[ARCHIVED July 3, 2020 – This page will no longer be updated. Please see https://blog.theproposalcentre.ca//list-of-primers/ for current information on key Government of Canada and Government of Ontario contract vehicles.]

The Government of Canada’s contracting policies and regulations are affected by numerous trade agreements that Canada has signed with other countries and even one between the provinces (the Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT)). Of all the agreements, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has the most significant impact on government procurement by dictating some of the terms governing how solicitations are run.

From a services perspective, the threshold for the past two years has been $106,000.  Treasury Board has recently announced that for the period from January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2021, the threshold will be $108,400, inclusive of taxes.

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:

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:

[ARCHIVED October 30, 2020 – This page will no longer be updated. Please see https://blog.theproposalcentre.ca//list-of-primers/ for current information on key Government of Canada and Government of Ontario contract vehicles.]

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.

Task and Solutions Professional Services (TSPS) Task-Based Standing Offer (SO) and Supply Arrangement (SA): Qualify for Contracts for Non-IT Professional Services [Closed]

The TSPS Task-Based SO and TSPS Task-Based SA are two of several mandatory contract vehicles related to the provision of non-IT professional Services. The other related contract vehicles are the TSPS Solutions-Based SA and the ProServices SA.

Task-based services generally involve the assignment of a resource or group of resources to complete a well-defined set of deliverables/responsibilities on a per diem basis.

TSPS is organized according to the following streams (each containing multiple categories of resources):

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

Events Planning and Management Services SA: Qualify for contracts for the Planning and Management of Events [Closed]

The Events Planning and Management Services SA covers a full range of events management services up to $2,000,000. Events may include, but are not limited to: meetings, hearings, conferences, workshops, summits, consultations, round tables, award ceremonies, galas and opening ceremonies on an “as and when requested” basis.

Services may include, but are not limited to:

[ARCHIVED August 15, 2019 – This page will no longer be updated. Please see https://blog.theproposalcentre.ca//list-of-primers/ for current information on key Government of Canada and Government of Ontario contract vehicles]

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 [Closed]

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: Read the rest of this entry »

[ARCHIVED August 15, 2019 – This page will no longer be updated. Please see https://blog.theproposalcentre.ca//list-of-primers/ for current information on key Government of Canada and Government of Ontario contract vehicles]

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) Standing Offer (SO) and Supply Arrangement (SA): Qualify to provide Temporary Help Services in the National Capital (NCR) area [Open – Renewal – Next Due Date: July 31, 2019. Quarterly due dates: Last business day of the month in March, June, September and December]

The THS RFSO and RFSA are for the provision of Temporary Help Services to any Canadian Government Department, Departmental 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: Read the rest of this entry »

[ARCHIVED April 30, 2020 – This page will no longer be updated. Please see https://blog.theproposalcentre.ca//list-of-primers/ for current information on key Government of Canada and Government of Ontario contract vehicles]

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

Learning Services SO and SA: Qualify for contracts for Design, Development and Delivery of Learning Services [Closed]

The Learning Services SO and SA are the mandatory procurement tools for most purchases of learning services to be provided to locations across Canada. Learning Services includes all aspects of the design, development and delivery of classroom learning, blended learning and eLearning product development. In general, the provision of services involves the development and delivery of government-owned materials.

The Learning Services Methods of Supply are organized into the following streams: Read the rest of this entry »

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

For professional services contracts related to audit and accounting services, the Professional Audit and Support Services (PASS) SA is an essential contract vehicle and will be for years to come.

PWGSC PASS SA: Mandatory for Audit and Accounting Services [Open for bids indefinitely – Quarterly due dates: last business day of the month in March, June, September and December. Next due date: December 31, 2021.]

The PASS SA is the mandatory procurement tool for most purchases of professional audit and accounting services. PASS is organized into the following streams: Read the rest of this entry »

[ARCHIVED This post has been replaced by https://blog.theproposalcentre.ca//wp-admin/post.php?post=1771&action=edit]

Following the September 2018 renewal of the Learning Services Standing Offer and Supply Arrangement, the Government of Canada has published the established Learning Services Standing Offer median rates by Region, Category and Level. The rates can be viewed online, or downloaded in PDF format from Read the rest of this entry »