Procurement Ombudsman Releases Reports on Procurement Practices Reviews

Ottawa, Ontario - August 20, 2009

Procurement Ombudsman Shahid Minto today released five reports on the procurement practices reviews carried out by his office in its first year of operations. Part of the Procurement Ombudsman's mandate is to review the practices of departments and agencies for acquiring materiel and services to assess their fairness, openness and transparency and make any appropriate recommendations to the relevant department concerned for the improvement of those practices.

In the first year, the Office of the Procurement Ombudsman has been set up as a professional, neutral, accessible and highly responsive office. Mr. Minto stated: "We have been able to establish a business relationship that is based upon mutual respect and trust with all the stakeholders in the federal procurement field. The release of the reports is an important step towards our main objective of strengthening the confidence of Canadians in public procurement. I am particularly proud of the positive impact our work has already had."

In its first year of activity, the Office reviewed the following five areas:

1. Procurement Challenge and Oversight Function
2. Supplier Debriefings
3. Advance Contract Award Notices (ACANs)
4. Mandatory Standing Offers (MSOs)
5. CORCAN – Procurement Allegations

The reviews are now available under Procurement Practice Reviews on the Office of the Procurement Ombudsman Web site.

Source: Gilles Pineau
Communications Manager
Office of the Procurement Ombudsman
613-947-9755
www.opo-boa.gc.ca