conditions

2020—General conditions: Supply Arrangement—Goods or Services (latest version available from the Standard Acquisition Clauses and Conditions (SACC) Manual at the quarter bid closing date inserted at time of SA issuance) apply to and form part of the SA.

3.1.1 Subsection 09 of 2020 (2022-12-01) Suspension or cancellation of qualification by Canada, General Conditions - Supply Arrangement - Goods or Services, incorporated by reference above is deleted in its entirety and replaced with the following: Canada’s suspension or cancellation of qualification.

Grounds for Suspension or Cancellation. Canada may, upon written notice to the Offeror, suspend or cancel the Supply Arrangement in any of the following circumstances:
1. The Offeror no longer meets any of the required qualifications of the Supply Arrangement
2. The Offeror is in default any of its obligations under any resulting contract and Canada has exercised its contractual right to terminate the contract for default
3. The Offeror becomes bankrupt or insolvent, takes the benefit of any statute relating to bankrupt or insolvent debtors, a receiver is appointed under one of the Offeror’s debt instruments, a receiving order is made against the Offeror, or an order is made or a resolution passed for the Offeror’s winding-up
4. Canada has imposed measures on the Offeror under the Vendor Performance Corrective Measure Policy or any similar policy.
Canada’s Rights. Canada’s suspension or cancellation of the Supply Arrangement will not affect its right to pursue any other remedies available to it, nor will it, on its own, affect any contract entered into before the issuance of the notice.
Effect of Suspension or Cancellation. The Supply Arrangement Authority will, in such case, remove the Offeror from the list of pre-qualified Offerors and the Offeror will then not be
1. eligible to offer on solicitations of offers issued under the Supply Arrangement
2. allowed to submit another arrangement for a period that Canada determines

3.1.2 Insert subsection 19 to 2020 (2022-12-01) Anti-forced labor requirements, general conditions - Supply Arrangement - Goods or Services: Anti-forced labour requirements

1. Canada may suspend or cancel the SA in accordance with section 2020 09 Suspension or cancellation of qualification by Canada if the supplier has, in the past 3 years been convicted of any of the following offences under the Criminal Code or the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act:

Criminal Code

section 279.01 (Trafficking in persons)
section 279.011 (Trafficking of a person under the age of 18 years)
subsection 279.02(1) (Material benefit—trafficking)
subsection 279.02(2) (Material benefit—trafficking of person under 18 years)
subsection 279.03(1) (Withholding or destroying documents—trafficking)
subsection 279.03(2) (Withholding or destroying documents—trafficking of person under 18 years); or Immigration and Refugee Protection Act
section 118 (Trafficking in persons)

2. Canada may suspend or cancel the SA in accordance with section 2020 09—Suspension or cancellation of qualification by Canada if the supplier has, in the past three3 years, been convicted of an offence in a jurisdiction other than Canada that, in Canada’s opinion, is similar to any of the offences identified in paragraph 1.

3. For purposes of determining whether a foreign offence is similar to a listed offence, PSPC will take into account the following factors:

in the case of a conviction, whether the court acted within its jurisdiction
whether the supplier was afforded the right to appear during the court’s proceedings or to submit to the court’s jurisdiction
whether the court’s decision was obtained by fraud; or
whether the supplier was entitled to present to the court every defence that the supplier would have been entitled to present had the proceeding been tried in Canada

4. Where Canada intends to suspend or cancel the SA under this section, Canada will inform the supplier and may provide the supplier an opportunity to make written representations before making a final decision. Written representations must be submitted within 30 days from receiving a notice of concern unless Canada establishes a different deadline.

3.2 Changes to the supply arrangement (evergreen clause)

As a result of the SA being perpetual, from time to time, on occasion PSPC may also amend any part of the SA as a result of a policy notification, legislation, or procedural change. Any such change will not affect existing contracts in place prior to the date of change. Notification of such change will be sent to suppliers via a generic email. Should a supplier not be in agreement with such modifications, and no longer wishes to be considered for requirements issued under the SA framework as a result of the changes, the supplier will notify the SA authority and this supplier will no longer be included on the list of qualified suppliers.

3.3 Supply arrangement reporting

The supplier must compile and maintain records on its provision of goods, services or both to the federal government under contracts resulting from the SA. This data must include all purchases paid for by a Government of Canada acquisition card.

The supplier must provide this data in accordance with the reporting requirements detailed in the Quarterly usage report instructions.

If no goods or services are provided during a given period, the supplier must still provide a "NIL" response. The quarterly reporting periods are defined as follows:

Table 1: Quarter period to be covered due on or before
Quarter	Period to be covered	Due on or before
Quarter 1	April 1 to June 30	July 15
Quarter 2	July 1 to September 30	October 15
Quarter 3	October 1 to December 31	January 15
Quarter 4	January 1 to March 31	April 15

PSPC reserves the right to suspend the SA without notice, if reports are not submitted on time or are inaccurate or incomplete.

4. Term of supply arrangement

4.1 Period of the supply arrangement

The SA has no defined end-date and will remain valid until such time as Canada no longer considers it to be advantageous to use it.

Canada may, with at least 30 days written notice and by posting on the Government Electronic Tendering System cancel this SA or individual categories or streams.

4.2 Delivery points

Delivery of the requirement is limited to the NCR.

Services provided by a resource located outside the NCR may be accepted if the position to be covered is in the NCR and the identified user authorizes full-time telework. The authorization of full-time telework is at the sole discretion of the identified user and where it’s clearly identified in each subsequent request for proposal (RFP).

5. Authorities

5.1 Supply arrangement authority

The SA authority is:

Supply team leader
Acquisitions branch
Public Services and Procurement Canada
10 Wellington Street, Terrasses de la Chaudière, fifth floor
Gatineau QC K1A 0S5

E-mail address:: tpsgc.pasat-apths.pwgsc@tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca

The SA authority is responsible for the issuance of the SA, its administration and its revision, if applicable.

5.2 Supplier’s representative

The individual identified as the main supplier contact in the Centralized Professional Services System (CPSS) ePortal is considered the supplier’s representative and is the central point of contact for the supplier on all matters pertaining to the SA. By submitting the arrangement, the supplier confirms that this individual has the authority to bind the supplier. It is the supplier’s sole responsibility to ensure that the information related to the supplier’s representative is correct. If a change is required to this information, the supplier will inform CPSS by email at tpsgc.sspc-cpss.pwgsc@tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca.

5.3 Supplier’s Centralized Professional Services System ePortal information

Suppliers are responsible for the maintenance and safeguarding of their tombstone data in the CPSS ePortal. Suppliers must also safeguard the credentials released to the main supplier contact (MSC) that enable access to the supplier module.

Canada will not delay or cancel any solicitation or contract process due to a supplier’s inability to access, modify or validate such credentials, or because of any claim that such credentials were used without proper authorization.

6. Identified users

The identified users include any government department, agency or Crown Corporation listed in Schedules I, I.1, II, III, of the Financial Administration Act, R.S.C., 1985, c. F-11.

7. On-going opportunity for qualification

A notice will be posted on the Government Electronic Tendering Service for the duration of the SA to permit new suppliers to become qualified and pre-qualified suppliers to qualify for streams and categories for which they are not already qualified.

Canada reserves the right to conduct the evaluation of arrangements in cycles, not less than quarterly. Bids received over a calendar year will be evaluated in accordance with the schedule below. The schedule may require a revision due to operational requirements, in which case suppliers will be advised.

Table 2: Quarterly refreshes
Fiscal quarter	Opening date (first business day of the month)	Closing date^{table 2 note *} (last business day of the month)	Estimated award date (subject to change)
Quarter 1	April	June	End of September
Quarter 2	July	September	End of December
Quarter 3	October	December	End of March
Quarter 4	January	March	End of June
Table 2 Note Table 2 Note * Dates may be subject to change due to holidays or any unforeseen events that may affect the government's ability to close the quarter on those dates. When applicable, the precise closing date of each quarter will be specified in the CPSS system via the solicitation dashboard. Return to table 2 note * referrer

8. Priority of documents

If there is a discrepancy between the wording of any documents that appear on the list, the wording of the document that first appears on the list has priority over the wording of any document that subsequently appears on the list.

the articles of the SA
2020—General conditions: Supply Arrangement—Goods or Services (latest version available from the SACC manual at the quarter bid closing date inserted at time of SA issuance)
the supplier's SA, received in response to request for supply arrangement (RFSA) EN578-172870

9. Certifications and additional information

9.1 Compliance

Compliance with the certifications and related documentation provided by the supplier in the arrangement is a condition of the SA and subject to verification by Canada during the term of the SA and of any resulting contract that would continue beyond the period of the SA. If the supplier does not comply with any certification, provide the related documentation or if it is determined that any certification made by the supplier in the arrangement is untrue, whether made knowingly or unknowingly, Canada has the right to terminate any resulting contract for default and suspend or cancel the SA.

9.2 Vendor performance management

Any resulting contract awarded under the SA may be subject to Vendor Performance Management (VPM), where the Offeror will be evaluated on specific aspects of its performance against contractual obligations. The application of VPM evaluations will be confirmed in the resulting clauses of the contract, in which instance, Canada will evaluate the Offeror’s vendor performance under the Contract in accordance with the annex entitled “Vendor Performance Management Scorecard” and a last evaluation at the end of the Contract period.

9.3 Physical office address

The supplier must maintain a physical street address that is not a post office box. The supplier must have a valid phone number and email address.

10. Applicable laws

The SA must be interpreted and governed, and the relations between the parties determined, by the laws in force in Ontario. However, suppliers may, at their discretion, substitute the applicable laws of a Canadian province or territory of their choice without affecting the validity of the bid, by selecting an alternate Canadian province or territory in their electronic submission via CPSS under the "Company information" section. The substitution will take effect at the beginning of every new refresh period. If no change is made, this acknowledges that the applicable laws specified are acceptable to the bidder.

11. Compliance with on-site measures, standing orders, policies and rules

The supplier must comply and ensure that its employees and subcontractors comply with all security measures, standing orders, policies or other rules in force at the site where the work is performed.

12. Suspension or cancellation of qualification by Canada

In addition to the circumstances identified in 2020—General conditions: Supply Arrangement—Goods or Services, Canada may, by sending written notice to the supplier, suspend or cancel the SA where the supplier has made public any information that conflicts with the terms, conditions, pricing or availability of systems identified in this SA, or where the supplier is in default in carrying out any of its obligations under this SA, including any violations of the Code of Conduct for Procurement.

If an identified user (also known as a client department) notifies the SA authority that they have terminated a contract for default with a pre-qualified supplier under General Conditions—Supply Arrangement—Goods or Services—2020 09 1(b), the SA authority may do the following:

First default: provide a written warning to the pre-qualified supplier, outlining the repercussions should this happen again
Second default: suspend the SA of the pre-qualified supplier for a period of 3 months upon written notification to the pre-qualified supplier. The written notification will indicate the date on which the suspension will be complete
Third default: suspend the SA of the pre-qualified supplier for a period of 6 months upon written notification to the pre-qualified supplier. The written notification will indicate the date on which the suspension will be complete, and in the case of multiple suspensions, confirm the number of suspensions the pre-qualified supplier has already received

Once each suspension is over, the pre-qualified supplier will be advised in writing that their SA will be re-activated.

If Canada gets notified of a fourth default, Canada will terminate the SA with the pre-qualified supplier who now becomes a former pre-qualified supplier. The former pre-qualified supplier must then wait one (1) year before they may apply to pre-qualify under the RFSA. For the purpose of re-qualification, they are considered to be a ‘new bidder’. As a ‘new bidder’, the former pre-qualified supplier must substantiate that they meet all the mandatory criteria outlined in the RFSA documentation.

13. Indigenous Business Certification

Where an Indigenous Business Certification has been provided, the supplier warrants that its certification of compliance is accurate and complete and in accordance with the "Requirements for the Set-aside Program for Indigenous Business" detailed in Annex 9.4 of the supply manual.

If such a certification has been provided, the supplier must keep proper records and documentation relating to the accuracy of the certification provided to Canada. The supplier must obtain the written consent of the contracting authority before disposing of any such records or documentation before the expiration of 6 years after final payment under the contract, or until settlement of all outstanding claims and disputes, under the contract, whichever is later. All such records and documentation must at all times during the retention period be open to audit by the representatives of Canada, who may make copies and take extracts. The supplier must provide all reasonably required facilities for any audits.

Nothing in this clause must be interpreted as limiting the rights and remedies which Canada may otherwise have pursuant to the Contract.

14. Transition to an e-procurement solution

PSPC is now using an e-procurement solution (EPS). THS has transitioned to this system and will now use it to award and amend SAs. It is mandatory that potential bidders and existing suppliers register for an ARIBA account at How to register your business. Please note that CPSS will remain active for bidders to submit their bid, and for suppliers to manage their account as well as access the reporting function.

If the supplier chooses not to fully register with a validated business number, the SA may be set aside by Canada.

Annex A: Streams and categories

The streams and categories each supplier is qualified for, form a part of their individual SA.

The following is for demonstration purposes only:

SA basis of payment (example)
- Legal name: Example only
- Procurement business number: XXXXXXXXXPG0001
- Reference number: XXX

Table 3: Example of a basis of payment and awarded categories for Tier 0: National Capital Region
Category	Junior	Intermediate	Senior
Stream 1: Office support categories
Category 1.1 Clerk, General	Yes	n/a	n/a
Category 1.2 Administration assistant, General	n/a	Yes	Yes
Category 1.3 Executive assistant	n/a	n/a	Yes
Stream 2: Operational services categories
2.1 General labourer	Yes	Yes	Yes
2.2 Trade helper	n/a	Yes	Yes

Annex B: Validation for diverse suppliers

Background

THS for the NCR is participating in a pilot program which intends on creating greater inclusiveness and opportunities for participation of Indigenous owned businesses (including Procurement Strategy for Indigenous Business registered businesses) and businesses owned by other underrepresented groups (for example, women, persons with disabilities and visible minorities), in federal government procurement. In the THS system, underrepresented suppliers will have the opportunity to voluntarily, self-identify when submitting their arrangement; they will be referred to the Certification—Diverse status section of the CPSS system to check their underrepresented profile. For THS purposes, a diverse supplier is the same as an underrepresented supplier as defined the THS for the NCR RFSA, section 2.6.

Suppliers who self-attest must comply with the definitions found at article 2.6, in Part 2 of the RFSA. Diverse suppliers agree to provide to Canada within 2 business days, such evidence as may be requested by Canada from time to time, corroborating this self-attestation. Such evidence will be open to audit during normal business hours by a representative of Canada, who may view the evidence to ensure compliance with the requirements.

Validating supplier status

During the evaluation period, which include quarterly refreshes, the THS for the NCR team will review supplier’s completed self-attestation forms and identify them as a diverse supplier
The THS for the NCR team will conduct quarterly audits during the life cycle of the SA to validate that the information provided is true and to ensure suppliers are complying with the diverse requirements

Consequences

The consequences of making an untrue statement in the bid documents regarding the diverse status, or of not maintaining compliance with the requirements, may include, but are not limited to the following ramifications:

removal of diverse status under the SA
cancellation or suspension of the SA
termination of any contract awarded pursuant to the diverse status

Validation process to maintain status as a supplier who self-identifies as belonging to an underrepresented group

At a select point during the lifecycle of a contract, a validation form can be sent to suppliers, who at the time of bid submission, have self-identified as belonging to an underrepresented group.

The validation form, sent to suppliers who self-identified as belonging to an underrepresented group, would serve to confirm that:
- the supplier is still compliant with their underrepresented supplier status
- the supplier acknowledges the consequences of making an untrue statement in the bid documents which may include: disqualification of the business from participating in current and future government contracts; and/or termination of any contract awarded pursuant to the underrepresented status
- in the event that a contract is terminated because of an untrue statement or non-compliance with the requirements, Canada may engage another contractor to complete the performance of the contract and any additional costs incurred by Canada will, upon the request of Canada, be borne by the non-compliance supplier
Upon reception of the validation form by PSPC, the supplier is confirmed as an underrepresented supplier for the purpose of the contract/procurement instrument

B. Bid solicitation

1. Bid solicitation documents

Canada will use bid solicitation templates based on the estimated dollar value and complexity of the requirement.

The bid solicitation will contain as a minimum the following:

security requirements (including the applicable SRCL)
a complete description of the work to be performed
2003, Standard instructions or 2004, Standard instructions
bid preparation instructions
instructions for the submission of bids (address for submission of bids, bid closing date and time)
evaluation procedures and basis of selection
financial capability (if applicable)
certifications, as applicable to the evaluation of resources (including status and availability)
conditions of the resulting contract

2. Bid solicitation process

2.1 Specific requirements

Bids will be solicited for specific requirements within the scope of the SA from suppliers who have been issued a SA.

2.2 Business rules

Under this SA, the identified user will be allowed to issue solicitations to pre-qualified suppliers only in accordance with the following rules:

Table 4: Business rules
	Non-competitive	Competitive method 1	Competitive method 2
Contract financial limits	$40,000 including applicable taxes and travel. Multiple resources possible.	$400,000 including applicable taxes and travel Limit of 1 resource per contract	$1 million including applicable taxes and travel (over $1 million with PSPC approval) Multiple resources possible
Contract period	The contract period must not exceed 48 consecutive weeks. Beyond that limit, the Contract can be amended to add a maximum of 24 consecutive weeks (maximum of 72 consecutive weeks) if the amendment to extend its duration is issued after the first 40 consecutive weeks of the contract period. For your information, the identified user will notify the THS for the NCR Authority of the issued amendment by email within 2 business days of issuing the amendment.
Evaluation criteria in addition to the minimum mandatory criteria for the SA category	No additional mandatory criteria	Maximum of 2 additional mandatory criteria No rated or asset criteria allowed	Additional mandatory and rated criteria allowed
Basis of selection	Directed to 1 supplier provided they are responsive to the minimum mandatory criteria for the SA category	Lowest price responsive Right-fit^{table 4 "Business Rules" note *}	Lowest price responsive Highest combined rating of technical merit and price Minimum point-rated Any other option except right-fit
Financial criteria for right-fit^{table 4 "Business Rules" note *}	n/a	Median band from 20% below to 20% above median rate	n/a
CPSS search list of pre-qualified suppliers (expires at Requests for Proposal issuance)	Identified user selects any supplier from the CPSS search list	System randomly chooses 5 suppliers that are certified as diverse suppliers, 3 being low volume System randomly chooses another 6 suppliers Identified user chooses 0 to 4 additional suppliers except when using right-fit See rules for joint venture's (JV) under 2.3 below
Recommended minimum solicitation period	n/a	Lowest price 48 hours Right-fit 96 hours	Identified user’s choice
Bid validity period	n/a	15 calendar days	60 calendar days
Publication of Notice of Proposed Procurement (NPP)	n/a	For requirements above the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) threshold.	For requirements above the CPTPP threshold.
Table 4 "Business Rules" note Table 4 "Business Rules" Note * Right-fit can only be used when: the requirement is below $400,000, and the requirement is for 1 resource only The right-fit selection methodology must be specified in the RFP and cannot be changed A band between -20% and +20% of the median total hourly rate will be used when 3 or more bids are responsive to the mandatory technical criteria. Any bids outside of this band will be considered non-responsive When only 2 bids are responsive to the mandatory technical criteria, the higher priced bid may be selected if the price is within 25% of the lowest priced Interviews may be administered to select the best resource among the bids adhering to the rules stated above When only 1 bid is responsive to the mandatory technical criteria, the contracting officer should determine that the bid represents fair market value to Canada before awarding a contract 1 or more of the 5 justifications below will be used by the identified user to determine the successful bidder. The Right-fit justifications are as follows: specialized education which will improve the quality of services to be provided additional certifications which will improve the quality of services to be provided additional experience which will improve the quality of services to be provided knowledge of relevant government policies or procedures which will improve the quality of services to be provided better proficiency in 1 or both official languages which will improve the quality of the services to be provided Unsuccessful bidders must be advised of the results and the justification Return to table "Bid solicitation process" note * referrer

2.3 Creating the bidders list for the subsequent Requests for proposal

The identified users enter the categories they need in the CPSS and a search list of pre-qualified suppliers will be generated as indicated in the table above. When a JV appears on the list of selected suppliers, the identified users must remove any of the individual JV members if they are also present on the list.

2.4 Bid solicitation issuance for the subsequent Requests for proposal

The identified users will email the bid solicitation directly to the selected suppliers from the final CPSS search list.

2.5 Bid evaluation for the subsequent Requests for proposal

Bids will be assessed in accordance with the entire requirement of the RFP including the technical and financial evaluation criteria.

2.6 Interviewing proposed resources

When using right-fit basis of selection only, identified users may interview proposed resources to identify the most skilled based on the 5 justifications above and also in accordance with the Right-fit rules.

For any other basis of selection, resources may only be interviewed to validate that the information submitted in response to the solicitation is accurate.

Canada won’t reimburse bidders for interview time and telephone/virtual interviews are encouraged.

2.7 Basis of selection and issuance of contracts

The identified users will award contracts in accordance with the basis of selection identified in the RFP. All bidders will be advised of the solicitation results.

C. Resulting contract clauses

1. General

The conditions of any contract awarded under the SA will be in accordance with the resulting contract clauses of the template used for the bid solicitation.

The contract will contain as a minimum the following:

Security requirements (including the applicable SRCL)
Statement of work
Authorization of full-time or part-time telework
Standard clauses and conditions (includes general condition 2010B)
Term of contract (maximum 48 consecutive weeks)
Authorities
Payment
Invoicing instructions
Certifications and additional information
Applicable laws
Insurance
Priority of documents

1.1 With respect to Section 06 - Subcontracts, of General conditions 2010B is deleted and replaced with the following:

Except as provided in subsection 2, the Contractor must obtain the Contracting Authority's written consent before subcontracting or permitting the subcontracting of any part of the Work. A subcontract includes a contract entered into by any subcontractor at any tier to perform any part of the Work.
The Contractor is not required to obtain consent for subcontracts specifically authorized in the Contract. The Contractor may also without the consent of the Contracting Authority:
- (a) purchase "off-the-shelf" items and any standard articles and materials that are ordinarily produced by manufacturers in the normal course of business
- (b) permit its subcontractors at any tier to make purchases or subcontract as permitted in paragraph (a)
In any subcontract other than a subcontract referred to in paragraph 2.(a), the Contractor must, unless the Contracting Authority agrees in writing, ensure that the subcontractor is bound by conditions compatible with and, in the opinion of the Contracting Authority, not less favourable to Canada than the conditions of the Contract, with the exception of requirements under the Federal Contractors Program for employment equity which only apply to the Contractor.
In any subcontract other than a subcontract referred to in paragraph 2.(a), the Contractor must inform the Contracting Authority if, during the performance of any portion of the Work, a subcontractor is also performing work under other contracts or subcontracts with Canada.

Even if Canada consents to a subcontract, the Contractor is responsible for performing the Contract and Canada is not responsible to any subcontractor. The Contractor is responsible for any matters or things done or provided by any subcontractor under the Contract and for paying any subcontractors for any part of the Work they perform.

1.2 With respect to Section 16 - Audit, Paragraph 5, of General conditions 2010B, is deleted and replaced with the following:

The Contractor must maintain such records, and Canada and its authorized representatives will have the right to examine such records, at all times during the term of this Contract and for a period of 7 years after it receives the final payment under the Contract, or until the settlement of all outstanding claims and disputes, whichever is later. Should an examination reveal any overpayments by Canada, these will be claimed by Canada and immediately repaid by the Contractor.

2. Closure of government offices

Where the contractor, its employees, subcontractors, or agents are providing services on government premises or by telework using a secured government’s network and equipment, and those premises/network/equipment are inaccessible/down because of the evacuation or closure of government offices or equipment/network failure the contractor will be paid for no more than 3 working days, at the rates in the contract provided that the contractor submits with its invoice a certification, countersigned by the affected resource, stating that:

the contractor has not received any other payment from any other client for the contracted resources for the period of the closure
the affected resource will be paid at the rate they are entitled to had the services been provided

3. Staffing arrangements

A transfer fee will be payable to the contractor by the identified user when the “office” where the THS for the NCR resource has been assigned during the contract period hires the resource without competition, either on a casual, term or indeterminate basis, prior to the passage of up to 20 calendar weeks measured from the start of services under the contract regardless of a change of duties.

Greater than 18 and up to 20 weeks from the start of services: 2%
Greater than 16 and up to 18 weeks from the start of services: 4%
Greater than 14 and up to 16 weeks from the start of services: 6%
Greater than 12 and up to 14 weeks from the start of services: 8%
Greater than 10 and up to 12 weeks from the start of services: 10%
Greater than 8 and up to 10 weeks from the start of services: 12%
Greater than 6 and up to 8 weeks from the start of services: 14%
Greater than 4 and up to 6 weeks from the start of services: 16%
Greater than 2 and up to 4 weeks from the start of services: 18%
Greater than 0 and up to 2 weeks from the start of services: 20%

Notes

“Office” is interpreted as an organization in a department, agency, or crown corporation under the supervision of a director general (DG) or equivalent. Where there is no DG or equivalent level, the next highest rank is applicable.

Transfer fees apply whether the contract is active or not (that is: terminated, expired) at the time the resource is hired by the identified user.

Transfer fees are based on the annualized salary offered to the THS for the NCR resource. For the purposes of this clause, annualized salary offered to the THS for the NCR resource means the starting annual salary of the position offered by the identified user to the THS for the NCR resource in effect at the time of the offer. This does not include any subsequent performance/incentive pay, bilingual bonus, collective agreement increases or other increases that may occur.

In the example of a THS for the NCR resource being offered a casual, term or indeterminate employment starting at an annual salary of $50,502, where the position is instead based on an hourly rate, then this hourly rate would be annualized, multiplied by 1950 (7.5 hour day), and further multiplied by the appropriate transfer fee percentage. (for example $18.00/hour × 1950 hours = $35,100 and if hired at the 5 week mark $35,100 × 16% = $5,616 transfer fee).

4. Termination notification

When a contract is terminated (with the exception of default or mutual consent) before its expiry and the estimated contract period was 3 months or longer, the identified user must provide the contractor with a minimum of 7 calendar day’s written notice.

If the required notification is not provided, the identified user will pay a fee based on 7.5 hours per day at the rate charged by the contractor for each remaining day of the required notice. No written notification is required if the contract naturally expires.

5. Invoicing instructions

The Contractor must submit invoices in accordance with the information required in the general conditions.
The Contractor's invoice must include a separate line item for each subparagraph in the basis of payment provision.
By submitting invoices, the Contractor is certifying that the goods and services have been delivered and that all charges are in accordance with the basis of payment provision of the contract, including any charges for work performed by subcontractors.
The Contractor must provide an electronic copy of each invoice, including timesheet to support the invoice, to the technical authority and to the contracting authority.
The Contractor must submit time sheets for each resource showing the days, the total hours, and the actual time worked in a 24 hour period (for example 7.5 hours - from 8:00 am to 12:00 pm and from 12:30 pm to 4:00 pm) excluding any passive time such as retainer or standby time or time awaiting for information or task assignment or any other form of passive time similar to the ones described above to support the charges claimed in the invoice.
The Contractor agrees that neither it nor its subcontractors may request any government employee to certify invoices or timesheets. The Contractor acknowledges and agrees that any such certification is void and of no force or effect and does not bind Canada in any manner whatsoever.

6. Overtime

Overtime must not be performed under the contract unless authorized in advance and in writing by the identified user. Any request for payment must be accompanied by a copy of the overtime authorization, including any premium to be paid, and a report containing the details of the overtime performed pursuant to the written authorization.

Overtime is regulated by provincial legislation and is therefore calculated based on where the work is performed:

in Ontario, overtime is payable for time worked in excess of 44 hours in a week
in Quebec, overtime is payable for time worked in excess of 40 hours in a week

7. Statutory holidays

When an identified user’s office is closed due to a statutory holiday, the contractor will not be paid for that day and the resource must not report for work.

When an identified user’s office is open on a day normally recognized as a statutory holiday, it is the contractor’s decision whether to allow the resource to work or not. Agreement between the contractor and the identified user should be documented in advance of the holiday.

8. Replacement of specific individuals

If the contractor is unable to provide the services of any specific individual identified in its bid, in the contract or in any task authorization to perform the services, the contractor must within 5 working days of having this knowledge, the individual's departure or failure to commence work (or, if Canada has requested the replacement, within ten working days of Canada's notice of the requirement for a replacement) provide to the contracting authority:
1. the name, qualifications and experience of a proposed replacement immediately available for work
2. security information on the proposed replacement as specified by Canada, if applicable

The replacement must have qualifications and experience that meet or exceed those obtained for the original resource.

Subject to an excusable delay, where Canada becomes aware that a specific individual identified under the contract or in any task authorization to provide services has not been provided or is not performing, the contracting authority may elect to:
1. exercise Canada's rights or remedies under the contract or at law, including terminating the contract in whole or in part for default under the article titled "Default of the Contractor"
2. assess the information provided under (i) above or, if it has not yet been provided, require the contractor to propose a replacement to be rated by the technical authority. The replacement must have qualifications and experience that are similar or exceed those obtained for the original resource and be acceptable to Canada. Upon assessment of the replacement, Canada may accept the replacement, exercise the rights in
(ii) (A) above, or require another replacement in accordance with this article 7.27.

Where an excusable delay applies, Canada may require (ii) (B) above instead of terminating under the “excusable delay” article. An excusable delay does not include resource unavailability due to allocation of the resource to another contract or project (including those for the Crown) being performed by the contractor or any of its affiliates.

The contractor must not, in any event, allow performance of the work by unauthorized replacement persons. The contracting authority may order that an original or replacement resource stop performing the work. In such a case, the contractor must immediately comply with the order. The fact that the contracting authority does not order a resource to stop performing the work does not relieve the contractor from its responsibility to meet the requirements of the contract.
The obligations in this article apply despite any changes that Canada may have made to the client's operating environment.

9. Representations and warranties

The Contractor made statements regarding its own and its proposed resources' experience and expertise in its bid and resource proposals that resulted in the award of the Contract and work authorizations. The Contractor represents and warrants that all those statements are true and acknowledges that Canada relied on those statements in awarding the Contract and authorizing work under the contract. The Contractor also represents and warrants that it has, and all its resources and subcontractors that perform the Work have, and at all times during the Contract Period they will have and maintain, the skills, qualifications, expertise and experience necessary to perform and manage the Work in accordance with the Contract, and that the Contractor (and any resources or subcontractors it uses) has previously performed similar services for other clients.

10. Identification protocol for contractors and resources

The contractor will be responsible for ensuring that any of its resources, representatives or subcontractors complies with the following self-identification requirements:

contractor resources who attend a Government of Canada meeting (whether internal or external to Canada's offices) must identify as a contractor resource prior to the commencement of the meeting, to ensure that each meeting participant is aware of the fact that the individual is not a Government of Canada employee
during the performance of any work at a Government of Canada site, the contractor’s resource must be clearly identified at all times as being a contractor
if a contractor resource requires the use of the Government of Canada's e-mail system in the performance of the work, then the individual must clearly identify him or herself as a contractor resource in all electronic mail including the signature block as well as under "Properties". This identification protocol must also be used in all other correspondence, communication, and documentation

If Canada determines that the contractor resource or the contractor is in breach of any obligation stated in this clause, upon written notice from Canada the contractor must submit a written action plan describing the corrective measures it will implement to eliminate the recurrence of the problem. The contractor will have 2 working days to deliver the action plan to the identified user and 10 working days to rectify the problem. In addition to any other rights it has under the contract, Canada may terminate the contract for default if the corrective measures required of the contractor described above are not met.

11. Time verification

(i) Time charged and the accuracy of the Contractor’s time recording system are subject to verification by Canada, before or after payment is made to the Contractor. If verification is done after payment, the Contractor must repay any overpayment, at Canada’s request.
(ii) If the Contract includes payment for time spent by the Contractor, its employees, representatives, agents or subcontractors performing the Work, the Contractor must keep a record of the actual time worked each day by each individual performing any part of the Work.
(iii) Canada reserves the right to recover amounts and make adjustments to amounts payable to the Contractor where an examination of the Contractor’s records has identified amounts allocated to the Contract that are not in accordance with the Contract terms. Where the results of an examination indicate that an overpayment by Canada has occurred, such overpayment is due and payable on the date indicated in the notice of overpayment.

12. Liquidated damages (applicable only when a set-aside is being used)

The Contractor acknowledges and agrees that the Contract was awarded based on the Contractor’s certification that it meets all requirements of the applicable Government of Canada set-aside program. The Contractor must maintain compliance with all applicable set-aside requirements throughout the contract period.
If Canada determines that the Contractor is non-compliant with any requirement of the set-aside program, the Contractor must pay Canada liquidated damages, which shall be calculated as follows:
1. Calculation basis. Liquidated damages shall be calculated based on an assumed profit margin of 16%, with non-compliance deemed to commence from the time of Contract award. The calculation shall apply both to (i) the combined amount of all invoices paid by Canada and/or (ii) the value of any work delivered, inspected, and accepted by Canada for which payment has not been rendered.
2. Downward adjustments. Within 15 calendar days of receipt of written notice of non-compliance from Canada, the Contractor may submit evidence establishing its actual profit margin and the actual period of non-compliance. In the event that such evidence shows that either (i) the Contractor’s actual profit margin is less than sixteen 16% and/or (ii) the actual period of non-compliance is less than the assumed duration, Canada may, in its sole discretion, adjust the liquidated damages downward. Notwithstanding any submission of evidence from the Contractor, Canada shall have no obligation to accept or rely upon such evidence if, in its sole discretion, the evidence is not reliable.
Payment of such liquidated damages is due within 30 calendar days after the Contractor’s receipt of written notice of non-compliance from Canada.
The parties agree a payment of liquidated damages subject to the above conditions is fair, reasonable and necessary to protect Canada’s legitimate interests in advancing socio-economic objectives through set-aside programs and is a bona fide estimate of the loss suffered by Canada due to the Contractor’s non-compliance with any requirement of the set-aside program. The parties further agree the liquidated damages are not intended to be, nor should be interpreted as, a penalty.
Canada will have the right to hold back, drawback, deduct or set off from and against any amounts of any monies owing at any time by Canada to the Contractor under this or any other current contract in relation to any liquidated damages owing and unpaid under this section.
Nothing in this section must be interpreted as limiting the rights and remedies which Canada may otherwise have under the Contract or in law, including, without limitation, the right to terminate the Contract for default.

From:

Public Services and Procurement Canada

Page details

2025-10-27