Contracting Policy Notice 2024-1: Amendments to the Directive on the Management of Procurement to Strengthen Management and Oversight

Date: July 04, 2024

To: Senior Designated Officials for the Management of Procurement and Functional Heads of Procurement, Administration and Finance units in all departments

Subject: Amendments to the Directive on the Management of Procurement to strengthen management and oversight

Overview

In October 2023, Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat published the Manager’s Guide: Key Considerations When Procuring Professional Services. The guide was updated in March 2024 to reinforce managers’ responsibilities to maintain the integrity of the procurement process.

Budget 2024 committed to bring forward strengthened accountability guidelines for managers who have responsibilities under the role of “business owners” in policy when procuring professional services. On May 29, 2024, the Treasury Board’s Directive on the Management of Procurement was amended to strengthen oversight, conflict of interest and integrity provisions in the directive, including the new Appendix F: Mandatory Procedures for Business Owners When Procuring Professional Services.

The mandatory procedures take full effect on September 30, 2024. Refer to Appendix F of the directive for the list of business owner requirements, which include the following when procuring professional services that exceed $40,000:

1. Before initiating a procurement for professional services, business owners are to exercise and document their due diligence and considerations of alternative approaches. They must also validate that contracting for professional services is the optimal approach to deliver on operational requirements.
2. When structuring a professional services procurement, business owners are to develop and provide contracting authorities with clear statements of work. These must identify the specific initiative that the work will be supporting, including incorporating considerations for knowledge transfer to build the skills and capacity of public servants.
3. Prior to awarding a contract or task authorization, business owners are to sign a confirmation acknowledging their responsibilities in managing the contract. The confirmation documents that they do not have a conflict of interest, have not directed which resources should be working under the contract, and that the contractor did not assist with or have unfair access in the solicitation process. An example template for this confirmation is included as an appendix to this notice.
4. When managing a professional services contract, business owners are to ensure the active monitoring of the performance of the work. Business owners are to escalate any issues, including potential breaches of the Code of Conduct for Procurement, to contracting authorities.

To enable accurate and comprehensive procurement files, business owners must document, maintain, preserve, and provide all relevant records to contracting authorities.

In addition to establishing the mandatory procedures, the directive has been amended to further strengthen oversight, conflict of interest, and integrity provisions. These provisions include:

• a new requirement for senior designated officials for the management of procurement to provide deputy heads with reports twice a year. The first report must be provided to deputy heads by September 30, 2024 and must include information about the number of consultants associated with business services, informatics services, management consulting services or temporary help services working in the department totalling an excess of $5 million.
• updated business owners’ responsibilities to clarify that the Values and Ethics Code for the Public Sector and the Directive on Conflict of Interest apply at all times during the procurement process, including when evaluating bids and awarding and managing contracts (subsection 4.2.2)
• expanded contracting authorities’ responsibilities to include the prevention and identification of conflicts of interest (subsection 4.3.2.2)
• a requirement that business owners are identified and documented in the contract file (subsection 4.10.1.10)
• clarified responsibilities for business owners to develop clear statements of work and technical evaluation criteria, in collaboration with contracting authorities (subsection 4.2.3.4)
• expansion of responsibilities of Public Services and Procurement Canada to include a reference to the government-wide Ineligibility and Suspension Policy (subsection 5.6.9 and Appendix D, subsection D.7)

Departments are advised to update their departmental procurement management framework to reflect the changes.

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

Appendix: Mandatory Procedures for Business Owners When Procuring Professional Services – Sample Business Owner Confirmation

The following is a sample of a business owner confirmation template. Departments that are subject to the Directive on the Management of Procurement may adapt it as needed, provided the confirmation is consistent with subsection F.2.7.2 of the Mandatory Procedures for Business Owners When Procuring Professional Services. 

Context

Under the Policy on the Planning and Management of Investments, a “business owner” is the individual who is responsible for the business or program area for which a procurement is established. As the business owner, you are responsible for:

• defining the required capabilities, intended business outcomes and benefits of a procurement at the outset
• the achievement of the business outcomes and benefits following implementation

You have further specific business owner responsibilities under the Treasury Board Directive on the Management of Procurement. Under these procedures, as the business owner for a procurement, you are required to provide contracting authorities with the signed confirmation below. Before a contract or task authorization for professional service is awarded, business owners must acknowledge important responsibilities and accountabilities related to oversight, conflict of interest and integrity when undertaking professional services procurement activities.

Confirmation

By signing below, as the business owner for procurement [#], I acknowledge and confirm the following:

• I have reviewed the terms of the [contract or task authorization].
• I have the ability to execute my responsibilities as a business owner in managing the contract or task authorization, its requirements, performance, and the deliverables of the contractor.
• I have neither specified nor directed to the contractor which resources or firms should be working under the contract or task authorization.
• To my knowledge, the contractor did not assist with or have unfair access to any part of the solicitation or evaluation process.
• I do not have any potential, perceived or real conflicts of interest. Should any develop, I will immediately report it as required by the Directive on Conflict of Interest and notify the contracting authority.