We Are Here To Help

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Everyone has experienced them at one time or another in their personal lives – misunderstandings with service providers, products that do not meet expectations, or disagreements with retailers. These situations are frustrating but, unfortunately, not unusual in the world of commerce. Some organizations seem to be better equipped to deal with these types of issues than others. Reputable firms seem to have a mechanism to allow people to raise, and hopefully resolve their issues. Whether it is a customer service department, a senior person in the firm, or yes … even an ombudsman, these top-notch firms provide an avenue to ensure that people’s issues are addressed and that they are dealt with fairly. That is precisely the role that the Office of the Procurement Ombudsman (OPO/Office) plays in the world of federal procurement.

In any given year, hundreds of thousands of contracts are entered into by federal departments and agencies and Canadian businesses that supply them with goods and services. When one considers this large volume of procurement activity and the vast set of rules and regulations that make doing business with the Government of Canada fundamentally different from doing business in the private sector, it is not surprising that issues occasionally arise with some of these transactions. This is where OPO comes in. We are here to do our part in promoting fairness, openness and transparency in federal procurement. We do this by helping suppliers and federal departments and agencies sort through the issues that arise in the competitive, and often complicated, world of federal procurement.

And the Office is uniquely positioned to be able to do this. While we are part of the federal government, we operate at arm’s length from federal departments and agencies. We are a neutral and independent organization available to assist both the supplier and federal communities to address procurement concerns, deal with procurement issues and resolve procurement disputes. We approach our unique, neutral role by being neither an advocate for suppliers, nor an apologist for government.

Our neutrality and independence allow us to be effective in helping to address issues and concerns in an impartial, unbiased and, often, informal manner. And while we strive to adhere to the principles of a true ombudsman’s office by putting a premium on attempting to deal with issues brought to our attention in an informal manner, the Office’s activities are nevertheless governed by regulations. The Procurement Ombudsman Regulations prescribe how and under what circumstances we can and are required to deal with such things as complaints, requests for Alternative Dispute Resolution and procurement practice reviews.

Whether it is through our informal means or one of the elements of our legislated mandate, we perform our work knowing we share responsibility for helping to strengthen the overall fairness, openness and transparency of federal procurement.

So much like the issues we all occasionally encounter when hiring a contractor to renovate our home or purchasing an appliance, the buying and selling of goods and services associated with running government operations occasionally generates an issue or two. And when this happens, we are here to help.

Our mission

To promote fairness, openness and transparency in federal government procurement.

Our mandate

The Department of Public Works and Government Services Act provides the mandate for the Procurement Ombudsman to:

  • Review complaints with respect to the award of a contract for the acquisition of goods below $25,000 and services below $100,000 (including taxes);
  • Review complaints with respect to the administration of a contract, regardless of dollar value;
  • Review the practices of departments for acquiring goods and services to assess their fairness, openness and transparency and make recommendations to improve those practices; and
  • Ensure that an alternative dispute resolution process is provided, if requested and agreed to by both parties to a federal contract.

The following section of the report outlines the profile of the contacts received this past year and how these contacts were dealt with.

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