Key Policies and Directives

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Key Government of Canada policies instruments governing procurement activities are described in this section. Individual departments and other government organizations may have established additional policies and directives to govern various aspects of procurement activities within their own sphere of operations.

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Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC)

In addition to its role of providing departments and agencies with expert procurement assistance, PWGSC also develops, implements, and maintains a number of policies in the buying and selling field, including:

For a summary of the key procurement policy instruments, see:

Acquisitions Program Policy Suite

Policy instruments support PWGSC’s efforts to make its procurement function more effective, efficient and responsive to the needs of suppliers and client departments and agencies.

The instruments below were developed for PWGSC’s Acquisitions Program and are accessible to federal government employees through the Acquisitions Program Policy SuiteThe information is only accessible to federal government department and agency employees. on GCpedia.

  • Policy on Engagement
  • Engagement Guideline
  • Directive on Complex Procurement Governance
  • Guideline for Risk Management in Complex Procurement
  • Risk Management Matrix Tool
  • Guideline on Capabilities for Complex Procurement
  • Basic Guide for Bid Evaluation Process
  • Statement of Work Guide
  • Directive on the Processing of Low Dollar Value Procurements
  • Directive on the Use of Cost and Price Analysis Services
  • Guideline on the Use of Cost and Price Analysis Services

Treasury Board Policy Framework for the Management of Assets and Acquired Services

Many of the key procurement-related policies are supporting policy instruments of the Policy Framework for the Management of Assets and Acquired Services. The framework and its policies set the direction for the management of assets and acquired services.

The key policies and directives governing public sector procurement are:

Related Policy Instruments and Programs

Procurement activities may be subject to, or informed by, additional policy instruments established in various related areas. Related policies often applied to procurement include:

Federal Contractors Program (formerly Employment Equity)

Under the Federal Contractors Program employers agree to carry out and keep an employment equity program in their workplace. Employers who do not fulfill specified requirements will be found in non-compliance with the Program and may be placed on the List of Ineligible Contractors and be subject to sanctions.

Visit the Federal Contractors Program page for more information.

Contract Security Program

PWGSC provides a number of contract security services related to buying and selling. These include:

  • contract security;
  • managing controlled goods; and
  • security screening of organizations and individuals.

Visit the Contract Security Program website for more information.