Acquisition of Goods and Services from CORCAN - (Contracting Policy Notice 1999-2)

FILE NO: 3800-001

DATE: March 2, 1999

TO: Functional Heads, Administration/Finance of all Departments and Agencies

SUBJECT: Acquisition of Goods and Services from CORCAN

BACKGROUND

1. For many years, Correctional Service Canada has sponsored a rehabilitation program within its institutions designed to train inmates so that after their release, they have a better chance of obtaining employment, based on the experience gained while in the program. This program is known as CORCAN.

2. Many procurement officials and other managers are familiar with CORCAN and its most commonly recognized products, the manufacture and repair of office and other specialized furniture. What many officials may not be aware of is the other products and services provided by CORCAN.

3. Over the past several years, CORCAN has moved into the manufacture of textile products and the provision of several types of services, as well as custom manufacturing. The attachment to this notice provides an overview of the CORCAN program and a listing of the products and services offered.

4. When departments and agencies acquire goods and services from CORCAN, these acquisitions are not subject to the provisions of any of the trade agreements as they represent a transfer of goods or services between departments. These transactions are also excluded from the Treasury Board's Contracting Policy.

5. If a department or agency is satisfied that a particular good or service offered by CORCAN provides good value and funds are available, then the acquisition may take place without calling for bids, and without reference to the traditional Treasury Board contract entry levels. Acquisition of CORCAN products can be done directly by contacting a local CORCAN sales representative at 1-800-267-0354.

CORCAN ENQUIRIES

6. For further information concerning the CORCAN program, you may wish to contact:

CONTRACTING POLICY WEB SITE

7. This notice will not be incorporated into the electronic version of the Contracting Policy since it does not change any of the existing policies.

8. On-line access: All TBS publications are now available on-line via the TBS home page on GENet. To access this site, type the following in the address section of your World Wide Web browser:

http://publiservice.tbs-sct.gc.ca/

9. The Government Telecommunications and Informatics Services (GTIS) manages GENet. For help in accessing it, please contact your Informatics Division or your departmental library.

10. The same publications are also available via the TBS home page on the Internet. The address is:

http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/

11. You will be able to access this Contracting Policy Notice on the home page via 'Policies and Publications'. Under the title 'Comptrollership Branch,' click on 'Financial Management and Contracting'. On this page, click on 'Contracting'. Here, you will find a listing of links to various contracting-related material, including the list of all Contracting Policy Notices and TB circulars still in effect.

TREASURY BOARD ENQUIRIES

12. For further information, please contact the Procurement and Project Management Policy Directorate, Comptrollership Branch, Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat by phone at (613) 957 2513; by fax at (613) 952 1381; or by E-mail at: 

CMP@tbs-sct.gc.ca

R.J. Kelly
Director
Contract Policy Division
Comptrollership Branch

Distribution: TB06, TB07, TB010, T009, T010, T022, T023, T024, T025, T036, T038, T041, T161

Attachments

CORCAN - 'COMMON SENSE' REHABILITATES OFFENDERS

CORCAN is an agency of Correctional Service Canada (CSC), and one of its most important rehabilitative programs. CORCAN rehabilitates federal offenders by operating industries within the walls of institutions. The products offenders make and the services they provide are sold in order to reduce the costs of incarceration and training.

Industrious workforce

CORCAN operations are businesslike in every sense of the word. There are no guards in the shops, and trainees have the same responsibilities as employees of a private-sector business - punctuality, politeness, and effort, to name a few. The approximately 1,900 trainees CORCAN works with each year produce nearly $50-million worth of products and services.

"First and foremost, CORCAN is a rehabilitation program," says CEO Ann Marie Sahagian, adding that an offender who leaves the institution and becomes a law-abiding citizen saves taxpayers up to $40,000 per year. "And the fact that through this program, we can reduce the cost of training these offenders by selling products is an added benefit to taxpayers."

CORCAN 'graduates' were followed by CSC researchers in 1995. The researchers found that those offenders who had been with CORCAN more than six months were much less likely to return to prison. When they did, it was more often for a technical violation of parole than for a new offence. This is proof that CORCAN works.

Quality products

So just what does this organization produce? Virtually anything you can think of, from catnip to credenzas, from microfilm to microcomputer stands, from workstations to whole wheat bread. CORCAN's five business lines - Agribusiness, Construction, Manufacturing, Services and Textiles - produce literally hundreds of products that are used within institutions and sold, primarily to the public sector.

The products and services are made to exacting standards. For example, CORCAN's 'Borden Bed,' used in Canadian Forces' barracks across the country, is "virtually indestructible," according to satisfied customers. And 12 CORCAN sites are ISO-certified, with more on the way.

No downside

It's beginning to look like CORCAN is an organization with no downside. Taxpayers win with a safer Canada and a productive inmate work force; governments win with quality products at reasonable prices; inmates win with an effective and 'common sense' program of rehabilitation.

CEO Sahagian sums it up by saying "CORCAN's motto is: 'Quality from the Inside Out'; and we mean that - in every sense of the phrase."

SOME CORCAN PRODUCTS AND SERVICES