Advocacy / CADSI News
Government of Canada Announces Improvements to Integrity of Federal Procurement
Today the Government of Canada acted on much of the advice of CADSI and other industry groups, bringing Canada’s Integrity Regime more in line with Canadian and international best practices. This new Integrity Regime replaces the Integrity Framework introduced in 2012 and further updated in 2014.
The details of the government’s announcement is available here. [http://news.gc.ca/web/article-en.do?nid=995629]
Some notable elements of the new Integrity Regime include:
- Introducing new tools, including the use of independent expert third-party assessments and administrative agreements to assist in producing corrective actions and determining its effectiveness.
- Requiring authorities to demonstrate that a supplier had a degree of control over a convicted affiliate if the supplier is to also become ineligible.
- Reducing to three years, staring from the date of determination, the period during which authorities may find a supplier ineligible, if the supplier is either convicted, absolutely or conditionally discharged, of a listed offence in Canada. This provision applies to similar offences in a foreign jurisdiction where the government will make the final “determination of similarity.” The listed offences are included here [http://www.tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca/ci-if/plan-2015-eng.html].
- Allowing for the reduction by five years of ineligible suppliers that were convicted of a listed offence in the last three years, if it has cooperated with authorities or rectified the issues that brought about its ineligibility by engaging independent expert third-party verification and compliance monitors.
- Suspending, for up to 18 months, suppliers charged with or having admitted guilt to a listed offence.
- Prime contractors that knowingly subcontract with ineligible subcontractors could be declared ineligible for five years. PWGSC will maintain an Ineligibility List.
All new solicitations and contracts issued by PWGSC are now subject to the new Regime. The Regime will be rolled out across government to federal procurement and real property transactions, regardless of dollar value, through Memoranda of Understanding with PWGSC. Crown Corporations will have the option to opt into the Regime.
For further details, please consult PWGSC’s communications products:
- Integrity Regime
- Integrity Regime backgrounder
- Integrity Policy
- Integrity Regime clauses
- Integrity Regime FAQs
With the valuable input of members, CADSI will continue to monitor how the Integrity Regime is implemented and identify any potential areas of further enhancement.
About CADSI
The Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries (CADSI) is the national industry voice of more than 650 Canadian defence, security and cybersecurity companies that produce world-class goods, services and technologies made across Canada and sought the world over. The industries contribute to the employment of more than 78,000 Canadians and generate $12.6 billion in annual revenues, roughly half of which come from exports. To learn more, visit defenceandsecurity.ca and follow us on Twitter at @CadsiCanada .
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