Bylaw 9 - Vanier

Approved by the Vanier College Board of Directors: June 26, 2012.

Amended: March 11, 2014; February 21, 2017; June 18, 2019; June 15, 2021; June 16, 2025

1. PREAMBLE

The present By-law establishes principles and administrative regulations regarding the procurement of goods and services by administrative units while ensuring compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.

It allows the College, in a reasonable timeframe and at best market value, to acquire goods and services that are required for its operations in respect of the needs of the requesters and the availability of the market.

It ensures that the College issues contracts in a manner that will stand the test of public scrutiny in matters of good judgement while facilitating access, encouraging competition and reflecting fairness in terms of spending public funds while mitigating against risk and liability.

2. DEFINITION

Act: the Act Respecting Contracting by Public Bodies (RSQ ch. C-65.1) and its regulations;
Administrative unit: Department or service of the College;
Chief Executive Officer: The Board of Governors is designated as Chief Executive Officer by that Act. The Board may delegate, by resolution, its responsibilities to the Executive Committee or the Director General;
College: Vanier College;
College credit card: A credit card used by Procurement Services during the normal procurement processes;
Construction: Construction work covered by the Building Act (RSQ ch. B-1.1) for which a contractor must have a license under chapter IV of this same act;
Concession contract: A contact between the College and a company to operate a specific business on its property subject to certain conditions;
Contract: A written agreement between the College and a supplier, service provider or contractor which specifies the purpose, compensation and contractual conditions for each of the parties. This agreement can be in the form of a purchase order or a procurement, service or construction contract;
Complaint: An expression of dissatisfaction for which prejudice may be invoked and corrective action, requested. A comment or request for information or clarification does not constitute a complaint. In the latter case, the appropriate remedy is to address this request to the resource person identified in the call for tenders published on the SEAO;
Delivery order contract: A contract with a supplier used when needs are recurrent and the quantity, rhythm, or frequency of the goods is uncertain;
Employment contract: A contract of employment is a contract by which a person, the employee, undertakes, for a limited time and for remuneration, to do work under the direction or control of another person, the employer. A contract of employment is for a fixed term or an indeterminate term (Civil Code, a. 2085 and 2086);
Ineligible enterprise: Following an analysis of integrity by the Autorité des Marchés Publics, an enterprise can be included on the register of ineligible entreprises for public contracts. Following registration, the enterprise is not authorised to receive public contracts of any value;
Intergovernmental agreements: A public procurement liberalization agreement between the government of Quebec and another jurisdiction;
Invitational call for tender: A notice to a number of individual vendors inviting them to bid on supplying goods, service or on a construction contract;
LGCE: Loi sur la gestion et le contrôle des effectifs des ministères, des organismes et des réseaux du secteur public ainsi que des sociétés d'État ;
Procurement: Activities and processes to acquire goods and services involving the establishment of requirements, sourcing activities, negotiation of contracts, awarding of contracts and contractual management;
Procurement Services: The administrative unit, under the authority of the Director of Administrative Services, responsible for all procurement activities in the College;
Public call for tender: An open invitation to all suppliers to deposit a bid at the College; this invitation is published on the electronic tendering system designated by the Act;
Public tender threshold: The public tender threshold is established by the World Trade Organization and is updated biennially.
Supply contract: The purchasing or lease of movable property, which may include the cost of installing, operating and maintaining the property;
RARC: Person designated by the Chief Executive Officer which role consists particularly to enforce contractual regulation;
Regionalized public call for tender: An invitation to all suppliers in a specified geographic area to deposit bids at the College; this invitation is published on the electronic tendering system designated by the Act;

3. SCOPE OF APPLICATION

3.01 Scope of application

Subject to article 3.02, this By-law applies to all procurement, service and construction contracts awarded by the College.

3.02 Exemptions

The present By-law does not apply to the following contracts as they are governed by other specific laws and regulations:

The purchase, lease or transfer of a building
Employment contracts
Concession contract
Purchasing of volumes and periodicals
Agreements between public bodies

4. LEGAL FRAMEWORK

4.01 Applicable laws, by-laws, regulations and policies

The present policy shall be subject to the provisions of all applicable laws, by-laws, regulations and policies including but not limited to:

General and Vocational Colleges Act (CQLR c C-29) and all regulations under the act
Integrity in Public Contracts Act (SQ 2012, c 25)
Loi sur la gestion et le contrôle des effectifs des ministères, des organismes et des réseaux du secteur public ainsi que des sociétés d'État (Further referred as LGCE) (SQ 2014, c 17)
An Act respecting the governance and management of the information resources of public bodies and government enterprises. (CQLR c G-1.03)
An Act Respecting Contracting By Public Bodies (CQLR c. C-65.1)
Act to enact the Act respecting the implementation of the Canadian Free Trade Agreement and to bring measures relating to contracting by public bodies into compliance with that agreement, the Trade and Cooperation Agreement between Ontario and Québec and the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement between Canada and the European Union and its Member States (SQ 2018, c10)
An Act to facilitate oversight of public bodies’ contracts and to establish the Autorité des marchés publics (SQ 2017, c27)
An Act mainly to establish the Centre d’acquisitions gouvernementales and Infrastructures technologiques Québec (SQ 2020, c 2)
Regulation respecting supply contracts of public bodies (CQLR c C-65.1 r 2)
Regulation respecting service contracts of public bodies (CQLR c C-65.1 r 4)
Regulation respecting construction contracts of public bodies (CQLR c C-65.1 r 5)
Regulation Respecting Contracting by Public Bodies in the Field of Information Technologies, (CQLR c C-65.1, r 5.1)
Quebec Policy regarding public markets
Trade and Cooperation Agreement Between Ontario and Quebec
Canadian Free Trade Agreement
The Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement
Directive concernant la gestion des contrats d’approvisionnement, de services et de travaux de construction des organismes publics
Directive concernant la reddition de comptes en gestion contractuelle des organismes publics
Directive concernant la gestion des risques en matière de corruption et de collusion dans le processus de gestion contractuelle
By-law #1, The General Administration of the College
By-law #4, The Financial Management of the College

Provisions in laws, regulations and government policies take precedence over the provision of this By-law.

5. GENERAL PRINCIPLES

5.01 Procurement responsibility

Subject to 5.02 and 5.03, all preparation and awarding of contracts for goods, services or construction are under the exclusive responsibility of Procurement Services.

5.02 Purchase of books

All purchase of volumes and periodicals are the responsibility of the Library services and must be done in accordance with the Act Respecting the Development of Quebec Firms in the Book Industry (L.R.Q. c. D-8.1)

5.03 Purchase of food products

Procurement Services delegates the purchase of food products to departments and services. These purchases must be done in conformity with applicable laws and regulations. When possible, the consolidation of requests and an annual or multi-annual purchase order is preferable to ensure a better budgetary control and more efficient administration.

5.04 Respect of the By-law

Any contract subject to this By-law must be done in accordance with the provisions it contains. Any contract that does not respect the provisions is void and is the sole responsibility of the signatory unless an authorization from the Chief Executive Officer or its delegate is completed and added to the procurement file.

5.05 Group purchases

The college will favor group purchases whenever it is possible and when this mode is deemed beneficial for the College. The College also favors partnerships and trade in services with other public bodies whenever this practice is beneficial.

5.06 Contract splitting or segmenting

It is strictly prohibited to split a contract, segment it or modify a contract with the objective of avoiding the application of a provision under the act or the present By-law.

5.07 Promotion of sustainable development

Procurement services will have regard for the development of an environmentally and socially sustainable campus by endeavouring to include sustainability criteria in contracts and in their processes while complying with all College principles, policies and legal obligations.

5.08 Conflict of interest

Any personnel member must inform Procurement Services of any interest, direct or indirect, they may have with a possible supplier prior to starting a procurement process (e.g.: Current employment, past employment financial interest, employment of a family member, etc.).

Depending on the relationship, Procurement Services may request the personnel member remove himself or herself from the procurement process. Personnel members that are involved in a procurement process should not have any direct or indirect interest with a company that is involved in the process.

An Employee shall comply with their duties and obligations, and act in such a manner as to avoid any Conflict of Interest. The best interests of the College shall always prevail when an Employee is in a situation of Conflict of Interest or when the personal interest of a Related Party places an Employee in a situation of Conflict of Interest. The following, without limitation, are examples of Conflicts of Interest

when an Employee or a Related Party, whether directly or indirectly, has a personal interest in a contract or a proposed contract to be entered into by the College or a College-related body, or obtains, or is likely to obtain, a personal advantage or benefit as a result of a decision made by the College or a College-related body;
when an Employee accepts gifts, gratuities or favours from a person, body, enterprise or association engaged in or wishing to engage in transactions with the College, except in the case of minor or customary gifts, gratuities or favours of a trivial or nominal value that do not place and do not have the appearance of placing the recipient under any obligation and/or do not give the impression that there is a purpose or attempt to influence any decision;
when an Employee uses their position to help a person or body, enterprise or association in dealings with the College in a situation which gives rise to real or perceived preferential treatment from the perspective of a reasonably well informed and impartial person
when an Employee uses information obtained in the performance of their duties and responsibilities as an Employee which is not generally communicated to the public for their own advantage or benefit, or for the advantage or benefit of a Related Party

Employees involved in a procurement process shall avoid having an actual, perceived or potential conflict of interest with a supplier

5.08.01 Management of conflicts of interest

Any employee involved in a procurement process must agree to a declaration of conflict of interest and confidentiality agreement as part of the project charter process.

Upon modification of the status of a conflict of interest, the employee involved in a procurement process must advise the procurement department of that change. Procurement services will work with the employee to determine the appropriate measures to put in place in an effort to limit risks to the College and the employee must comply with the measures selected during this process.

For known more serious conflicts of interest, a conflict-of-interest screen may be chosen as a preventative measure. The screen will include a description of the conflict, the names of individuals or companies involved, the title of the office upon which the screen applies and a statement to abstain and avoid all discussions, debates or decisions in regards to the described conflict. An individual is designated as the delegate on this topic and anyone must refer to the delegate in that regard.

In exceptional circumstances, Procurement Services may order, in respect of any matter procurement related, to take compliance measures determined necessary.

5.09 Regionalisation

For any purchase under the threshold for a public tender, Procurement Services should favour suppliers in the region in which the service will be delivered and should evaluate the possibility of a regionalized public call for tender.

Whenever the college chooses to launch a regionalized or invitational call for tender, Procurement services determines the regional limits in an effort to ensure a sufficient level of competition.

5.10 Usage of acquired goods

The college acquires goods in order to achieve its mission. All goods acquired by the college are to be used exclusively for that purpose. Employees may only use them in the accomplishment of their duties and students within the scope of pedagogical activities.

5.11 Rotation of suppliers

For all types of acquisitions, Procurement Services ensures, whenever possible, the rotation of suppliers. For all contracts below the public tender threshold, the rotation of suppliers applies when the market is sufficient and it is in the college’s interest.

5.12 Amendments to a contract

An amendment to a contract is permitted as long as the amendment is accessory and does not change the nature of the contract.

For any contract that has a value equal or above the public tender threshold, the Chief Executive Officer may delegate, in writing and to the extent specified, the power to authorize such an amendment.

The College is prohibited from amending a contract for the purpose of avoiding any obligation under the Act.

In all cases, an explanatory note by the requisitioning administrative unit or by Procurement Services must be included in the procurement file for audit purposes.

5.13 Taxes

All values expressed in this by-law refer to amounts before applicable taxes are added.

5.14 Promotion of the French Language

All the steps in the procurement process must be carried out using the French language. The contractual documents and those accompanying the goods and services must be written in French including all inscriptions on products, their container and their packaging. In addition, when the use of a product requires the use of a language, French must be used.

However, the content of a product acquired for academic purposes may be in a language other than French. In this case, all the steps of the procurement process must still be carried out in French.

6. Delegation of authority

6.01 Delegation under the Act

1. Authority of the Board

The Act designates the Board of Governors (“the Board”) as the Chief Executive Officer of the institution; its authority may be delegated.

2. General delegation

The Board delegates all powers and functions conferred upon it as the Chief Executive Officer to the Director General with the following exceptions:

The Board retains:

The power to designate the Contract Rules Compliance Monitor.
The power to designate the Secretary of procurement committees.

The Board delegates to the

The board delegates to the executive committee the power to:

Authorize the rejection of a tender which, after evaluation, is determined to have an unusually low price.
Maintain or cancel an unsatisfactory performance evaluation of a college supplier.

6.02 Delegation to approve additional expenses

1. Below public tender threshold

The Director may approve additional contract expenses as long as the total contract value stays below the public tender threshold.

2. Above public tender threshold

The Director overseeing a contract exceeding the public tender threshold can independently amend it by up to 20% of the original value or up to $250,000, whichever limit is reached first.
The Director General may further approve additional expenses up to 30% of the original contract value or $500,000, whichever limit is reached first.

3. Board approval

Any additional expenses exceeding the limits stated in 6.02(2) must be submitted for approval by the Board of Governors.

Amendments authorized under this section must also satisfy the accessory-amendment rule in 5.12.

6.03 Delegation under the LGCE

1. Legislative requirement

The LGCE requires that all service contracts be authorized by the Chief Executive Officer prior to being awarded, in order to ensure the College does not bypass its workforce control through the issuance of service contracts.

2. Authorization thresholds for service contracts

Contracts below $25,000

The Director of the service may approve any service contract valued below $25,000.

Contracts above $25,000

The Director General must approve any service contract valued above $25,000.

3. Monthly reporting

The Director General must deposit at the Board of Governors a monthly report of all service contracts valued at more than $25,000.

6.04 Mandates to join a group purchase

1. Director of Service

The Director of the service may sign and approve a mandate to join the College to a group purchase (e.g., Collecto or CAG) when the total value of the mandate does not exceed $250,000.

2. Director General

The Director General may sign and approve a mandate to join the college to a group purchase when the total value of the mandate does not exceed $500,000.

3. Board of Governors

Any mandate exceeding $500,000 must be submitted for approval by the Board of Governors.

7. ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

7.01 Management with signing authority

Each Director is responsible for judging the relevance of a goods or services purchased by its department in accordance with allocated budgets and applicable financial spending policies.

7.02 Requesters

Each requester, in collaboration with Procurement Services, has the responsibility of defining their needs and providing all related information that is required. The requester must also plan their purchase to allow enough time for the procurement and approval processes to take place before the items or services are received.

7.03 Procurement Services

Subject to article 5.02 and 5.03, the purchase of goods, services and the conclusion of construction contract are independently under the responsibility of Procurement Services. It is responsible for the rotation of suppliers and to determine the best solicitation do be used for each contract.

7.04 Information Technology Services

The Information Technology Services of the College will be consulted to ensure technical compliance of goods and services that are related to information technology and communication to and that the requirements and standards established by the college are respected.

7.05 Contract Rules Compliance Monitor (RARC)

The RARC is a person name by the Board of Director to oversee that contract rules prescribed by this Act and the regulations, policies and directives under this Act are complied with; Furthermore:

Advise, and make recommendations or providing advisory opinions to, the Chief Executive Officer on compliance with contract rules.
Oversee that measures are put in place within the College to ensure the integrity of internal processes;
Oversee to the professional fitness of the personnel involved in contractual activities
Exercising any other function the Chief Executive Officer may require to ensure that contract rules are complied with.
Validates bid analysis for contracts over 100,000$ before a recommendation can be formulated by Procurement Services.
Acts as a witness whenever possible to bid openings

8. PROCESSES OF ACQUISITION

Subject to other provisions contained in this By-law, all contracts are awarded through a public tender, regionalized public tender, invitational tender, request for quotations and proposals, or following negotiations that leads to a mutual agreement contract.

8.01 Procurement method thresholds

Subjects to clauses in the present section, all contracts should follow the thresholds identified below.

The public tender is required for any contract for which the value is evaluated as being equal or over the public tender threshold.
The public tender is the favored method for any contracts for which the value is estimated to be at or over 80% of the public tender threshold established by the World Trade Organization.
The invitation tender are the favored methods but not exclusive method for any contracts that has an estimated value between $35,000 and the public tender threshold established above
The negotiated mutual agreement contract and the request for quotations are the favored methods for any contract that has an estimated value of under $35,000. The method will be selected based on the specific of the contract such as, but not limited to, the value of the contract, the specifications and the possibility of market competition. The mutual agreement contract can be used for any contracts under the public tender threshold established above if the requester submits a rationale to Procurement Services and a derogation is approved by the Director General.

For service contracts, in accordance with the LGCE, the College must demonstrate that the service contract is not used to mitigate a shortage of resources or made in order to avoid workforce controls restrictions established by the act. Authorization from the Chief Executive Officer or his delegate must be obtained prior to concluding such a contract.

Procurement Services is responsible to inform the community of any changes of the tender threshold by the World Trade Organization.

8.02 Exemptions

The Act exempts some particular contracts from some of the obligations that exists for most contracts.

The following contracts do not have an obligation to go on public tender:

Legal services contract
Financial or banking service contract
Contracts for the hiring of an investigator, conciliator, negotiator, mediator, arbitrator, a physician or a dentist in matters of medical assessment related to their field or a person as an expert court witness
A purchase of sand, gravel or bituminous compound for a value under $200,000
A contract is awarded following a design contest
A contract is concluded due to the participation of the College in a group purchase process
If a contract is entered with another public institution

The following contract may be evaluated on quality:

Advertising campaign contracts
Travel service contracts

Some situations may allow contracts above the threshold to be awarded through mutual agreement. To be eligible, a complete and thorough justification must be provided to Procurement Services and accepted

If there is an emergency situation that threatens human safety or property
If there is only one possible supplier due to the existence of a guarantee, an ownership right, an exclusive right, copyright, licence or patent.
If it involves confidential or protected information whose disclosure would compromise its confidential nature or hinders the public interest
If a public call for tenders would not serve the public interest following a public notice of intent
If the contract is related to research, development or teaching activities if due to technical or scientific reasons, only one supplier is able to carry it out and no other alternate solutions are available.

8.03 Acquisition by petty cash

Acquisition by petty cash are limited to the terms set forth in the Petty Cash procedure under the authority of Financial Services.

8.04 Payment by College credit card

Purchases using a College credit card are accepted if the supplier requires credit card payment and that there are no alternative suppliers or an equivalent product at a similar price or better. Typically, purchases using College credit card are limited to 200$ or require a justification note to be added to the procurement file. Procurement services may refuse a purchase by college credit card.

8.05 Reception of goods

All goods acquired by the college, except books ordered by the library, must be delivered to the receiving department where the items will be verified and a receiving slip will be issued.

This does not apply if the equipment must be installed by the supplier.

8.06 Derogation

The Director General may authorize a derogation to exempt a procurement process from the application of any article of the current by-law or in exceptional cases authorized by laws.

The derogation has to be completed in the designated form and a rationale for the request has to be provided with the request. Procurement services will review the request, formulate a recommendation for action and provide it to the director general for authorization.

8.07 Derogation during an emergency

During an emergency that threatens human safety or property of the College, the Director of Physical plant and Facilities may authorize any expenditure, up to the public-tender threshold defined in section 8.01., deemed necessary and order the awarding of contract to remedy the situation.

A report must be deposited at the following executive committee to report on such actions and the reasons therefor. The report shall then be tabled to the next Board of Governors.

9. PROCUREMENT PROCESS

9.01 Needs assessment

Administrative units that require goods or services have, in collaboration with Procurement Services, the responsibility of defining their needs.

Other college services (IT, maintenance, facilities, etc.) may be involved to evaluate the needs that are related to a goods or service purchase.

Furthermore, administrative units have an obligation to plan in advance their purchase requests in order to allow Procurement Services to respect all the delays.

9.02 Selection of suppliers

Administrative units are invited to suggest one or multiple potential suppliers that may respond to their needs. The final choice of supplier is the responsibility of Procurement Services. In case of disagreement, the requester can submit a written documented rationale to the Coordinator of Procurement Services for consideration.

Procurement Services has the responsibility to keep track of the evaluation of suppliers in an effort to ensure the best sourcing possible. The college reserves the right to not consider a supplier.

9.03 Selecting a solicitation method

Procurement services has the responsibility of selecting the solicitation method that will be required to best serve the interest of the College in respect of all applicable laws. Exceptionally, Procurement Services may select a mode of solicitation that is different than what is specified at article 8.01 but this decision must be justified, documented and approved by the Chief Executive Officer.

9.03.01 Mutual agreement negotiation

When this method is retained, Procurement Services works with the requester to negotiate the conditions of the contract to ensure the best global price.

9.03.02 Request of quotation

Method in which the College requests, in writing, to one or multiple suppliers, to submit a price for a possible acquisition.

9.03.03 Tender (Public, regionalized or invitational)

Procurement services is responsible to ensure a competitive tendering process encouraging a healthy competition between suppliers, avoiding single source of supply, ensuring fair treatment of the bidders while avoiding any risk of conflict of interest. Requesters will have to collaborate with procurement to ensure compliance with applicable laws and the current By-law.

9.04 Tender documents

Procurement Services has the responsibility to prepare the specifications, requirement, forms and any other documents that regulates and specifies the terms of the call for tender launched by the college. The preparation of the tender documents is made in collaboration with all departments involved in the project. In all cases, the tender documents must contain all the information required to ensure the successful completion of the procurement process.

9.05 Reception and opening of bids

When specified, the bid must be returned to Procurement Services in an opaque and sealed envelope to ensure confidentiality.

Whenever an envelope is received, following a tender where it was requested, the time and date received must be inscribed on the envelope and signed by the person who received it. If an envelope is received late, it must remain sealed and will be sent back by mail to the bidder with a notice attached explaining that the bid was received late.

As part of the tender documents, the bidders are advised in advance of the terms related to the opening of the bids. If the bids are opened publicly, it is done by the person responsible for the tender or his delegate, with at least one witness present at the time, date and location specified. The information that is provided during the opening is limited to the name of the bidding company and the total price submitted, except when a quality evaluation is to be completed.

9.06 Analysis of bids

Procurements Services ensures the analysis of all bids received by the College. The evaluation process ensures that all requirements established in the tender documents are met and that all bidders are treated fairly.

If required, the technical evaluation is made by the requester or by other specialists. Only the elements specified in the tender document are taken into considerations except if the tender document specifies otherwise.

In all cases, Procurement Services verify admissibility requirements for all suppliers and the conformity of the bids in accordance with the requirements specified in the tender documents.

Any participants in the analysis of bids that have an interest in one of the bidders must inform, in writing, the Coordinator of Procurement Services or to the RARC indicating the nature of their interest as soon as it becomes apparent.

The College is not obligated to accept any of the bids submitted and reserves the right to cancel, at any time, any tendering processes. The bidders do not, for any reasons, have any right of recourse against the College following a decision to cancel a call for tenders other than what is regulated by the Act.

9.07 Awarding of contracts

The College favors the following methods to award contracts:

For goods contracts:

Lowest price
Minimal quality and lowest price
Adjusted quality/price

For service contracts:

Lowest price
Minimal quality and lowest price
Adjusted quality/price
Quality only (Obligatory for construction professional contracts)

Construction contract:

Lowest price
Adjusted quality/price

9.08 Quality evaluation

Any time a call for tenders who has a quality component to be evaluated, the College has to put in place a selection committee.

For public tenders, the committee is composed of three members and coordinated by a secretary certified by the Treasury Board. One of the members must be an external member to the College.

For invitational tenders, the committee is composed of 2 members internal to the college and coordinated by a secretary certified by the Treasury Board.

Procurement services is responsible to maintain a list of volunteers for the committees and ensure the rotation of participants.

All work completed by the committee is strictly confidential.

9.09 Preparation and signature of contracts

Contracts may only be awarded by the College if all prior approvals having been respected including the pre-approval of the contract value by resolution of the Board of Governors or an authorized Committee, in accordance with the delegated authorities approved by the Board and in effect from time to time and in observation of Board-approved budgets. For the purpose of obtaining pre-approval by the Board or an authorized Committee, Procurement Services shall provide an estimate of the value of the contract and a description of the contract and associated project. Procurement services shall be responsible for ensuring that all required approvals are obtained prior to launching a call for tender.

Prior to awarding a contract, Procurement Services must also ensure that all requirements and processes relating to the tender, bid and evaluation processes, authorized by the College, have been observed.

In the event that the lowest conform bidder exceeds the approved amount, Procurement Services will consult with the client and the Director General to review the scope of the project and may consider cancelling the call for tender. Where the project value exceeds the approved budget, Procurement Services shall report to an authorized Committee for recommendation to make an adjustment based on the differences between the estimates and actual situation if necessary.

At each meeting of the Board of Governors, Procurement Services shall report to the Board on all service contracts awarded in the preceding period and shall provide a description of the pre-approved amount of the contract.

The Board reserves ultimate authority and may approve contracts which otherwise fall under the delegated authority of another body at the College, where extenuating circumstances so require. In such cases, the Board shall determine whether the request to deviate from the delegated authorities is justified and may require the matter be returned to the appropriate delegated body.

Procurement shall ensure that contracts signed by authorized signatories.

In accordance with the LGCE, all service contracts must be signed by the Chief Executive Officer or its delegate regardless of its value.

9.10 Document management

All documents related to a tender are to be considered confidential prior to their publication. Access to the documents, physical or electronic, is strictly limited to Procurement Services personnel, the requester and services that will be involved in its deployment, under the authority of the senior staff responsible for procurement.

Procurement Services personnel will sign a yearly confidential agreement. Other members involved in the process will sign a confidentiality agreement specific to the tender project they are working on.

9.11 Authorization from the Chief Executive Officer

The authorization of the Chief Executive Officer is required for any situation that is stated in the act and its regulations.

Procurement Services is responsible for preparing the authorization document and to provide the Chief Executive Officer with all required information necessary to decide.

10. SUPPLIER MANAGEMENT

10.01 List of suppliers and usage

All information regarding suppliers is kept in a database. The information it contains can only be used for procurement related activities.

The list of suppliers is updated to ensure a fair rotation of suppliers based on their capacity to respond to the College’s needs and field of expertise.

10.02 Supplier relations

Procurement Services is primarily responsible for maintaining professional relationships with vendors and ensuring their integrity and that of College employees cannot be called into question. Relationships with vendors and College employees are marked by courtesy, diligence, good faith and justice and any conflict of interest or any situation which could become a conflict of interest is avoided.

10.03 Consultants

All consultants hired by the College must sign-in and sign-out at the security desk whenever they are on the premises. Consultants will be issued a Vanier College ID card that is distinctive in color to assist in their identification.

Whenever a consultant is assigned a workspace at the College, consideration must be taken to limit the access to restricted documents or areas that are not required for its work.

Consultant access, physical and electronic, should be restricted to areas that are necessary for their work. Areas of the College that contain sensitive documents should be identified and consultants should not be allowed to be present at these locations without the presence of an authorized person from Vanier College.

11. PERFORMANCE EVALUATION

The College reserves the right to refuse any bids and to deny an invitation to place a bid to any supplier who fails to reach the minimum grade of 70% on a performance evaluation.

11.01 General guidelines

Any contract that has a final value of $100,000 or above must be evaluated by the project manager.

If the contract being evaluated is a construction project, the project manager should also evaluate the professional(s) implicated in the project.

The project manager must address issues that arise during a contract and advise the supplier, in writing, of the issue that are detected and demand that corrective actions are taken. All interaction with the supplier in relation to a contractual breach must be documented.

The project manager or Procurement Services may request an evaluation to be completed for any contract, regardless of its value.

The college has established an evaluation form attached in annex II of this policy and has established the passing grade for an evaluation to be 70%.

11.02 Evaluation process

The evaluator must act with objectivity and honesty through the process of evaluation. The approved form must be used to evaluate the supplier and must apply the established criteria uniformly and fairly at all time. The evaluation must be submitted to Procurement Services within 30 days of the end of the contract.

Upon reception, Procurement Services reviews the evaluation and ensures that it is completed and that all supporting documentation is provided before taking further action. If information is missing, the evaluation is sent back to the evaluator for correction.

Once the evaluation is verified, it must be sent to the supplier within 60 days of the end of the contract. If the evaluation results are above the established threshold, a copy is sent to the supplier and the original is kept in archive in the supplier file by Procurement Services.

If the evaluation is below the established threshold, a copy of the evaluation is sent to the supplier in a manner that allows for proof of delivery (messenger or registered mail). The supplier is given 30 days to respond to the evaluation report and provide their explanation of the evaluation.

Upon the expiry of the delay given to the supplier or upon receipt of their response, the College has 30 days to analyse the response of the supplier and the evaluation and decide to uphold or refuse the unsatisfactory performance evaluation.

If the evaluation is upheld by the College, the evaluation becomes final and the supplier may see their bids rejected for a period of 2 years from that date. The supplier will also be put on a list of suppliers with which the College no longer does business with for invitational bids or mutual agreement contracts.

The evaluation is automatically considered unsatisfactory if any two criteria receives a rating of 20% or lower.

12. COMPLAINT PROCESS

Refer to the Procédure portant sur la réception et l’examen des plaintes prévu à l’article 21.0.3 de la LCOP.

13. EFFECTIVE DATE AND AMENDMENTS

The present By-law comes into effect upon its adoption by the Vanier College Board of Governors.

All amendments must be adopted by the Board of Governors of Vanier College in accordance with the Act and its regulations and College By-laws.

Concerning Procurement Contracts for Goods, Services and Construction