Remote, Isolated and Semi-isolated First Nations Nursing Services
Fairness monitor final report: September 6, 2023
Addendum to final report: December 5, 2023
Submitted to: Director, Fairness Monitoring Program
Submitted by: Samson
On this page
Attestation of assurance
The fairness monitor (FM) hereby provides the unqualified assurance statement below concerning the Remote, Isolated and Semi-isolated First Nations (FN) Nursing Services procurement process up to and including the conclusion of the evaluation phase.
It is our professional opinion that the process we observed or monitored was carried out in a fair, open and transparent manner.
Original signed by:
Mathieu Farley
Chartered Professional Accountant Auditeur
Chartered Accountant
Certified Information Systems Auditor
Certified Fraud Examiner
Partner, Audit and Advisory Services
Samson
Jocelyne Lafrenière
Chartered Professional Accountant
Fairness Monitor Specialist
Project requirement
Samson was engaged on October 14, 2021, as a FM to observe the procurement process for the Remote, Isolated and Semi-isolated FN Nursing Services issued by Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC), on behalf of Indigenous Services Canada (ISC), under solicitations number 5A090-213802/A to C and WS3761422780. Samson is an independent third party with respect to this activity.
This report covers the activities of the FM starting with the issuance of a letter of interest (LOI) - request for information (RFI) on September 7, 2021, until the close of the evaluation phase of the request for proposal (RFP) on September 5, 2023.
The objective of this project is the re-procurement of the remote, isolated and semi-isolated FN nursing services. ISC employs health human resources to provide services in:
- 21 FN communities and 2 hospitals in Manitoba
- 24 FN communities in Ontario
- 2 FN communities in Quebec
- 4 FN communities in Alberta
Canada anticipates awarding the following number of contracts under each stream and region as a result of this RFP:
| Region | Primary contractor stream | Backup contractor stream (up to) |
|---|---|---|
| Alberta | 1 | 3 |
| Manitoba | 2 | 3 |
| Ontario | 2 | 3 |
| Quebec | 1 | 3 |
We reviewed all of the information provided and observed all relevant activities subsequent to our engagement.
This report includes:
- our attestation of assurance
- a summary of the scope and objectives of our assignment
- the methodologies applied and relevant observations from the activities undertaken
Fairness monitoring engagement and observations
In accordance with the terms of our engagement, we:
- familiarized ourselves with the relevant documents
- observed the procurement activities, for example, the
- LOIs - RFIs and related amendment
- RFP and related amendments
- related questions and answers process
- attendance to meetings
- identified fairness-related matters to the contracting and technical authorities
- ensured that responses and actions were reasonable and appropriate
In this section
Industry engagement phase
An initial LOI - RFI was posted via buyandsell.gc.ca (5A090-213802/A) on September 7, 2021, to obtain industry feedback prior to finalizing the procurement strategy and associated documentation.
One amendment was posted on buyandsell.gc.ca on September 22, 2021. One question was received from an interested supplier and an answer was provided and distributed on buyandsell.gc.ca. The closing date of the initial LOI - RFI was September 24, 2021.
Eight respondents provided feedback on questions of interest and 7 participated in one-on-one sessions that took place in November 2021.
A second LOI - RFI was posted via buyandsell.gc.ca (5A090-213802/B) on February 10, 2022 to follow-up on the initial LOI - RFI and engagement meetings for the purpose of providing answers to questions raised by respondents during the industry engagement phase. The closing date of the second LOI - RFI was February 28, 2022.
A third LOI - RFI was posted via buyandsell.gc.ca (5A090-213802/C) on May 31, 2022 as a follow-up to the previous 2 LOI - RFI to provide transparency with respect to a respondent question raised that could be of interest to other members of industry. The closing date of the third LOI - RFI was July 29, 2022.
The FM reviewed the 3 LOI - RFI documents and feedback provided by interested respondents on questions of interest. The FM participated in one-on-one sessions and reviewed all questions and answers provided during the industry engagement phase to ensure that fairness considerations were satisfactorily addressed.
No fairness issues were identified.
Request for proposal phase
The RFP (WS3761422780) was posted via CanadaBuys on December 1, 2022, and had a closing date of January 23, 2023. Prior to the issuance of the RFP, a meeting took place on November 24, 2022, to provide project and contractual stakeholders with communication directives during the RFP period.
Ten amendments were issued, the last of which was on January 20, 2023. The amendments included answers to questions raised by potential bidders, as well as modifications to the RFP.
The FM reviewed the RFP documents, all questions and answers provided during the RFP posting period, as well as the amendments to ensure that fairness considerations were satisfactorily addressed.
Nineteen bidders submitted proposals. The number of bids received under each stream and region are as follows:
| Region | Primary contractor stream | Backup contractor stream |
|---|---|---|
| Alberta | 10 | 9 |
| Manitoba | 9 | 13 |
| Ontario | 12 | 11 |
| Quebec | 7 | 9 |
No fairness issues were identified.
Evaluation phase of the request for proposal
A technical evaluation plan was developed that described the evaluation process, the roles and responsibilities of the technical evaluation teams, the requests for clarification, record keeping, to name a few.
The responsibility for conducting the technical evaluation was divided across 2 evaluation teams. Each team was responsible for evaluating specific mandatory and technical evaluation criteria for all bids received. One evaluation team was composed of 3 evaluators, while the other included 2 evaluators.
An information session for the technical evaluation team was held on January 24, 2023. The evaluation of the bids consisted of a review of the documentation submitted by the bidders as indicated in the RFP. The evaluation of bids began on January 25, 2023. In accordance with the evaluation procedures and basis of selection section of the RFP, the phased bid compliance process (PBCP) was applied and consisted of 3 phases.
Phase 1: Financial bid to determine whether the bid included a financial bid and whether it included all information required by the RFP. Only bids found responsive to the requirements reviewed in this phase were entitled to receive an evaluation phase 2 review.
Phase 2: Technical bid to identify any instances where the bidder had failed to meet any eligible mandatory evaluation criterion. Only bids found responsive to the mandatory requirements reviewed in this phase were entitled to receive an evaluation phase 3.
Phase 3: Final evaluation of the bid to complete the evaluation of all bids found responsive to the requirements reviewed at evaluation phase 2.
Phase 1 of the phased bid compliance process
In accordance with phase 1 of the PBCP, PWGSC sent notices to 6 bidders on January 25, 2023, to inform them of missing information in their financial bids. Four bidders provided a response to the notice before the close of the phase 1 remedy period deadline. The contracting authority (CA) reviewed the 4 bidders’ responses, and the bids were found responsive to the requirements and entitled to receive a phase 2 review. Two bidders did not provide a response; therefore, their bids did not receive any further consideration.
Phase 2 of the phased bid compliance process
During the period from January to April 2023, PWGSC sent several requests for clarifications to respondents. Some respondents provided a response to the requests for clarification, and some others did not.
Consensus meetings took place during the period from February to April 2023 to evaluate the eligible mandatory criterion. In accordance with phase 2 of the PBCP, PWGSC sent compliance assessment reports (CARs) to all bidders on April 26, 2023, to inform them if their bid demonstrated compliance with the eligible mandatory criteria.
Bidders who were not compliant with the eligible mandatory criteria were informed that they were entitled to submit additional or different information with the purpose of demonstrating compliance with the eligible mandatory criteria identified in the CAR.
Except for 2, all bidders who received a CAR requesting additional information, submitted a response on a timely basis. Consensus meetings took place in May 2023 to evaluate the CAR responses. Bidders who met the eligible mandatory criterion were entitled to receive a phase 3 review as further detailed below.
Phase 3 of the phased bid compliance process
Under phase 3 of the PBCP, bids were assessed in accordance with the entire requirement of the bid solicitation including the technical and financial evaluation criteria.
In May and June 2023, consensus meetings took place to assess the bids found responsive to the mandatory requirements reviewed at phase 2. During the period, PWGSC sent requests for clarifications to some respondents who provided their responses on a timely basis.
Following responses to clarification requests sent to 1 bidder in July and August 2023, it was determined that 1 eligible mandatory criteria and some technical criteria needed to be re-evaluated. A consensus meeting took place on August 11, 2023, to re-evaluate the bid. The bid was deemed not compliant with the mandatory criteria and a CAR was submitted on August 11, 2023. A consensus meeting took place on August 29, 2023, to assess the bidder’s response to the CAR. The bid was deemed non-responsive to the mandatory criteria.
Overall, the number of bids deemed compliant with the eligible mandatory criteria at the conclusion phase 3 was as follows:
| Region | Primary contractor stream | Backup contractor stream |
|---|---|---|
| Alberta | 2 | 3 |
| Manitoba | 2 | 6 |
| Ontario | 3 | 4 |
| Quebec | 1 | 3 |
The FM reviewed the:
- technical evaluation plan
- individual scoring grids
- consensus evaluation grids
- requests for clarification
- evaluation summary of the mandatory criterion
- notices and CARs sent to bidders under the PBCP
- technical evaluation summary signed by the evaluators
- final evaluation report on the overall technical and financial evaluation to confirm the winning firm
The FM attended the:
- evaluation team information session
- consensus meetings with the evaluation teams and the CA
No fairness issues were identified.
Reference documents
Documents related to the solicitations 5A090-213802/A to C and WS3761422780 are available on CanadaBuys and through the project office.
Addendum to the final report
December 5, 2023
Addendum to the FM final report dated September 6, 2023, concerning the Remote, Isolated and Semi-isolated FN Nursing Services procurement process.
This addendum to the final report covers the period following the conclusion of the evaluation phase, including contract award and debriefings.
Fairness monitoring activities related to contract award and debriefings
The number of contracts that were awarded are as follows:
| Region | Primary contractor stream | Backup contractor stream |
|---|---|---|
| Alberta | 1 | 3 |
| Manitoba | 2 | 3 |
| Ontario | 2 | 3 |
| Quebec | 1 | 2 |
On November 3, 2023, successful bidders were informed of contract award and regret letters were sent to the other bidders.
Debriefing meetings were requested by 7 bidders, and they took place during the period from November 21 to 30, 2023. Following the debriefing meetings, these bidders were provided with a written evaluation summary results report.
The FM reviewed the correspondence with bidders and attended the debriefing meetings with the bidders.
Attestation of assurance
The FM hereby provides the unqualified assurance statement below concerning the Remote, Isolated and Semi-isolated FN Nursing Services procurement process up to and including the conclusion of contract award and debriefing activities.
It is our professional opinion that the process that we observed or monitored was carried out in a fair, open and transparent manner.
Original signed by:
Mathieu Farley
Chartered Professional Accountant Auditeur
Chartered Accountant
Certified Information Systems Auditor
Certified Fraud Examiner
Partner, Audit and Advisory Services
Samson
Jocelyne Lafrenière
Chartered Professional Accountant
Fairness Monitor Specialist
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