2011 Purchasing Activity Report

Introduction

Each year the Government of Canada publishes statistics on purchases and contracts conducted in departments and agencies.

The main objective of the Treasury Board Contracting Policy is to acquire goods and services and to carry out construction in a manner that enhances access, competition and fairness and results in best value or, if appropriate, the optimal balance of overall benefits to the Crown and the Canadian people.

As well, contracting is to be conducted in a manner that will:

• Stand the test of public scrutiny in matters of prudence, probity, facilitate access, encourage competition and reflect fairness in the spending of public funds;
• Ensure the pre-eminence of operational requirements;
• Support long-term industrial and regional development and other appropriate national objectives;
• Comply with the government's obligations under international and domestic trade agreements, as well as under various comprehensive land claim agreements.

The Government is committed to strengthen and modernize government procurement, and to ensure greater transparency, accountability, fiscal responsibility, and ethical conduct in government.

In keeping with these overall objectives, since 2004, the Government requires the publication of contracts over $10,000. The published lists of contracts and contract amendments in the transparency pages on various departmental web sites are accessible from the Government-Wide Reporting — Proactive Disclosure website.

The Government is also committed to ensuring that Canadians are provided with appropriate information on activities in a cost-effective, efficient and transparent manner. Suppliers who wish to find out more about doing business with the federal government should consult Canada’s Electronic Tendering Service. Those who wish to find out more about the inter-departmental initiative to improve supplier and buyer awareness and simplify access to federal government purchasing information should go to the Government Buy and Sell Canada website.

2011 Purchasing Activity Report – Summary

Departments and Agencies subject to Government Contracts Regulations

Note: For calendar year 2011, the Government of Canada issued over 150,000 call-ups against standing offers which explains the increase in total quantity of contracts from previous years. 

2011 Purchasing Activity Report – Detailed

Departments and Agencies subject to Government Contracts Regulations

Note: Two, large non-competitive National Defence contracts (Light Armoured Vehicle III upgrade project and support services for the CH146 Griffon fleet) with a combined value of $1.7 billion were awarded in 2011.  If these two contracts are excluded from the “All Contracts $25,000 and above” section, the % value of competitively awarded contracts relative to all contracts (competitive, non-competitive) valued at $25,000 and above increases to 83.4%.

Notes to 2011 Purchasing Activity Report

1. Objective

The objective of the annual Purchasing Activity Report is to provide a basic snapshot of purchasing activities of the Government of Canada. It is based on the Government of Canada's policy framework in effect in 2011. It is important to note that there is no statutory requirement for such a report. It complements information on contracting statistics on the BuyandSell web site. Also, as mentioned in the Introduction above, the published lists of contracts in the proactive disclosure pages on various departmental web sites are accessible from this Treasury Board Secretariat web site.

Information on the Procurement Strategy for Aboriginal Business can be found at the Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada web site.

The Purchasing Activity Report was derived from data provided by the reporting entities specified below. Since the data is not audited, no warranty or other legal assurance as to the accuracy or completeness of any of this information is stated or can be implied. Any person making use of this information for any purpose whatsoever does so entirely at his/her own risk and the Crown shall have no liability whatsoever. This report covers government purchasing activities for the period January to December 2011 inclusive.

2. Procurement Policy Framework

The main features of the Government of Canada's procurement policy framework in effect in 2011 that are relevant to the Purchasing Activity Report are as follows:

The objective of government procurement contracting is to acquire goods and services and to carry out construction in a manner that enhances access, competition and fairness and results in best value or, if appropriate, the optimal balance of overall benefits to the Crown and the Canadian people.

Treasury Board Contracting Policy defines a competitive contract as a contract where the process used for the solicitation of bids enhances access, competition and fairness and assures that a reasonable and representative number of suppliers are given an opportunity to bid.

The Government Contracts Regulations specifies that a contracting authority may enter into a contract without soliciting bids where:

1. the need is one of pressing emergency in which delay would be injurious to the public interest;
2. the estimated expenditure does not exceed
   1. $25,000,
   2. $100,000, where the contract is for the acquisition of architectural, engineering and other services required in respect of the planning, design, preparation or supervision of the construction, repair, renovation or restoration of a work, or
   3. $100,000, where the contract is to be entered into by the member of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada responsible for the Canadian International Development Agency and is for the acquisition of architectural, engineering or other services required in respect of the planning, design, preparation or supervision of an international development assistance program or project;
3. the nature of the work is such that it would not be in the public interest to solicit bids; or
4. only one person is capable of performing the contract.

3. Reporting Entities

The reporting entities targeted in the report are the contracting authorities, as defined in the Government Contracts Regulations and the Financial Administration Act (FAA):

1. The appropriate Minister, as defined in paragraph (a), (a.1) or (b) of the definition "appropriate Minister" in section 2 of the FAA, as follows:
   • (a) with respect to a department named in Schedule I, the Minister presiding over the department,
   • (a.1) with respect to a division or branch of the federal public administration set out in column I of Schedule I.1, the Minister set out in column II of that Schedule,
   • (b) with respect to a commission under the Inquiries Act, the Minister designated by order of the Governor in Council as the appropriate Minister.
2. A departmental corporation named in Schedule II of the FAA, or
3. The National Capital Commission (listed in Schedule III).

While the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is not subject to Treasury Board policies regarding annual reporting requirements for contracting activities, the CRA voluntarily provides data on its purchasing activities.

4. Exclusions under Government Contracts Regulations

The Government Contracts Regulations apply to all contracts except

1. a contract entered into by the National Film Board;
2. a contract for the construction of buildings entered into under the Veterans' Land Act;
3. a contract entered into under the Indian Act that involves Indian moneys as defined in that Act;
4. subject to section 4 of those Regulations, a contract for the performance of legal services entered into by or under the authority of the Minister of Justice,
5. a contract for the fit-up of an office or a residential accommodation where the contract for fit-up is part of a transaction authorized pursuant to the Federal Real Property Act or the regulations made there under; or
6. arrangements entered into under an Interchange Canada Agreement.

5. Solicitation Methods

Electronic bidding

A method of procurement that promotes suppliers' access to, and transparency in, the procurement process and facilitates the Crown's receipt of best value, by using:

1. public notice by means of an approved electronic information service of procurement opportunities (e.g., MERX);
2. public notice by means of an electronic information service of proposed directed procurements by means of an Advance Contract Award Notice (ACAN); or
3. such other procurement methods as may be approved by the Treasury Board.

Traditional competitive

A method of procurement that involves giving public notice, using traditional bidding procedures and in a manner that is consistent with generally accepted trade practices, of a call for bids for a proposed contract.

Advance contract award notice (ACAN)

An ACAN allows departments and agencies to post a notice, for no fewer than 15 calendar days, indicating to the supplier community that it intends to award a good, service or construction contract to a pre-identified contractor. If no other supplier submits, during the 15-calendar day posting period, a statement of capabilities that meet the requirements set out in the ACAN, the contract may be awarded pursuant to Treasury Board's electronic bidding authority limits. For this reason, ACANs are grouped within Competitive Awards in the table above.

6. Amendments

In 2011, the total value of positive amendments (i.e., those that result in an increase in the contract value) was $3,443,870,733. The total value of negative amendments (i.e., those that result in a decrease in the contract value) was $300,761,964. The total value of net amendments was $3,143,108,769.

7. Acquisition Cards

The above data do not include transactions using acquisition cards. Those cards are normally used for low dollar value purchases. In 2011, there were 1,962,584 acquisition card transactions for a total value of $888,441,086.

8. Other Excluded Items

The data do not include expenditures for travel, hotel accommodation, hospitality and petty cash.

9. Reporting of Call-Ups

Organizations are now required to report individual call-ups against a standing offer agreements rather than estimating the total contracting activity from these agreements.

The reporting of individual call-ups allows for a more accurate depiction of contracting activities within the Government of Canada.  For calendar year 2011, the Government of Canada issued over 150,000 call-ups against standing offers.