Guidance Document: Proactive Disclosure of Contracts Over $10,000

1. Background

On March 23, 2004, as part of the 2004 Budget, the government committed to "publicly disclose all contracts entered into by the Government of Canada for amounts over $10,000, with only very limited exceptions such as national security.  These new requirements will be phased in over time, starting with procurement contracts for goods and services."

This document is intended to provide guidance to institutions to help ensure that contract information is collected and presented consistently across government and in a manner that promotes transparency and facilitates public access.

2. Effective Date and Scope

This requirement is effective April 1, 2004 and applies to all departments and agencies listed on Schedules I, I.1, and II of the Financial Administration Act. 

Institutions are to report their own data on their institutional websites, even where Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) has issued the contract on their behalf. 

A phased approach to the disclosure of contract information is being adopted to permit institutions to make the necessary adjustments to business processes.  At this point in time, only procurement contracts for goods and services are to be reported.  Contracts for legal services and real property transactions^[1] are excluded, as are Grants and Contributions, service level agreements between federal government institutions, and memoranda of understanding with other levels of government and foreign governments.

Institutions are not required to report amendments at this time.  While amendments are often necessary and in the best interest of the government, institutions should nevertheless monitor amendment activity to ensure that patterns pointing to avoidance of disclosure requirements do not emerge. 

Call-ups against standing offers, Task Authorizations, and contracts pursuant to Supply Arrangements are to be reported in the quarter in which each individual contract was raised^[2]. 

Reporting shall be on a quarterly basis, corresponding to the government fiscal year quarters.  Contract information must be posted on-line within thirty days of the end of each reporting period, as indicated below: 

General Notes

• When the above dates for posting fall on a weekend or statutory holiday, institutions must post information by the last business day before the weekend or holiday in question. 
• Contracts not posted in the reporting period in which they were awarded are to be reported in the subsequent reporting period, or as soon as practicable. 
• Information posted in one reporting period can be modified in a subsequent reporting period only where a material error was made in the data originally reported.  Any modified information must be clearly indicated as such (refer to Section 3.7 below).
• Where a contract is awarded and subsequently terminated, the original contract information must not be modified.
• Where more than one institution is funding the contract, the institution signing the contract, i.e. the sponsoring authority, shall post the contract.
• The institution's Senior Financial Officer (SFO) is responsible for ensuring that data being reported are appropriately validated, complete and reported in a timely manner. Institutions are to ensure that any limitations associated with the data are clearly indicated on the institutional website. 

3. Data Elements to be Reported

The following table provides a summary of the data elements to be addressed:

Specific information regarding each of the data elements is provided below: 

3.1. Information Field:  Vendor Name 

The legal name of the company, as indicated on the contract. 

3.2. Information Field:  Reference Number 

The number used in the institutional financial system to record the transaction, for example, the requisition number, commitment number, or Contract Number. 

3.3. Information Field:  Contract Date

The hard commitment date (the date the financial commitment is recorded in the institutional financial system).  This would normally be the date the contract is signed by the government. 

Notes

• In the case of contracts issued by PWGSC on behalf of an institution, this date would be the date shown on Page 1 of the contract. 
• Dates are to be expressed in numeric terms, using the following standard convention:

2004-05-10
(Year-Month-Day)

3.4. Information Field:  Description of the Work

The Economic Object Code and its description.  The Economic Object is one component of the government's system for classifying financial transactions for the Public Accounts of Canada.  For budgetary expenditures, the Economic Object classifies expenditures according to the type of resources (goods and services) acquired. 

A list of Economic Object Codes and descriptions can be found on Public Works and Government Services Canada's website at http://www.pwgsc.gc.ca/recgen/gw-coa/0304/text/objA-7-3-e.html. 

Notes

• Institutions have the option of including additional text to supplement the Economic Object information. 
• Where a procurement involves more than one economic object, the economic object associated with the largest dollar value shall be used.

3.5. Information Field:  Contract Period/Delivery Date

For goods contracts, the date that the goods are to be delivered.  If the contract involves multiple items, use the last delivery date.

For services contracts, the period of time over which the services are to be provided, for example, April 1 – August 31, 2004, should be used. 

3.6. Information Field:  Contract Value 

The amount of the hard commitment recorded in the institutional financial system at the time of contract signing.  This should represent the total liability to the government at the time of contract signing.  Note that anoption is not considered a liability until such time as it is exercised by the government. 

Notes 

• Reported amounts must be in Canadian currency, GST/HST, Value-Added Tax (VAT), State Sales Tax, and any other applicable taxes included. 
• Institutions that do not include GST/HST or other such taxes in the contract amount recorded in their financial systems should report on contracts that would otherwise exceed $10,000 if taxes were added, e.g. contracts between $9,346 and $9,999 would exceed $10,000 if 7% GST was added.  The institutional website should include a note to that effect to explain how the institution is reporting the information. 
• This amount should exclude the cost of any options, e.g. option years, optional items, optional quantities. 
• For multi-year contracts, the total amount of the contract for all years should be recorded.

3.7. Information Field:  Comments (Optional) 

An optional field that institutions may complete where they feel that the data reported would benefit from additional context.  For example, in the case of a research contract awarded by Natural Resources Canada but jointly funded with Environment Canada, the comment field could say that the contract involved a joint research project between Natural Resources Canada and Environment Canada. 

Notes

• Where data reported in one period is being corrected in a subsequent reporting period, this should be clearly indicated in the Comments field.

4. Sensitive Contracts 

Sensitive contracts that contain information falling under the exemptions in sections 13-23 of the Access to Information Act, such as those pertaining to law enforcement or security intelligence services, should not be posted.  In these cases, institutions should consult with their Access to Information Coordinators for advice.

5. Posting on institutional websites

Contract information must be provided on institutional websites in accordance with Treasury Board Common Look and Feel Standards.  To facilitate navigation and ensure consistency, the Treasury Board Secretariat has developed a new Proactive Disclosure Intranet site – http://publiservice.tbs-sct.gc.ca/pd-cp/index_e.asp - that will provide a demonstration on how to post contract information, as well as answers to frequently asked questions.  This site will be updated periodically to deal with developments as they arise.

In the meantime, institutional websites should be organized as follows: 

Contract Information Page 

The institution's home page should include a button which takes users to a page that provides links to contract information, sorted by reporting period and date of contract. 

This page will provide contextual information and important notices, with appropriate hyperlinks, as follows: 

"On March 23, 2004, the government announced a new policy on the mandatory publication of contracts over $10,000. 

This website provides information on contracts issued by or on behalf of this institution.  Every three months we will be reporting contracts awarded by the institution in the previous three months. 

Beginning on October 31, 2004, and every three months thereafter, this website will be updated to include information on new contracts awarded. 

The rules and principles governing government contracting are outlined in the Treasury Board Contracting Policy, which can be found at http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/pubs_pol/dcgpubs/Contracting/contractingpol_e.asp.  The objective of government procurement contracting is to acquire goods and services, including construction services, in a manner that enhances access, competition and fairness and results in best value to Canada. 

Please note that information that would normally be withheld under the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act does not appear on this website." 

Notes 

• In cases where institutions have their own contracting policies (e.g. Canada Revenue Agency), they should provide reference to these from this page with appropriate links.

• In order to facilitate public access to contract information government-wide, the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat will provide links from its web page to the contract disclosure URLs for each institution.  Institutions should send this URL to Corporate Communications at TBS, at tbsweb@tbs-sct.gc.ca.

6. Monitoring 

Institutions are responsible for ensuring that contract information is accurate and up to date, and is posted in accordance with these guidelines.

7. References 

Access to Information Act

Common Look and Feel Standards

Financial Administration Act

Treasury Board Contracting Policy

Treasury Board Policy on Classification and Coding of Financial Transactions

Chart of Accounts for 2003-2004

8. Contacts for more information 

Questions regarding any financial, procurement, systems, or access to information  aspects of this guidance document should be directed to the appropriate functional authority within institutions. 

Questions regarding Economic Objects should be directed to Anik Lapointe, Public Works and Government Services Canada, at anik.lapointe@pwgsc.gc.ca or at (819) 956-1879. 

For more information on the new mandatory publication of contracts, contact Susanna Riggs, Procurement and Project Management Policy Directorate at TBS, at riggs.susanna@tbs-sct.gc.ca or at (613) 957-2513.

[1] Transactions involving the acquisition or disposal of real property pursuant to the Federal Real Property and Federal Immovables Act.

[2] Information on the original standing offer, Task Authorization contract, or Supply Arrangement, is not to be reported at this time.