Other cards: Committee of the Whole—July 22, 2020
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Security screening equipment for Global Affairs Canada
Context
On behalf of Global Affairs Canada, Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) issued a national master standing offer (NMSO) to Nuctech Inc., a Chinese state-owned company, for x-ray screening equipment for use in non-operational areas in Canadian missions abroad.
Suggested response
- The government is committed to conducting fair and open procurement processes to meet its operational needs domestically and abroad
- Through this standing offer, Global Affairs Canada will be replacing and upgrading older conveyer style parcel x-ray machines currently in use at Canadian embassies worldwide
- These x-ray machines are located in non-operational areas and scan for prohibited items in parcels, handbags, backpacks, briefcases, etc. that enter the building
- The government is committed to ensuring the safety of Canadians and visitors in its missions abroad
If pressed on awarding the NMSO to Nuctech:
- bidders had to meet a stringent set of mandatory technical requirements in order to be considered for evaluation on price
- bidders had to meet a stringent set of 63 mandatory technical requirements in order to be considered for evaluation on price including providing alerts for various dangerous materials like explosives and weapons, a variety of screening modes, and safety protocols. They also had to provide an acceptable reference from a previous contract
- any bid that passed the technical evaluation and reference check was deemed to have a solution that would meet the needs of Global Affairs
- Nuctech met all the mandatory technical criteria and had the lowest evaluated price
- as the x-ray machines are located in non-operational areas and do not store data, there was no security requirement identified by Global Affairs Canada for this procurement
- the various trade agreements to which Canada is a signatory applied and Nuctech was eligible to bid on this process
Background
The requirement was to establish 2 NMSOs for the supply of security screening equipment (conveyor style x-ray machines and walkthrough metal detectors) for Global Affairs Canada and other federal department users on an as and when requested basis. The NMSOs will be in place for a period of 3 years from date of issuance with the option to extend for 2 additional 1-year periods under the same terms and conditions.
The request for standing offer was issued on December 16, 2019 and closed on April 3, 2020. An offer had to comply with the requirements of the request for standing offers and meet all mandatory technical evaluation criteria listed therein to be declared responsive. The responsive offer with the lowest evaluated price for each product group were recommended for issuance of a standing offer.
For the x-ray machine NMSO, there were 7 bidders, of which 3 were compliant with the mandatory technical criteria. Nuctech was the lowest price of the 3 and thus awarded the standing offer.
As for all contracts, PSPC conducted an integrity check on Nuctech and no issues were identified.
National Shipbuilding Strategy annual report
Context
The Government of Canada will be releasing the 2019 National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSS) annual report this month.
Suggested response
- The government is delivering on its commitment to continue to renew the Royal Canadian Navy and the Canadian Coast Guard fleets, revitalize the shipbuilding industry across Canada, create middle-class jobs, and ensure Canada’s marine services have the modern ships that they need
- The year 2019 was marked by important achievements, including the delivery to the Canadian Coast Guard of the first 2 large ships built under the NSS—the first and second Offshore Fisheries Science Vessels
- In 2019 we announced further investments renewing the Canadian Coast Guard fleet, with up to 24 additional large ships to be built in Canadian shipyards, and launched a competitive process to add a third Canadian shipyard under the NSS
Socio and economic benefits:
- the NSS continues to help stimulate the Canadian economy, with approximately $3.3 billion in new contracts having been awarded to Canadian companies in 6 different provinces in 2019. Of that amount, approximately $186.7 million went to small and medium-sized businesses with fewer than 250 full-time employees
- NSS contracts awarded between January and December 2019 are estimated to contribute more than $4.1 billion ($1.0 billion annually) to Canada’s gross domestic product and will result in approximately 10,365 jobs annually during the period covering 2019 to 2022
- through the value proposition, shipyards have to invest a value equal to 0.5% of contracts to benefit the domestic marine industry in 3 priority areas:
- human resources development
- technology investment
- industrial development
If pressed on the report’s release date:
- the release of the NSS annual report is never done at a fixed date
- in its desire to be open and transparent, the Government of Canada allowed plenty of time for the report to be produced with COVID-19 also delaying the production this year
Background
This is the fourth edition of the NSS annual report. The 2019 NSS Annual Report covers the period between January 1, 2019, and December 31, 2019.
It is posted on the Public Services and Procurement Canada National Shipbuilding Strategy reports page.