5. Chapter 5 - Evaluation and Selecting the Contractor

1. This chapter contains information concerning the evaluation process, which includes both the evaluation of bids and the selection of a successful bidder. The chapter further addresses negotiations with the bidder(s) before contract award.
2. For more information on bid evaluation, consult the Basic Guide for Bid Evaluation Process (available on GCpedia - Acquisitions Program Policy Suite - Procurement Process).
3. It is recommended that contracting officers also familiarize themselves with the Basic Guidelines for Bid Evaluation Process - Contractor Selection Methods.

1. The main purpose of bid evaluation is to determine the best responsive bid, in accordance with the evaluation and selection methodology specified in the solicitation document, among the bids submitted before the bid closing time on the date specified in the bid solicitation.
2. The responsive bid offering the best value to Canada may or may not necessarily be the one with the lowest price. In order to accurately determine best value, a logical systematic evaluation procedure covering all aspects of the evaluation process must be followed.
3. Before starting the actual technical and financial evaluation of bids, it is necessary to ensure that all the information required at bid closing is available and ready to be transmitted to the evaluators. It is the responsibility of Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) to determine whether the bids received are complete, as specified in the bid solicitation, before further detailed evaluation of the bids. This means, for example, verifying:
   1. that certifications or securities required at bid closing are included;
   2. that bids are properly signed;
   3. that the bidder is properly identified (particularly important in the case of joint ventures);
   4. acceptance of the terms and conditions of the bid solicitation and resulting contract, such as bid validity period;
   5. ability to meet a clearly specified critical delivery schedule;
   6. whether the bid is conditional (e.g. limitation of liability), or
   7. that all documents, required by the bid solicitation to determine technical responsiveness, have been submitted.
   Note: It is recommended that the contracting officer creates and uses a check list of all requirements, which can be used throughout the evaluation of each bid.
4. Evaluation of bids must be in accordance with the procedures stipulated in the bid solicitation. They must be checked for responsiveness to the contractual, technical and financial requirements of the bid solicitation. Fair, accurate and transparent evaluation of bids is an important aspect of procurement process. Generally, financial bids should not be sent to the technical evaluators until after completion of the technical evaluation.

1. The contracting officer must treat all information in a secure and confidential manner to ensure the integrity of the contracting process.
2. When referring bids to the client (or technical evaluators) during the evaluation process, the following cautionary note must be provided to the client:
   "Bid information must be divulged only to individuals authorized to participate in this contracting process. Information must not be divulged to, or discussed with, the private industry."
3. During the period from bid closing to contract award, (including the contract approval process), contracting officers receiving requests from suppliers for the names of bidders must not release this information. For more information, suppliers should contact the Access to Information and Privacy Office.
4. After contract award, the names of bidders and other information may be released in accordance with departmental policy. (See 7.30 Procurement Reporting and Posting of Award Notices.)

1. Before contract award, the contracting officer must verify with the Contract Security Program (CSP) that the proposed contractor meets the security requirements of the bid solicitation. This verification can be done by contacting the CSP’s Client Service Centre. The request to the CSP for a security status should include the full legal name and address of the proposed bidder, the address of location of the work performance (if applicable), as well as the required security levels stipulated in the bid solicitation document. If the supplier has the appropriate security clearance, the contracting officer must sign the Security Requirements Check List (SRCL) at block 16 and include the fully signed SRCL as an annex in the resulting contract. In the case of call-ups against a standing offer or contracts against a supply arrangement, it is the responsibility of the technical authority to verify that the contractor meets the security requirements.
   IMPORTANT: When security capabilities such as document safeguarding, IT (including cloud computing), Production and/or COMSEC are required, seek assurance of these specific security types from the CSP as they are contract-specific.
   IMPORTANT: Before contract award, the contracting officer must also verify with the CSP’s International Industrial Security Directorate (IISD) (tpsgc.dgsssiprojetintl-dobissintlproject.pwgsc@tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca) that the proposed contractor meets Canada’s international security commitments for contracts with foreign-based suppliers or when the contracted work requires access to international organizations (e.g., NATO) or foreign classified information, assets or sites (see 4.30.25 Security and international contracts).
2. During the period of the contract, the client must ensure that all contractors or subcontractor personnel who will have access to any classified or protected information, assets or sensitive work sites, or to government systems, including information accessible in a cloud service provider portal, are identified as working under the contract and that their security status has been verified with the CSP. The contracting officer will assist in this process, as required.
3. When security clearances are mandatory, they must be obtained before the commencement of any work. However, it is recognized that there may be circumstances under which, for reasons of urgency, the contracting officer, client department’s Chief Security Officer (CSO) and technical/project authority can consult the CSP to obtain advice and guidance on the development of an acceptable risk mitigation strategy so work can commence before the security clearance process is completed.
4. If, at any time during the period of the contract, the contracting officer becomes aware that a subcontractor, whose security status has not been verified with the CSP, will require access to any classified or protected information, assets or sensitive work sites, the contracting officer must consult with the CSP to ensure the necessary subcontract SRCLs are submitted and as well verify that the subcontractor meets the security requirements.

1. Before awarding a contract (including issuing a purchase order), issuing a standing offer (SO) or supply arrangement (SA), or publishing of a pre-qualified supplier list, contracting officers must first verify with the Registrar of ineligibility and suspension (the Registrar) that the bidder, offeror or supplier is not ineligible to be awarded a contract or suspended. Certain charges, convictions and other circumstances, as described in the Ineligibility and Suspension Policy will or may render the bidder, offeror or supplier ineligible to be awarded or suspended from being awarded a contract.
2. The integrity verification process with the Registrar is not required in the following circumstances:
   1. call-ups against standing offers;
   2. contracts against supply arrangements (SAs) (note: an integrity verification is typically not required when awarding a contract against an SA, however an integrity verification will be required when awarding a contract against an SA issued prior to April 4, 2016, where the latest Integrity Provisions have been incorporated by reference into the solicitation);
   3. task authorizations;
   4. contract amendments unless there is a change to the Integrity Provisions or members of the board of directors;
   5. purchases using acquisition cards;
   6. contracts where the transaction value is less than $10,000.00 (GST/HST included) (see the Policy for definition of transaction value); or
   7. any other contract or type of contract specified in Section 4.b) of the Policy or directive issued further to the Policy.
3. Verification process:
   1. Before awarding a contract (including issuing a purchase order with a transaction value of $10,000 or more, including GST/HST), issuing an SO or an SA, or publishing a pre-qualified supplier list, contracting officers must submit the information on the bidder, offeror or supplier to the Registrar using the Integrity Database Services (IDS) portal.
   2. Responses are typically provided within 4 hours for routine requests and within 2 hours for urgent requests, on business days, between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.
   3. List of directors or corporate owners:
      1. Contracting officers are not required to verify whether bidders, offerors or suppliers should have provided a list of directors or corporate owners, but are simply to submit to the Registrar the information as received from the bidders, offerors or suppliers.
      2. Where a bidder, offeror or supplier has not provided a list of directors or corporate owners with their bid, offer or arrangement, the contracting officer must submit the complete legal name, address and Procurement Business Number (PBN) of the successful bidder, offeror or supplier, along with the solicitation number (or proposed contract number) to the Registrar.
      3. The Registrar determines whether a bidder, offeror or supplier should have provided a list of directors or corporate owners. In the event that such list should have been provided, the Registrar will communicate this requirement to the contracting officer, who will then inform the bidder, offeror or supplier of their obligation to provide the list within a recommended 10 business days. Failure to provide this information within the timeframe stipulated by the contracting officer will render the bid , offer or arrangement non-responsive. See 5.5.5 Certifications, declarations and proofs.
   4. Verification responses:
      Three responses are possible, as described below. Contracting officers are to keep a copy of the confirmation e-mail from the Registrar in the procurement file. This process and the estimated timelines can be delayed should additional information be required by IDS to allow them to make a determination.
      1. "Integrity result – The supplier is not ineligible. (No match)": This response confirms that the contracting officer may award the contract, issue the standing offer or the supply arrangement, or publish the list of pre-qualified suppliers.
      2. "Ineligibility confirmed": This response indicates that the bidder, offeror, or supplier has been determined to be ineligible or suspended as per the Ineligibility and Suspension Policy. The bidder, offeror or supplier is suspended or ineligible to be awarded a contract or issued a standing offer or supply arrangement, or to be included in a list of pre-qualified suppliers. In exceptional circumstances, the contracting officer may request a Public Interest Exception (PIE) to enter into a contract with an ineligible supplier.
      1. "Caution due diligence should be applied": This response advises that the bidder, offeror or supplier is not ineligible. However, the level of delegation to enter into the transaction has been raised to Assistant Deputy Minister or Director General as indicated in the verification response email. This information is for internal discussion and decision making only and, as such, should never be discussed with external parties.
   5. Where “Ineligibility confirmed” or “Caution due diligence should be applied” responses are received, contracting officers must consult with the Acquisitions Program Integrity Secretariat (APIS) by e-mail at TPSGC.DGAIntegrite-ABIntegrity.PWGSC@tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca, and obtain the required approval as stipulated in Annex 6.4.1. Approval Authorities and Additional Signing Authorities in Support of Clients' Programs Only – Other than for Canadian Commercial Corporation.
   6. Where the Registrar must confirm the identity of an individual as a result of an integrity verification response, they will request information directly from the individual in question.
4. Verification Process for Amendments:
   1. Contracting officers must propose the latest general conditions, which include the most recent Integrity Provisions when amending a contract as per section 4.21 Integrity Provisions, subsection d. The verification process as outlined in subsection c. above must be followed if the contractor accepts the new Integrity Provisions to be included in the contract amendments, and the existing contract contains Integrity Provisions dated prior to July 2015.
   2. The verification process as outlined in subsection c. above must be followed for contract amendments where the file does not already contain a record of a previous verification.
   3. If a previous verification was performed and the results are on file and the Integrity Provisions have not changed, no further action is necessary.
5. If a contractor is found to be ineligible or is suspended while the contract is active, the Registrar will contact the contracting officer who requested the integrity verification for that particular contract. The contracting officer, with the assistance of the Acquisitions Program Integrity Secretariat (APIS), will determine whether the contract can be terminated for default. If the contract is to be terminated for default, APIS will assist the contracting officer. The ineligible or suspended contractor may be required to enter into an Administrative Agreement with Public Works and Government Services Canada if the contract is not terminated.
6. Awareness and Prevention: Before contract award or issuance of standing offers or supply arrangements, the successful bid or offer must be reviewed by a contracting officer who has completed the training on Bid Rigging Awareness and Prevention. This can be the same contracting officer assigned to the procurement file.
7. For further details on Integrity, see the following sections:
   • 3.51 Integrity Overview;
   • 4.21 Integrity Provisions;
   • 8.70.2 Compliance with the Integrity Provisions; and
   • 8.90 Assignment of Contracts.

1. Contracting officers should take advantage of the knowledge of specialists or subject matter experts. They are available to provide guidance in their areas of expertise, whenever it would be helpful and/or appropriate in making a recommendation or confirming a decision.
2. Subject matter experts/specialists include: legal services, Access to Information and Privacy officers, contract quality control officers, cost analysts and risk management advisors, auditors, policy authorities, green procurement specialists, ethics officers, Human Resources authorities, commodity team leaders, client engagement officers, experienced contracting officers, industry/association representatives, etc.

1. When a fairness monitor has been engaged to support a procurement process, he/she will provide written reports to the Departmental Oversight Branch (DOB), in accordance with the statement of work included in the fairness monitor's contract, attesting to the fairness, openness, and transparency of the procurement process.
2. If a fairness monitor observes a situation that constitutes, or has the potential to create, fairness deficiencies, the fairness monitor will inform the project team of its concerns and seek a resolution. If a resolution cannot be reached, the fairness monitor will immediately advise DOB.
3. The fairness monitor will submit a final report to DOB, which includes among other things, the fairness monitor's overall attestation of assurance on the fairness, openness, and transparency of the monitored activity and any unresolved fairness deficiencies observed. This report will be made public after tabling with senior management.

1. To be considered for contract award, a bid must, at closing date meet all mandatory requirements stipulated in the bid solicitation. Bidders are responsible to meet the criteria stipulated in the bid solicitation as well as request clarification before submitting a bid if they are not sure they understand a requirement. The instructions to bidders clearly provide that PWGSC may request clarification from bidders, but it is under no obligation to do so.
2. If PWGSC decides to request clarifications or additional supporting data from the bidders, the contracting officer must ensure that this process does not give any bidder an advantage over the others. In no event can this clarification alter the price quoted or any substantive element of a bid.
3. Only clarifications which do not change the substance or price of a bid may be requested and accepted. The request for clarifications and response must be in writing. Any response, which leads to a substantial change in the bid is considered bid repair and must not be considered in the bid evaluation. Pursuant to the Canadian International Trade Tribunal (CITT), a clarification is acceptable only if it is an explanation of some existing aspect of the bid that does not amount to a substantive revision or modification of the bid. Bidders cannot be allowed to repair their bid through a clarification process.
4. In conducting its evaluation of the bids, Canada may, but has no obligation to correct any error in the extended pricing of bids by using unit pricing and any error in quantities in bids to reflect the quantities stated in the bid solicitation. In the case of error in the extension of prices, the unit price will govern.
5. If an unusually low price is identified, the bidder must be given the opportunity to either confirm or withdraw its bid in writing. Once confirmed, the supplier must accept the price in any resulting contract. The contracting officer must not divulge the difference in price between that bid and the next lowest bid. In no event will the bidder be permitted to increase the price. In solicitations with bid security, this provision may not apply.
6. The contracting officer will specify in the request the number of days the bidders will have to comply with any request. Failure to comply with the request may result in the bid being declared non-responsive.

1. The client is responsible for the evaluation of the technical portion of the bids, and, where applicable, the management portion. PWGSC is responsible for the evaluation of the contractual terms and conditions and the financial portion of the bids. Bids must meet all the mandatory requirements and criteria set out in the bid solicitation. Bids that fail to meet a mandatory requirement (such as a bid bond or any information or document) or any other mandatory evaluation criteria (technical, financial or other) will be declared non-responsive.
2. For Complexity Levels 2 and 3, the procurement risk assessment may determine that a Formal Peer Review of the results of the bid evaluation is required. For Complexity Levels 4 and 5 inclusive, a review of the results of the bid evaluation is mandatory. For more information on the Formal Peer Review, see 5.45.1 Formal Peer Review of Evaluation. In all other situations once the bid evaluation is completed, contracting officers are encouraged to obtain a review of the results of that evaluation prior to issuing the contract.
3. In some cases, third parties may be invited to assist in evaluating bids, for example, scholars and other experts. When third parties will be involved, bidders must be advised in the bid solicitation. In general, third parties participating in the evaluation, or in the bid preparation, must sign a non-disclosure agreement and a conflict of interest agreement before such participation.
4. Bids must be evaluated in accordance with the evaluation criteria established in the bid solicitation. Even though the onus is on bidders to submit clear and well-organized bids, bids must be reviewed with diligence and thoroughness to ensure that no essential information is missed. The evaluators must not use criteria or factors not included in the bid solicitation or derive conclusions from information contained in bids that may prove wrong. Whenever possible, the same evaluators should evaluate all bids. When evaluating bids, evaluators must consider all vital information provided in the bid, and must not base their evaluation on undisclosed criteria.
5. Documents pertaining to the evaluation of bids must be retained. Evaluators must provide the original or a copy of all evaluation notes and communications to the contracting officer for filing on the procurement file. All such information is subject to the Access to Information Act. For example, evaluators' worksheets must not be destroyed even if the information contained in the worksheets is recorded in other evaluation documents. Following a relevant Canadian International Trade Tribunal decision, it was found that evaluators' worksheets are an integral part of the evaluation process and constitute part of the complete record regarding the procurement and part of the written record of all communications substantially affecting the procurement within the meaning of the international trade agreements. Destroying the evaluators' worksheets is a breach of the international trade agreements. Although no similar provision exists in the Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA), the maintenance of complete documentation is also essential under the CFTA to promote fair and open procurement procedures. Contracting officers can also refer to the Treasury Board Directive on Recordkeeping.

1. The client department is responsible for the technical evaluation of the bids.
2. Following the completion of the technical evaluation, the client department must provide a report to the contracting officer detailing the results of the evaluation, including details on all non-responsive bids and the reasons for declaring them non-responsive. Each person who participated in the technical evaluation as an evaluator must sign the report.
3. Complete documentation, including all notes, worksheets, etc. made during the processing or evaluation of the bids must be retained, for future reference, on the PWGSC procurement file.

1. PWGSC is responsible for the evaluation of the financial portion of the bids. PWGSC does not provide client departments with price information during the technical evaluation process to ensure its integrity. Pricing information should only be provided to the client following the completion of the technical evaluation.
2. Under the following circumstances, more than one PWGSC employee must be involved in the evaluation of the bid prices to ensure an appropriate level of checks and balances, and to ensure that, in terms of price, the bids are ranked properly, in accordance with the bid solicitation:
   1. for any competitive procurement requiring contract entry approval of the Minister, the Assistant Deputy Minister or Treasury Board; and
   2. for any procurement which is considered to be sensitive or high-risk.
3. Contracting officers should also consider having more than one PWGSC employee involved in the evaluation of the bid prices, under the following circumstances:
   1. when the evaluation involves extensive computation or is mathematically complex; and
   2. for standing offers (SO) and supply arrangements (SA) requiring the approval of the Assistant Deputy Minister.
4. All PWGSC employees involved in evaluating the bid prices must sign the financial evaluation report.

The successful bidder must be selected in accordance with the methodology specified in the bid solicitation.

1. If identical low bids are received the contract should be awarded on the basis of best value. The factors below should be used, subject to directives on national policies and objectives that may be issued from time to time. These criteria may be weighted as considered appropriate by the contracting officer:
   1. a bidder with an overall satisfactory performance record is given preference over a bidder known to have a less satisfactory performance record;
   2. a bidder in a position to provide adequate after-sales service, with a good record in this regard, will be given preference over a bidder who is less able to provide adequate service or who has a poor record;
   3. when delivery is an important factor, the bidder offering the best delivery date should be given preference;
   4. when there are several items included in the bid and only some items are priced identically, the bid offering the greatest dollar value should be given preference; and
   5. when there are several items included in the bid and one or more bidders bid lower on one or more of the items, the lowest bidder with the greatest dollar value should be given preference both for the items on which it bid equal prices and for the items on which it bid lower.
2. If there are two (or more) identical bids, and provided that the bid selected would still be considered the most advantageous to Canada, preference should be given to the bidder who assumes all or part of the exchange rate adjustment risk over a bidder who does not assume any of this risk. Furthermore, preference should be given to the bidder who assumes all of the exchange rate adjustment risk over a bidder who assumes only part of this risk.
3. If none of the above applies, a method of tie breaking that is mutually acceptable to Canada and the bidders with identical bids can be used. As an example, a simple coin toss could be agreed upon. The mutually agreed solution should involve legal advice.

1. One Responsive Bid Greater than $1,000,000
   1. When only one responsive bid is received in response to a competitive bid solicitation, to satisfy that Canada is obtaining fair value, the contracting officer must contact a cost analyst to determine if further analysis is warranted as specified by the mandatory conditions set out in the Directive on the Use of Cost and Price Analysis Services (PDF). Once the contracting officer has determined that the bid represents fair value to Canada, the contract may be awarded using competitive authorities to the single responsive bidder.
   2. If the contracting officer is not satisfied that the bid represents fair value, the contracting officer may consider negotiating or cancelling and reissuing the bid solicitation.
2. One Responsive Bid Less than or Equal to $1,000,000
   1. When only one responsive bid is received in response to a competitive bid solicitation, to satisfy that Canada is obtaining fair value, the contracting officer should consider using the services of a cost analyst to determine if further analysis is required (refer to the Guideline on the Use of Cost and Price Analysis Services (PDF)). Once the contracting officer has determined that the bid represents fair value to Canada the contract may be awarded using competitive authorities to the single responsive bidder.
   2. If the contracting officer is not satisfied that the bid represents fair value, the contracting officer may consider negotiating or cancelling and reissuing the bid solicitation.
3. One Responsive Bid from Foreign Contractor

   When only one responsive bid is received in response to a competitive solicitation, and that bid is from a supplier in a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allied country, or a significant portion is being proposed to be subcontracted to a supplier in a NATO-allied country, to satisfy that Canada is obtaining fair value, the contracting officer should consider using the services of the foreign supplier's country's government to conduct an assessment of the fairness and reasonableness of the bid. This service can be called up by submitting a request through the Price Support Directorate (PSD). More information on this service is provided at 9.56 Price certifications and audits of foreign contractors.

When no responsive bid is received as a result of a competitive bid solicitation, the bid solicitation must be cancelled. For more information on reissuing a solicitation, see 4.100 Cancelling and Reissuing a Solicitation.

The contracting officer must notify Legal Services and his or her immediate director whenever there is an indication of possible bid-rigging activities, collusion or fraud. When it is considered necessary, Legal Services will assist in subsequent discussions with Competition Bureau Canada,a federal independent law enforcement agency responsible for the administration and enforcement of the Competition Act. Bid rigging is addressed in section 47 of the Act.

The following are examples of possible bid-rigging activities:

1. bid rates/prices are much higher than published price lists, engineering cost estimates, or previous bid rates/prices by the same suppliers, for no apparent reason;
2. the successful bidder subcontracts work to suppliers who submit higher bids on the same project;
3. bidders use identical wording to describe non-standard items, or submit identical bids for non-standard items;
4. there are indications of unusual communications among suppliers, before submitting the bids with regards to bid prices, or allocation of clients, or references to "standard industry prices", "industry self-regulation", etc.;
5. the same supplier wins bids for specific clients, or in specific geographic locations, or for specific sizes or types of work, and loses most other bids on a regular basis; or
6. a recognizable pattern of systematic or random low bid rotation exists.

1. When two or more responsive bids are received in response to a competitive bid solicitation and if no responsive bid represents fair value, contracting officers should examine the solicitation to determine possible causes. Subsequently, the contracting officer may consider negotiating with all responsive bidders or cancelling and reissuing the bid solicitation.
2. When negotiating with more than one firm, care should be taken that all are treated fairly and impartially. The negotiations should not become an auction of the contract, as firms progressively improve their bids in the light of information about the position of other firms. The confidentiality of each firm's negotiating position is to be assured.
3. The contracting officer must conduct all negotiations. If it is of a technical nature, the contracting officer and the client should conduct the negotiations. A negotiation report must be placed on the procurement file.
4. For procurements subject to the trade agreements contracting officers must conduct negotiations in accordance with the conditions of these agreements. For example, see Article 19.11: Negotiation of the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement or Article XII: Negotiation of the World Trade Organization Agreement on Government Procurement, or the 'Negotiation' provision of the Canadian Free Trade Agreement. Canada's other free trade agreements have similar rules to the WTO-AGP.
5. For procurements not subject to trade agreements,
   1. when a bid solicitation was used, negotiations may be entered into:
      1. before the completion of bid evaluation, provided that they are held with all bidders that submitted responsive bids; or
      2. after the bid evaluation, with only one bidder, provided that the bidder submitted the only responsive bid. Or, the bidder was selected after evaluating more than one responsive bid, but it can be demonstrated that if the negotiations had been held with all of the bidders that submitted responsive bids, there would have been no change in the bidder selected.
      The ability to prove that the same bidder will be selected, regardless of whether negotiations are conducted with all responsive bidders, presupposes that the requirement (for example, technical specifications) will not change during negotiations and, therefore, that other bidders given the same opportunity could not submit different or better offers;
   2. when an Invitation to Tender (ITT) was used and there is more than one responsive bid, but neither the lowest bid nor the other bids represent fair value, the contracting officer must have determined, before considering entering into negotiations, that it would not be more effective to cancel the solicitation and meet the requirement using another method of supply. When urgency is a major factor, the results of the original ITT might be capable of being used as the basis for entering into negotiations with bidders; and
   3. when a Request For Quotation was used, negotiations should be avoided.

1. Bids will remain open for acceptance for a period of 60 days (30 days for construction), from the closing date of the bid solicitation, unless otherwise indicated in the bid solicitation (see Standard Acquisition Clauses and Conditions Manual, (SACC) Standard Instructions 2003, 2006, and 2008). Contracting officers must carefully assess the potential for extended bid evaluation periods and indicate in the bid solicitation the modified period for bid acceptance. Contracting officers must also carefully monitor events during the bid evaluation period and contract approval process in order to award the contract before the bid acceptance period has expired. Expiry of bid acceptance periods before contract award should thus become an exceptional circumstance.
2. If the bid acceptance period has expired, and the contract has not been awarded, the bid solicitation must be reissued.
3. Any contract awarded to a bidder after the bid expiry date is considered a sole-source contract, and must be justified accordingly.
4. If the evaluation is incomplete and is unlikely to be completed within a reasonable period of time, and the bid acceptance period will expire before the evaluation is complete, the process should be halted and an assessment made to identify the cause of the delay. Any necessary corrections to the solicitation or evaluation methodology may then be made and the bid solicitation reissued.
5. As stated in the standard instructions, Canada may seek an extension of the bid validity period from all responsive bidders in writing within a minimum of three (3) days before the end of the bid validity period. If all responsive bidders accept the extension, Canada will continue with the evaluation of the bids. If all responsive bidders do not accept the extension, Canada will, at its sole discretion, either continue with the evaluation of the bids of those who have accepted the extension or cancel the solicitation.
6. Where a bidder does not agree to the extension and it is clear that this particular bidder has no chance of being recommended for award, then it may be appropriate to exercise Canada's right to proceed with the evaluation of only those bids submitted by the bidders that have agreed to an extension. Legal Services may be consulted in instances where a bidder does not agree to the extension, particularly in the case of procurements subject to the trade agreements.

1. Joint ventures may respond to bid solicitations in accordance with the applicable conditions contained in the solicitation. The relevant section of standard instructions 2003, 2006 and 2008 of the SACC Manual permits joint venture bids and provide further details.
2. If a contract is awarded to a joint venture, all members of the joint venture will be severally liable for the performance of any resulting contract. (See standard instructions referenced above.)
3. If a financial capability assessment is done, then all members of the joint venture will be assessed.

In the evaluation of bids, consideration must, as applicable, be given to various programs such as Canadian content, green procurement, accessible procurement and the Federal Contractors Program for employment equity. Employment equity requirements are described in Annex 5.1: Federal Contractors Program for Employment Equity.

1. An evaluation report must be prepared outlining in detail the review of the bids, including any clarifications requested and how the final decision was taken to rank and select the bidders.
2. The evaluation report should include the evaluation criteria, the rationale of mandatory and point-rating for each criterion, as well as the names and contact information of all evaluators.
3. All persons involved in evaluating the bids must sign the evaluation report.
4. All notes taken during the evaluation must be kept in their original form and retained on the procurement file for audit purposes.

Some sectors/regions have developed checklists to assist contracting officers in the tabulation of bids. They should be used where available.

1. Before contract award, contracting officers must advise suppliers that, if they are non compliant to the requirements of the Federal Contractors Program for employment equity, they will not be awarded a contract except in limited circumstances. See Annex 5.1: Federal Contractors Program for Employment Equity for specific exemptions on ship construction and refit.
2. Particular care is required where bid validity period may require extension. (See 5.90 Extending the Bid Validity Period.)
   Note: No information about other bids may be released. Disclosure of information after contract award is covered in 7.45 Disclosure of Information.