Article content

The federal government’s Procurement Ombudsman has tabled his 2016-2017 annual report. It contains some interesting details about concerns from both companies/suppliers dealing with the federal government, government program managers and procurement specialists.

The following are examples of what the office heard from suppliers and federal officials during outreach events in 2016–2017:

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Worries about blacklisting, lack of leadership, other concerns about government procurement Back to video

Observations from Suppliers

Is it worth it?:It takes a significant investment of time and resources to respond to federal solicitations, even for low dollar-value contracts. This situation is further exacerbated when dealing with standing offers or supply arrangements given there is no guarantee of work even if a supplier qualifies on these tools.

Restrained by requirements:National delivery requirements and bundling of multiple goods or services under one solicitation limit opportunities for small and medium-sized Canadian businesses. These requirements act as barriers to bidding on federal contracts given these businesses do not possess the capital or resources required to satisfy such requirements.