Treasury Board amended their Contracting Policy in 2019 to increase some of the contract value thresholds for goods, services and other procurement commodities. These changes affect several professional services supply arrangements (SA) including:

• Solutions-Based Informatics Professional Services (SBIPS) SA
• Task-Based Informatics Professional Services (TBIPS) SA
• Solutions-Based Non-IT Professional Services (TSPS Solutions-Based) SA
• Task-Based Non-IT Professional Services (TSPS Task-Based) SA
• Learning Services SA

The changes include:

Amendments have been made to the federal Government Contracts Regulations effective June 10, 2019. The amendments are intended to modernize the threshold for soliciting bids for service and construction contracts, reduce the risk of corruption and collusion, and make a number of housekeeping amendments to mitigate the risk of confusion and misinterpretation with respect to the Regulations. The amendments and their explanations are detailed in the Canada Gazette.

Increase to the Threshold for Sole-Sourced Bids

The main takeaway for most suppliers is that the $25,000 threshold for soliciting bids for services and construction contracts was increased to $40,000. The increase to the threshold adjusts for inflation since 1996, when the threshold was last amended.

As a result of the new threshold, sole-source services or construction contracts that are currently limited to $25,000 can be awarded for contract values up to $40,000. This enables government and suppliers to more easily do business together on these lower-dollar value contracts.

Other thresholds are unaffected by this change. This includes the CFTKA threshold (formerly NAFTA threshold) and other trade agreements.

The Government of Canada purchases professional services primarily through contract vehicles such as standing offers and supply arrangements. In some cases, the use of a standing offer or supply arrangement is mandatory.

Temporary Help Services (THS) Supply Arrangement (SA): Qualify to provide Temporary Help Services in the National Capital (NCR) area [Open for bids indefinitely – Quarterly due dates: last business day of the month in March, June, September and December. The next due date is December 31, 2021.]

The THS RFSA is for the provision of Temporary Help Services to any Canadian Government Department, Crown Corporation or Agency in the National Capital Area.

Temporary Help Services (THS) are services that are provided by a supplier’s employee. There are only three situations in which Temporary Help Services can be used by Designated Users to fulfill their requirements: