Revealing The Results: A Summary of OPO’s Procurement Practice Reviews Over 5 Years
News release
Ottawa, Ontario - December 18, 2024
The Office of the Procurement Ombud (OPO) published a report summarizing the results of its procurement practice reviews conducted between 2018 and 2023.
During the course of these 5 years, OPO reviewed 631 competitive files across 17 federal departments to assess procurement practices related to evaluation criteria and selection plans, solicitation processes, and evaluation of bids and contract award.
The reviews aimed to determine how well these practices upheld the principles of fairness, openness and transparency and their consistency with applicable laws, regulations and procurement policies.
Consistently reviewing multiple departments against the same lines of enquiry revealed systemic issues in federal procurement. Notable issues included shortcomings in evaluation criteria, bid evaluations and contract award decisions, as well as the complexity of the processes. Most concerning, however, were deficient documentation practices across multiple departments. These issues jeopardize the fairness of federal procurement and the Government of Canada’s commitment to open and transparent government.
To address these issues, the Ombud made 92 recommendations to the 17 departments reviewed, all of which were accepted. In addition, OPO is currently undergoing a consultation process with federal buyers and procurement experts to identify the top five foundational changes that are needed in federal procurement.
Quotes
“In line with the theme of my annual report, ‘Time for Action’, the findings of this report reinforce the urgent need to address long-standing procurement issues head-on. By summarizing 5 years of procurement practice reviews, there is no denying that there are widespread systemic issues that jeopardize the integrity of the federal procurement process and that foundational changes are needed to fix the system.”
Alexander Jeglic
Procurement Ombud
Quick facts
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The Office of the Procurement Ombud was established to promote fairness, openness and transparency in federal procurement.
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The Department of Public Works and Government Services Act mandates the Ombud to review procurement practices of federal departments for acquiring goods and services to assess their fairness, openness and transparency, and make any appropriate recommendations to the relevant department for the improvement of those practices.
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The result report provides a summary of the findings of the departmental reviews and an overview of the landscape of federal procurement, highlighting areas of improvement.
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Media Inquiries
Office of the Procurement Ombud
Phone: 613‑947‑9755
Email: MediaBOA.OPOMedia@boa-opo.gc.ca
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