PN-73: Notification of Bidders

DATE: November 1, 2006

Introduction

This Policy Notification (PN)-73 changes the policy on direct notification to potential bidders when a procurement is carried out subject to a trade agreement.

Until now, there have been different approaches when a procurement is or is not subject to a trade agreement. Contracting officers may notify potential suppliers directly about an opportunity for procurements not subject to trade agreements - but may not when a trade agreement applies.

With this change, there will be no basic difference in approach: potential suppliers may be notified directly, in appropriate circumstances and with due prudence, whether or not a trade agreement applies.

Policy

Effective immediately, when a procurement is subject to a trade agreement, contracting officers may notify suppliers directly that a bid opportunity has been posted on the Government Electronic Tendering Service (GETS), when this is necessary to stimulate effective competition and seek best value for Canadian taxpayers.

Specific criteria for deciding when this direct contact is needed, and the appropriate procedures for the notification are outlined in the attached Annex A. All changes highlighted in red text will be incorporated in the next release of the Supply Manual.

Contact

Please direct inquiries to veronica.nazareth@pwgsc.gc.ca, Acquisition Policy and Process Directorate, at 819-956-5024 or via e-mail.

Annex A

Changes to the Supply Manual

Chapter 5, Sourcing Strategy

Procurements Subject to Trade Agreements

5.041 (xxxx-xx-xx) For procurements subject to NAFTA, WTO-AGP or AIT, or a combination of these, public advertisement/notification provisions specified within these trade agreements must be followed. The procedures to be followed are generally consistent for all of the agreements. When there are inconsistencies, the contracting officer must select the procedures that demonstrate the highest example of openness, e.g. the longer of two bidding periods.

Competitive procurements covered by NAFTA, and/or the WTO-AGP and/or AIT must be advertised on the Government Electronic Tendering Service (GETS) and in the Government Business Opportunities (GBO) only. Procurements that are covered by the AIT must be advertised on GETS only. A procurement that is covered by the AIT, and is also covered by NAFTA or the WTO-AGP must be advertised on both GETS and in the GBO. Additional notification processes (e.g. direct contact with suppliers), are not permitted. On occasion, in appropriate circumstances, potential suppliers may be contacted directly after the notice has been posted, in accordance with procedure 7B.188.

Procurements Not Subject to Trade Agreements

5.044 (xxxx-xx-xx) PWGSC's preferred process for notifying potential suppliers is to publicly advertise requirements on the GETS. (See 7B.160.)

When advertising through the GETS may not achieve the necessary results, the use of other public media (e.g. newspapers, trade journals, etc.), in addition or instead, can be considered on a case-by-case basis. (See 5.048.)

When public advertising (GETS or other public media) is used, potential suppliers may be notified directly about the opportunity, in accordance with 7B.188.

Chapter 7, Competitive Procurement

Section 7B: Issuing a Bid Solicitation

7B.187 (xxxx-xx-xx) If the electronic notices are received at GETS (MERX) by 17:00 on a given day, and all the elements (notice, document, attachments) match and are correct, then the notice will be posted on GETS (MERX) for the following business day. Notices are posted on GETS (MERX) board only once a day, after midnight.

GETS (MERX) returns a confirmation of postings to PWGSC on a daily basis. (See 7B.191.)

It is the responsibility of the contracting officer to ensure that the notice and bid solicitation(s) have been successfully transmitted to GETS (MERX) and the notice posted properly.

7B.188 (xxxx-xx-xx)GETS (MERX) returns a confirmation of postings to PWGSC on a daily basis. (See 7B.191.)

With the exception of procurement subject to NAFTA, WTO-AGP, CKTEA and AIT, contracting officers may send a copy of the NPP to suppliers when it is considered necessary to ensure adequate competition. However, these suppliers are still required to obtain the bid solicitation documents from GETS (MERX). A covering letter should also be sent to suppliers.

On occasion, based on commodity/market knowledge, a contracting officer may conclude that potential suppliers of a good or service will not see or respond to a call for bids if it appears only on the GETS (MERX). In such cases, in order to stimulate effective competition and seek best value for Canadian taxpayers, the contracting officer may contact all such known suppliers to inform them that the bid opportunity has been posted.

This contact must only take place after the Notice of Proposed Procurement has appeared on the GETS (MERX); it should take place as quickly as possible thereafter so that the suppliers contacted do not lose potential bidding time. To ensure that there will be no question of preferential treatment, this communication should be in writing, so that it can be shown that all suppliers received the same information at the same time.

The specific purpose of this contact is to ensure that the suppliers know that there is an opportunity available, and to direct them to GETS (MERX). For that reason, the contact will be limited to giving brief information about the good or service being procured, and providing the appropriate reference (one or more of Reference Number, Source ID and Solicitation Number). It must not include any information that will not be available to suppliers who find out about the opportunity directly through GETS (MERX).

Contracting officers must document, on the file, each supplier who was contacted and when.

Annex 7.6 - Sample Covering Letters

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