Light Icebreaker

Introduction

Deloitte LLP (Deloitte) was engaged on January 24, 2019 as a fairness monitor (FM) to observe the competitive procurement process for the purchase of a Light Icebreaker. This procurement process was undertaken by Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) on behalf of the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG), a special operating agency of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) and was initiated by request for information (RFI) F7013-180034/A and continued with the issuance of a second RFI F7013-180034/B, an initial request for proposal (RFP) F7013-180034/C on March 17, 2020, and a final RFP F7013-180034/D on September 18, 2020.

Deloitte is an independent third party with respect to this activity.

We reviewed all of the information provided and observed all relevant activities conducted to date.

We hereby submit the final report covering the activities of the FM to date, commencing with a review of the draft RFI on February 12, 2019, and continuing through the industry engagement that consisted of:

• an industry day and one-on-one meetings with various interested parties
• the issuance of a second RFI
• review of draft RFP documentation and issuance of an initial RFP including related RFP amendments
• review of a second draft RFP and issuance of the second RFP including related RFP amendments
• the bidders’ conference
• the evaluation of bids
• compliance assessment report (CAR) documentation and responses
• the selection of the highest ranked responsive bidder

This report includes our:

• attestation of assurance related to the competitive procurement process to date
• a summary of the scope and objectives of our assignment
• relevant observations from the activities undertaken

Attestation of assurance

The FM hereby provides the below unqualified assurance statement concerning the competitive procurement process to date of the purchase of a Light Icebreaker.

It is our professional opinion that the competitive procurement process we observed or monitored was carried out in a fair, open and transparent manner.

Original signed by:

Project requirement

Current vessels

We understand that CCG’s aging large vessels are becoming more expensive to maintain and are increasingly unreliable, which puts critical programs and services that Canadians depend upon at risk. A mix of measures has been implemented to replace or backfill CCG ships while they are undergoing vessel life extensions, are out of service due to unplanned downtime or decommissioned earlier than planned.

Requirement

CCG has a requirement to procure 1 existing light icebreaking vessel as an interim measure that will address capacity gaps and maintain critical and mandated CCG icebreaking, aids to navigation and other programs and services over the next 20 years, until the new fleet is fully realized.

Objectives of the fairness monitoring assignment and methodology

The Fairness Monitoring Directorate of PWGSC required the services of an FM to monitor CCG’s Light Icebreaker procurement process. The overall objective of the assignment was to provide an independent observation of the process and to provide fairness-related comments to the contracting authority, as early as possible, so that appropriate action could be taken before fairness was impacted.

To accomplish the objective, we undertook the following activities and, where applicable, provided fairness-related comments to the contracting authority:

• familiarized ourselves with the project governance structure and relevant background information
• reviewed the RFI documents including industry questions
• reviewed industry engagement session documents related to an industry session
• observed the industry engagement session meeting in Gatineau, Quebec
• observed industry engagement sessions related to one-on-one meetings in Ottawa, Ontario
• reviewed the RFI amendment documents including PWGSC answers to industry questions asked during the one-on-one meetings
• reviewed the RFP documents including annexes, appendices and attachments
• reviewed the RFP’s 7 amendments and answers to questions from potential bidders prior to issuance
• reviewed the second RFP document, including annexes, appendices and attachments
• reviewed the second RFP’s 5 amendments and answers to questions from potential bidders prior to issuance
• reviewed plans for evaluation of RFP responses
• observed instructions provided to RFP evaluators during a training session

Fairness monitoring engagement and observations

Deloitte was engaged as an FM to observe the competitive procurement process for the CCG Light Icebreaker procurement, and to attest to the fairness, openness and transparency of this monitored activity.

In this section

• Request for information F7013-180034/A release
• Questions and answers process for request for information F7013-180034/A
• Industry engagement
• Request for information F7013-180034/B release
• Questions and answers process for request for information F7013-180034/B
• Request for proposal F7013-180034/C release
• Questions and answers process for request for proposal F7013-180034/C
• Request for proposal F7013-180034/D release
• Questions and answers process for request for proposal F7013-180034/D
• Evaluation and selection process

In accordance with the terms of our engagement, we familiarized ourselves with the relevant documents, and observed the industry engagement sessions, identifying fairness-related matters to the contracting and technical authorities and ensured that responses and actions were reasonable and appropriate.

The following describes the FM activities undertaken during the course of the engagement related to the RFP phase, and our related observations.

Request for information F7013-180034/A release

From February 12, 2019 to February 15, 2019, we reviewed the RFI documents including annexes, appendices and attachments. No fairness deficiencies were identified.
The RFI was posted on February 18, 2019 and closed on April 16, 2019.

Questions and answers process for request for information F7013-180034/A

From February 19, 2019 to April 5, 2019, we reviewed the RFI’s 5 amendments and answers to questions from interested parties. No fairness deficiencies were identified.

Industry engagement

From February 28, 2019 to March 18, 2019, we reviewed industry engagement session documents related to an in-person session held on March 19, 2019. No fairness deficiencies were identified.

On March 19, 2019, we observed the industry engagement session in Gatineau, Quebec. No fairness deficiencies were identified.

From March 20, 2019 to March 21, 2019, we observed industry engagement sessions related to one-on-one meetings in Ottawa, Ontario. No fairness deficiencies were identified.

Request for information F7013-180034/B release

From December 9, 2019 to December 16, 2019, we reviewed the RFI documents including annexes, appendices and attachments. No fairness deficiencies were identified.

The RFP was posted on December 18, 2019 and closed on February 14, 2020.

Questions and answers process for request for information F7013-180034/B

From December 19, 2019 to February 11, 2020 we reviewed the RFI’s 6 amendments and answers to questions from interested parties. No fairness deficiencies were identified.

Request for proposal F7013-180034/C release

From February 21, 2020 to March 17, 2020, we reviewed the RFP documents including annexes, appendices and attachments and no fairness deficiencies were identified.

Questions and answers process for request for proposal F7013-180034/C

From March 17, 2020 to June 5, 2020, we reviewed the RFP’s 7 amendments and answers to questions from interested parties. No fairness deficiencies were identified.

The RFP was posted on buyandsell.gc.ca on March 17, 2020 and closed on June 16, 2020.

Request for proposal F7013-180034/D release

From August 24, 2020 to September 18, 2020, we reviewed the RFP documents including annexes, appendices and attachments and provided fairness-related comments to the contracting authority as required. Appropriate action was taken by the contracting authority and no fairness deficiencies were identified.

Questions and answers process for request for proposal F7013-180034/D

From August 24, 2020 to September 18, 2020, we reviewed the RFP’s 7 amendments and answers to questions from interested parties. No fairness deficiencies were identified.

The RFP was posted on buyandsell.gc.ca on September 18, 2020 and closed on November 17, 2020.

Evaluation and selection process

From November 6, 2020 to November 9, 2020, we reviewed plans for evaluation of RFP responses, instructions to RFP evaluators, and instructions to bidders for the phased sea trial process under COVID-19 restrictions and provided fairness-related comments to the contracting authority as required. Appropriate action was taken by the contracting authority and no fairness deficiencies were identified.

From December 10, 2020 to September 2, 2021, we:

• observed the application of the RFP evaluation process including observing consensus meetings of evaluation teams
• reviewed draft and final CAR documents
• reviewed proposed clarification questions and other correspondence prior to submission to bidders
• provided fairness-related comments to the contracting authority as required

Appropriate action was taken by the contracting authority. Two bids were received in response to the RFP. During the initial examination of financial bids for completeness, 1 bid was identified as noncompliant, a clarification was sent to the bidder, who declined to alter their bid to meet the requirements of the RFP. One proposal was evaluated against mandatory and rated criteria and 1 CAR was issued.

No fairness deficiencies were identified in the evaluation and selection process as of the date of this report.

Reference documents

Documents related to solicitation number F7013-180034/A-D are available on buyandsell.gc.ca or through the project office.

Addendum to final report

January 11, 2022

Addendum to the final report, dated November 2, 2021, for the procurement of a Light Icebreaker.

This addendum covers the period following the conclusion of the evaluation phase including contract award and debriefings.

On March 8 and 12, 2021, we reviewed the regret letter and a follow up letter to the unsuccessful bidder. No fairness deficiencies were identified.

On December 10, 2021, we reviewed the contract award letter after the fact. The award letter was issued on September 22, 2021. No fairness deficiencies were identified.

On December 10, 2021, we reviewed, after the fact, a notification to the unsuccessful bidder which provided information regarding the successful bid, including the name of the winning bidder and the value of the contract award.

No debriefings were requested by either the successful or the unsuccessful bidder.

Fairness monitor attestation of assurance

The FM hereby provides the below unqualified assurance statement concerning the procurement of a Light Icebreaker.

It is our professional opinion that the competitive procurement process we observed or monitored was carried out in a fair, open and transparent manner.

Original signed by: