Contracting Policy Notice 1997-8

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Section 1. James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement - signed November 11, 1975

GENERAL - Crees and Inuit

The following section can be found in full in Section 28, Economic and Social Development - Crees, and in Section 29, Inuit Economic and Social Development, of the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement.

28.10 Cree Participation in Employment and Contracts

28.10.3 For projects initiated or conducted by Canada or Québec or their agencies, delegates, or contractors, and for projects by any proponent a major purpose of which is to provide goods or services to or for the benefit of Cree communities the government shall take all reasonable measures to establish Cree priority in respect to employment and contracts created by such projects.

1. in respect to employment on such projects, Canada and Québec shall inter alia:
   1. interpret requirements for various categories of jobs so that Cree people able to perform the work shall be deemed to be eligible;
   2. advertise available jobs in the Cree community or in employment offices therein at the same time as such jobs are advertised to the general public;
   3. to the extent permissible under government contract regulations hire a qualified Cree person before hiring a non-Native person for each available job;
   4. provide Cree employees on-the-job training needed for job advancement.
2. in respect to contracts arising from such projects, including requirements that the proponents:
   1. design contract packages to provide to the Crees a reasonable opportunity to submit competitive tenders;
   2. post calls for tenders in a public place in all Cree communities on the date on which the general public is made aware of such calls for tenders;
   3. set the date, location, terms and conditions for tendering so that Cree individuals or groups may reply with reasonable ease.

28.10.4 Québec and Canada shall take all reasonable measures, including but not limited to regulations, to establish priority to available and duly qualified local persons or entrepreneurs in respect to contract and employment created by development in the Territory.

28.12 Assistance to Cree Entrepreneurs

28.12.1 Canada and Québec shall, within the scope of services and facilities existing from time to time, provide assistance to Cree individuals or groups to establish, own, operate, expand or modernise business enterprises. Such services shall include assistance for feasibility studies, economic planning, obtaining of permits, job or management training, technical matters, funding equipment, physical plant and operations.

28.12.2 Within Cree settlements emphasis shall be given to enterprises in the service sector which will provide for an identifiable demand and which will create employment for Crees and economic benefit for the economy of the settlement as a whole through significant multiplier effects.

28.12.3 In general, assistance to Cree entrepreneurs shall expand, develop and diversify opportunities for Cree people to participate in and benefit from the economic development of the Territory, and particularly in those sectors where Cree skills and resources may contribute to such overall development, such as service enterprises, resource exploration, construction and maintenance work, and natural resource enterprises, the purposes of which is to exploit and protect the living and non-living resources of the Territory.

Canada through the Economic Development Program of the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development or its successor program shall provide economic and technical assistance to Cree individuals, groups or communities who wish to establish, own or operate commercial fisheries operations in the Territory and Québec shall take all reasonable measures to encourage such operations.

29.0 Inuit Economic and Social Development

29.0.31 For projects initiated or conducted by Canada or Québec or their agents, delegates, or contractors, and for projects by any proponent a major purpose of which to provide goods or services to or for the benefit of Inuit communities the governments shall take all reasonable measures to establish Inuit priority in respect to employment and contracts created by such projects:

1. in respect to employment on such projects, Canada and Québec shall inter alia:
   1. interpret requirements for various categories of jobs so that Inuit people able to perform the work shall be deemed to be eligible;
   2. advertise available jobs in the Inuit community or in employment offices therein at the same time as such jobs are advertised to the general public;
   3. to the extent permissible under government contract regulations hire a qualified Inuit person before hiring a non-Native person for each available job;
   4. provide Inuit employees on-the-job training needed for job advancement.
2. in respect to contracts arising from such projects, including requirements that the proponents:
   1. design contract packages to provide to the Inuit a reasonable opportunity to submit competitive tenders;
   2. post calls for tenders in a public place in all Inuit communities on the date on which the general public is made aware of such calls for tenders;
   3. set the date, location, terms and conditions for tendering so that Inuit individuals or groups may reply with reasonable ease.

GENERAL - Inuit

This section specifies the Inuit Contract Priority requirements found in the Agreement Respecting the Implementation of the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement (signed September 12, 1990), Annex A - Inuit Employment and Contract Priority.

1.0 OBJECTIVE

1.1 The objective of this policy is the continued implementation of the contract priority provisions of the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement (JBNQA) in relation to contracts created by projects initiated or conducted by the Crown or its agents, delegates, contractors or sub-contractors.

2.0 POLICY

2.4 The policies and implementing measures shall, to the greatest extent possible, be designed to achieve the following objectives:

1. increase participation by Inuit firms in business opportunities in the economy of the Territory;
2. enhance the ability of Inuit firms to compete for and obtain government contracts;
3. award a fair share of government contracts in the Territory to qualified Inuit firms; and,
4. employ Inuit at a representative level in the workforce of the Territory.

3.0 DEFINITIONS

3.1 "Bid Invitation": means to call publicly for bids;

3.2 "Bid Solicitation": means to request bids from a limited number of businesses based on some form of pre qualification or selection criteria;

3.3 "Crown": means the Government of Canada, which shall be deemed to include all departments and departmental corporations listed in Schedules I, I.1 and II, Part I of the Financial Administration Act, Chapter F-11, R.S.C. F-10,s.1;

3.4 "Government Contract": means any procurement contract between the Crown and a party other than the Crown, and includes:

1. contracts for the supply of goods;
2. construction contracts;
3. contracts for the supply of services; and,
4. leases taken by the Crown.

3.5 "Inuit": means Inuit beneficiaries pursuant to the JBNQA;

3.6 "Inuit firm": means an entity which complies with the legal requirements to carry on business in Northern Quebec, and which:

1. is a limited company with, in the case of a share-capital company, at least 51% of the company's voting shares beneficially owned by one or more Inuit, or with, in the case of a non-share capital company, at least 51% of the voting members being Inuit, or which is a subsidiary of such limited company with at least 51% of the subsidiary's voting shares owned by the company;
2. is a co-operative controlled by Inuit; or
3. is a sole source proprietorship owned by Inuit; or a partnership, joint venture or consortium, at least 50% of which is owned by the Inuit.

3.7 "JBNQA": The James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement entered into on November 11, 1975, as amended from time to time in accordance with paragraph 2.15 thereof;

3.8 "JBNQA Implementation Agreement (1990): Agreement respecting the implementation of the JBNQA between Her Majesty the Queen in right of Canada and Makivik corporation entered into on September 12, 1990

3.9 "Makivik": Makivik Corporation, the corporation established by the Act to Establish the Makivik Corporation (R.S.Q., ch. S-18.1), and constituted as the Inuit Native Party for purposes of the JBNQA pursuant to paragraph 1.11 thereof;

3.10 "Representative level of employment": means a level of Inuit employment in Northern Quebec that reflects the ratio of Inuit to the total population of the Territory;

3.11 "Territory": means the area in the province of Quebec north of the 55th parallel of latitude, as delineated in the JBNQA.

4.0 LIST OF INUIT FIRMS

4.1 Makivik, a corporation constituted as the Inuit Native Party for the purposes of the JBNQA, has the responsibility to prepare and maintain a comprehensive list of Inuit firms, which will include information on the goods and services those firms would be in a position to furnish in relation to actual or potential government contracts. Makivik shall undertake the necessary measures to ensure that this data is maintained and updated on a continuous basis.

4.2 Makivik shall ensure that the List of Inuit Firms is provided to the federal government departments and agencies active in the Territory.

4.3 The List of Inuit Firms shall be used by Canada for purposes of requesting Inuit firms to participate in solicited bidding, but shall not restrict the ability of any Inuit firm to tender bids for government contracts, in accordance with Section 9 below.

5.0 CONTRACTING PROCEDURES

5.1 Canada shall, upon the request of Makivik, provide reasonable assistance in familiarising Inuit firms with the contracting procedures of the Crown.

6.0 PLANNING OF GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS

6.1 In the planning stage of government contracts for the provision of goods, services, construction, or leases in the Territory, contracting authorities shall undertake all reasonable measures to provide opportunities to qualified Inuit firms to compete for and obtain such contracts. These measures will include, but are not necessarily limited to:

1. setting the date, location, and terms and conditions for bidding so that Inuit firms may readily bid;
2. inviting bids by commodity groupings to permit smaller and more specialised Inuit firms to bid;
3. permitting bids for goods and services for a specified portion of a larger contract package to permit smaller and more specialised Inuit firms to bid;
4. designing construction contracts in a way so as to increase the opportunity for smaller and more specialised Inuit firms to bid; and,
5. avoiding artificially inflated employment skill requirements not essential to the fulfilment of the contract.

7.0 BID EVALUATION CRITERIA

7.1 Whenever practicable and consistent with sound procurement management, all of the following criteria, or as many as may be appropriate with respect to any particular government contract, shall be included in the bid evaluation criteria established by the contracting authority for the awarding of government contracts in the Territory:

1. the contribution by Inuit in carrying out the contract, which will include, but shall not be limited to, the employment of Inuit labour, the engagement of Inuit professional services or the use of Inuit suppliers;
2. creation of permanent head offices, administrative offices or other facilities in the Territory; and,
3. the undertaking of commitments, under the contract, with respect to on-the-job training or skills development for the Inuit.

8.0 BID SOLICITATION

8.1 Wherever practicable and consistent with sound procurement management, contracting authorities will first solicit bids from within the Territory.

8.2 Where the Crown intends to solicit bids for government contracts in the Territory, the contracting authority will make all possible attempts to award contracts to qualified Inuit firms.

8.3 Where the Crown intends to solicit bids for government contracts in the Territory, the contracting authority shall take all reasonable measures to determine if there are Inuit firms qualified to perform government contracts.

8.4 Where it is determined that there is a single firm within the Territory qualified to perform a government contract, the contracting authority will solicit that firm to submit a bid for the government contract. The contract may be awarded upon negotiation of acceptable terms and conditions.

8.5 Where the Crown intends to solicit bids from more than one qualified firm within the Territory, the contracting authority shall take all reasonable measures to determine if there are Inuit firms qualified to perform the government contract, and shall solicit bids from those Inuit firms.

8.6 Where a contract has been awarded it is the responsibility of the contracting authority to ensure that the contract document contains appropriate terms and conditions to make certain that sub-contractors to the contractor are also subject to the intent and the specific provisions of the contract.

9.0 BID INVITATION

9.1 Wherever practicable, and consistent with sound procurement management, contracting authorities will first invite bids from within the Territory.

9.2 Where the Crown intends to invite bids for government contracts to be performed in the Territory, contracting authorities shall take all reasonable measures to inform Inuit firms of such bids, and to provide Inuit firms with a fair and reasonable opportunity to submit bids.

9.3 Where the Crown intends to invite bids for government contracts to be performed in the Territory, the Bid Invitation process shall take into account the Bid Evaluation Criteria found in section 7 above.

9.4 Where a contract has been awarded, it is the responsibility of the contracting authority to ensure that the contract document contains appropriate terms and conditions to make certain that sub-contractors to the contractor are also subject to the intent and the specific provisions of the contract.

 

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