TerraCanada and Regulatory and Security Science: Architecture and Engineer Services

On this page

• Attestation of assurance
• Activity requirement
• Fairness monitoring engagement and observations
• Reference documents
• Addendum to the final report

Attestation of assurance

The fairness monitor (FM) hereby provides the unqualified assurance below concerning the TerraCanada (TC) and Regulatory and Security Science (RSS) Architecture and Engineer Services (AES) procurement process up to and including the conclusion of the evaluation phase.

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:

Activity requirement

RCGT was engaged on November 17, 2022 as an FM to observe the TC National Capital Area (NCA) and RSS NCA Main AES procurement process, issued by Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC), as a result of solicitation WS3790208446. RCGT is an independent third party with respect to this activity.

We hereby submit the fairness monitoring final report, covering the activities of the FM, from November 17, 2022 through to October 25, 2023.

TC NCA and RSS NCA main are 2 projects initiated by PWGSC's Science and Parliamentary Infrastructure Branch as part of the Laboratories Canada initiative to build 2 new laboratory facilities in the National Capital Region. The TC NCA facility will be approximately 130,000 square metres (sqm) and the RSS NCA main facility will be approximately 94,957 sqm. The facilities will provide state of the art laboratory facilities for a variety of other federal government departments and clients including Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, Health Canada, National Research Council of Canada , Canadian Border Services Agency and Public Health Agency of Canada, among others.

To support these projects, 4 contracts are being procured:

• 2 AES contracts for design services, site services, and post construction service
  • 1 contract for TC NCA
  • 1 contract for RSS NCA main
• 2 construction management contracts for advisory services during the design as well as full construction services to implement the design
  • 1 contract for TC NCA
  • 1 contract for RSS NCA main

This scope of this fairness monitoring report is related to the AES portion of this procurement.

The FM reviewed all the information provided and observed all relevant activities of the procurement process.

This report includes our:

• attestation of assurance
• summary of the scope and objectives of our assignment
• relevant observations from the activities undertaken

Fairness monitoring engagement and observations

In accordance with the terms of our engagement, we:

• reviewed documents provided by the contracting authority (CA)
• monitored communications with proponents provided by the CA
• attended meetings that the CA requested our presence at
• identified any potential fairness-related matters to the CA
• ensured that responses and actions were reasonable and appropriate

In this section

• Request for qualification
• Request for proposal phase
• Evaluation phase

Request for qualification

The following activities were performed during this phase:

• from January 4, 2023, to January 11, 2023 the FM reviewed the request for qualification (RFQ) and questions, comments and identified issues were discussed
• the RFQ was posted on CanadaBuys on January 13, 2023
• 8 amendments to the RFQ were issued, from January 13, 2023, to March 1, 2023, respectively
• from January 13, 2023, to March 1, 2023, the FM reviewed all questions and answers responses and the corresponding RFQ amendments
• the RFQ closed on March 1, 2023
• the FM attended a series of evaluation consensus meetings from March 27, 2023 to April 3, 2023

In accordance with the terms of our engagement, we familiarized ourselves with the relevant documents, observed the RFQ phase, and provided comments and feedback to the CA. We also ensured that responses and actions were reasonable and appropriate.

All comments identified by the FM throughout the RFQ phase were addressed by the CA.

Request for proposal phase

The following activities were performed during this phase:

• from March 23, 2023 to May 5, 2023, the FM performed a review of the request for proposal (RFP), questions, comments and issues identified were addressed
• the FM received the first draft of the RFP on March 23, 2023
• the RFP was posted on CanadaBuys on May 31, 2023
• there were 17 addenda and 146 questions and answers from May 31, 2023 to August 1, 2023, respectively
• from May 31, 2023 to August 1, 2023, the FM reviewed all questions and responses along with the corresponding RFP amendments
• the deadline for the RFP was August 1, 2023 for the technical, socio-economic and financial proposal submission

In accordance with the terms of our engagement, we familiarized ourselves with the relevant documents, observed the activities above, identifying fairness-related matters to the CA, and ensured that responses and actions were reasonable and appropriate.

The FM provided to the CA minor comments to the proposed RFP document and related amendments which were appropriately resolved by the CA. There are no unresolved matters related to the RFP phase, nor any observations to report which would impact our attestation.

Evaluation phase

The following activities were performed by the FM during this phase:

• attended evaluation consensus meetings from September 11, 2023 to September 25, 2023
• observed the evaluation process including observing the consensus meetings of the evaluation team
• reviewed documentation related to the evaluation results
• reviewed correspondence issued to proponents

The evaluators performed individual evaluations first and then conducted a series of meetings to come to a consensus score. The meetings were mediated by the technical authority with support from the CA.

A total of 5 bids were received. A preferred proponent was selected for the TC NCA facility, and a different preferred proponent was selected for the RSS NCA main facility.

Reference documents

The documents related to solicitation WS3790208446 are available on CanadaBuys or through the project office.

Addendum to the final report

October 2, 2024

Addendum to the final report dated October 27, 2023, for the TC and RSS AES procurement process.

This addendum covers the period following the conclusion of the evaluation phase including contract award and debriefings.

Two contracts were awarded, 1 for TC and 1 for RSS. The successful bidders were notified of contract award on December 18, 2023. The FM reviewed the 2 award letters before they were issued.

On the same day, the FM reviewed the regret letters before they were issued. The FM provided minor comments to the CA which were properly addressed. The unsuccessful bidders were notified of the result on December 18, 2023.

All 5 bidders requested debriefs and met with the CA between January 22 and 26, 2024. The FM reviewed the materials in advance of the debriefs. The FM attended the debriefings, and no fairness concerns were observed.

Attestation of assurance

The FM hereby provides the unqualified assurance statement below concerning TC and RSS AES procurement process.

It is our professional opinion that the procurement process we observed or monitored was carried out in a fair, open and transparent manner.

Original signed by: