Contracting Policy Notice 2023-3: Updated Guide to the Proactive Publication of Contracts

Overview

Proactively publishing information on contracts helps Canadians understand what the federal government is procuring. The Guide to the Proactive Publication of Contracts supports departments in meeting their reporting requirements by providing guidance to managers and functional specialists on identifying, collecting, reporting and publishing contract information.

The guide (previously titled Guidelines on the Proactive Disclosure of Contracts) has been updated and renamed, effective June 30, 2023.

The title of the guide has been updated to align with amendments made in June 2019 that introduced “Part 2: Proactive Publication of Information” of the Access to Information Act. These amendments set out legislative requirements for the proactive publication of contract information.

The updated guide builds on the requirements for reporting on proactive publication of contracts under Appendix C of the Directive on the Management of Procurement. The guide includes additional requirements to strengthen guidance on the following:

1. Monitoring the proactive publication of contract information
   • Supports the new requirement for Senior Designated Officials for the management of procurement to establish risk-based internal controls to monitor the proactive publication of contracts
   • Provides guidance on the elements to include as part of these risk-based internal controls
2. Reporting on contract descriptions for certain service contracts
   • Clarifies the reporting requirements in Appendix D for certain services contracts valued above $10,000 to include a brief description of the contract so that the public may benefit from additional context
   • Effective October 1, 2023, introduces additional reporting requirements for certain services contracts valued above $1 million to include a detailed description of the contract
3. Reporting considerations for National Security Exemptions
   • Clarifies that contracting information may still be subject to proactive publication requirements under the Access to Information Act when invoking a National Security Exemption to exclude a contract from applicable trade agreements
4. Collection of contracting data elements
   • Makes permanent the pilot data field reporting requirements under Appendix A of the Guide to the Proactive Publication of Contracts, specifically:
     • number of bids
     • Section 6: Government Contracts Regulations Exceptions
     • award criteria
     • socio-economic indicator
   • Departments that do not currently have the capability to report on these data fields are to include such functionality when migrating to a new or upgraded departmental procurement or financial system

Enquiries

Questions about this policy notice should be directed to Public Enquiries.

Samantha Tattersall
Assistant Comptroller General, Acquired Services and Assets Sector
Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat