The Guidelines on the Proactive Disclosure of Contracts was rescinded on June 30, 2023. It has been replaced by the reporting requirements in the Guide to the Proactive Publication of Contracts.
This version of the guidelines incorporates updates effective .
To provide guidance to managers and functional specialists on the identification, collection, reporting and publication of contract information.
As part of Canada’s second Action Plan on Open Government, the Government of Canada has committed to the disclosure of contracting data via a centralized, machine-readable database available to the public. This commitment reinforces the proactive disclosure of contracts which reflects broader government commitments to transparency and strengthened accountability within the public sector originally announced in Budget 2004.
Contracting data is gathered for the purposes of:
These guidelines support the Directive on the Management of Procurement. Appendix C.2.1 requires the senior designated officials for the management of procurement to proactively publish contract information in accordance with Part 2 of the Access to Information Act. Appendix C.2.3 also requires departments to report on the contract data elements in the data format prescribed by the Treasury Board Secretariat.
These guidelines also support the public disclosure of contract information requirements for government entities and Ministers’ offices under the Access to Information Act. Sections 77 and 86 of the Act requires Ministers’ offices and government entities to publicly disclose contracts with a value of over $10,000, a contract amendment when it modifies the contract value to exceed $10,000 and amendments to contracts that increase or decrease the value of the contract by more than $10,000.
Appendix C.2.4.1 of the Directive on the Management of Procurement requires quarterly public disclosure of the following:
Appendix C.2.5 of the Directive on the Management of Procurement, requires annual reporting, on a calendar year basis, to Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) via email (ncr.gwprs@pwgsc.gc.ca and cc: ZZPDCDC@tbs-sct.gc.ca) on the following:
Appendix C.2.4.2 of the Directive on the Management of Procurement requires annual public disclosure, on a calendar year basis, on the volume and cumulative dollar value of a contract or positive or negative amendment when its value is $10,000 or less. In addition, the disclosure of the volume and cumulative dollar value of all acquisition card transactions regardless of dollar value is required.
A series of amendments to a contract made in one reporting period may be disclosed as one amendment. Alternatively, an amendment may be reported separately if this is the standard practice in the department.
Non-financial amendments do not need to be disclosed, except when it is in the public interest to do so.
A contract option, when exercised, may be disclosed as an amendment. Alternatively, the full value of a contract, including options, may be disclosed at the time of contract award.
A call-up against a standing offer or supply arrangement should be disclosed as a contract.
A standing offer agreement and a supply arrangement agreement are not procurement contracts but are to be disclosed for the purpose of transparency. Such agreements must be disclosed either as part of proactive disclosure or on a public website.
For contracts with task authorizationsFootnote 1, the full potential value of the contract may be disclosed upon contract award unless the full value is not expected to be used. In the latter situation, each task authorization may be disclosed individually. When a contract includes a fixed deliverable and another deliverable that requires a task authorization, the department may disclose the contract and task authorizations in any manner that is transparent.
In accordance with Part 2 of the Access to Information Act, departments are required to disclose contracts or positive and negative amendments valued at over $10,000 with only very limited exceptions. A department is not required to disclose information about contracts that would properly be withheld in response to a request under Part 1 of the Access to Information Act pursuant to s.80 and s.90 of the Act.
When a department determines that information about a contract should properly be withheld from proactive disclosure under section 4.1.10 of these guidelines, the department is still required, per Part 2 of the Access to Information Act, to disclose those portions of contract information that do not contain or can reasonable be severed from information that may be withheld.
The following would usually be excluded from reporting, unless they constitute contracts under the Policy on the Planning and Management of Investments:
The data elements in appendices A and B were developed to provide consistency to the public. As a best practice, departments are encouraged to follow the recommended approach identified in appendices A and B for each data element if possible. If use of the recommended approach is not possible, a department may use a standard practice in the department for disclosure. To provide consistency to the public, it is recommended that departments move away from departmental standards and move towards the recommended reporting standard over time.
Starting for calendar year 2017, departments must report their contracting data on the Open Government Portal. When Public Services and Procurement Canada, Shared Services Canada (SSC) or another department or Crown corporation issues a contract on a department's behalf, the client department should report the contract. PSPC and SSC will assist client organizations by providing any information it has on such contracts through the Procurement Policy Division’s GCpedia site within five business days after the end of the quarter. In addition, the PSPC and SSC contracting authority is to provide a copy of each contract or amendment to the client department at time of award.
For PSPC or SSC multi-departmental contracts, departments are to disclose their portion only as either a contract or amendment based on how it was recorded in their departmental procurement or financial systems. For a standing offer agreement or supply arrangement agreement, it is recommended that the agreement be reported by the department that authorizes the agreement.
Reporting is to occur for:
When the above dates for posting fall on a weekend or statutory holiday, departments may post information by the last business day before the weekend or holiday in question.
A contract or amendment not reported in the reporting period in which it was awarded may be reported in the subsequent reporting period, or as soon as practicable. Any contract or amendment included in a reporting period after its publication, should clearly indicate the omission within the comments data element (refer to Appendix C).
Information posted in one reporting period can be modified for that reporting period only when a material error was made in the data originally published. Any modified information is recommended to be clearly indicated as such within the comments data (refer to Appendix C).
Departments are to provide a nil report for any quarter or calendar year in which no contract or amendment is disclosed. Departments are to populate the reporting period and the nil report data elements within the reporting template.
Departments are to report on the data format under the new and revised Appendix A data fields as soon as administratively possible, but no later than the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2021/2022 for contracts and amendments awarded starting January 1, 2022. In the interim, departments are to continue to use the previous data format to report on the existing data fields until they are able to change to the new data format.
Departments and agencies listed in Appendix E are to include the new data elements identified in Appendix A, items 37 to 40 in the proactive disclosure reports on a pilot basis. It is recommended for departments to begin reporting on the data elements listed in Appendix E after departmental procurement or financial systems have implemented the required functionality. Treasury Board Secretariat will review the list of departments and agencies reporting on Appendix E on an ongoing basis for inclusion of remaining departments as they obtain the required functionality.
In accordance with 4.1.2.13 of the Directive on the Management of Procurement, senior designated officials for the management of procurement in departments and agencies are responsible for:
Relevant legislation:
Treasury Board policies:
Treasury Board standards:
For questions on this policy instrument, please contact TBS Public Enquiries.
Departments are to continue to report under this data field on an interim basis until they are able to report under the new Appendix A Trade Agreement, Comprehensive Land Claims Agreement, and Procurement Strategy for Aboriginal Business data fields.
Departments and agencies listed in Appendix E are to report on this additional data field on a pilot basis.
Departments and agencies listed in Appendix E are to report on this additional data field on a pilot basis.
Departments and agencies listed in Appendix E are to report on this additional data field on a pilot basis.
Departments and agencies listed in Appendix E are to report on this additional data field on a pilot basis.
Indicator | Description |
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Federal Contractors Program for Employment Equity | This indicator should be selected if the contract is subject to the Federal Contractors Program for Employment Equity. For additional information or inquiries on the program, please contact Employment Social Development Canada (ESDC) at ee-eme@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca. |
When providing information to Public Services and Procurement Canada, include the calendar year with the format YYYY.
The comments data element is to identify when the contract contains the following characteristic | Standardized comment |
---|---|
Note: Departments are encouraged to develop additional standardized comments that meet their unique operational requirements. | |
Contract involving more than one department | This is part of multi-departmental contract #: [insert contract #]. |
Contract restatement | This is a notice of the restatement of Contract [reference number] dated [contract period/delivery date]. The contract was misstated for [misstated contract information] and has been corrected. |
Contract previously not reported | This contract was omitted from a previous public disclosure. |
Contract with task authorizations | For a contract with task authorizations, the realized amount of the contract is contingent on the number of task authorizations issued and may be less than the amount proactively disclosed, dependent on the operational requirements of the department. |
Contract update with additional information on number of bids and/or award criteria. | The contract was updated with additional information for the number of bids and/or award criteria. |
Economic object code | Objects of expenditure |
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0351 | Communications professional services not elsewhere specified |
0859 | Other business services not elsewhere specified |
0401 | Accounting and audit services |
0402 | Human resources management services |
0403 | Financial management services |
0404 | Communications services |
0405 | Real property services |
0406 | Material services |
0407 | Acquisition services |
0420 | Engineering services not elsewhere specified |
0422 | Engineering consultants – construction |
0423 | Engineering consultants – other |
0431 | Scientific consultants |
0446 | Training consultants |
0451 | Other health services not elsewhere specified |
0473 | Information technology and telecommunications consultants |
0491 | Management consulting |
0813 | Temporary help services |
0499 | Other professional services not elsewhere specified |
0819 | Non-professional personal service contracts not elsewhere specified |
0891 | Personal services |
Departments and Agencies | Reporting Date |
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Departments and agencies onboarding to the Government of Canada Financial and Materiel Management (GcFM) Solution | No later than for contracts awarded starting or on the date to which a department onboards to GcFM. |
Departments and agencies that are members of the following:
The following departments:
| No later than for contracts awarded starting . |
Public Services and Procurement Canada | for contracts awarded starting or when this information is available within departmental procurement or financial systems |
All other departments | Departments are to consider these data elements when onboarding to new financial or procurement systems and to report within the applicable reporting timelines. (e.g. If the entity onboard to a new system on , then the reporting requirement will be for ). |
The reporting date listed above identifies the date for which the Appendix E departments are to report on the following Appendix A contract data fields on a pilot basis:
Note: Departments and agencies listed in this Appendix E may publish information on the additional contract data earlier than the listed reporting date, if such information is available in their departmental procurement or financial systems.
A task authorization (TA) is a structured administrative process that enables the client to authorize work by a contractor on an as-and-when-requested basis in accordance with the terms and conditions of an existing contract. Contracts that provide for the use of TAs (TA contracts) are used in contracting situations when a definite need for a category of service exists but the precise nature and timing of the need cannot be established in advance.
A task authorization (TA) is a structured administrative process that enables the client to authorize work by a contractor on an as-and-when-requested basis in accordance with the terms and conditions of an existing contract. Contracts that provide for the use of TAs (TA contracts) are used in contracting situations when a definite need for a category of service exists but the precise nature and timing of the need cannot be established in advance.
For the purpose of this guideline, ’former public servant’ means, any former member of a department as defined in the Financial Administration Act, in receipt of a pension under the Public Service Superannuation Act.