4.1.1 In support of the policy, the following must be observed in conjunction with the Definitions, the Government Contracts Regulations, the Treasury Board Contracts Directives, the North American Free Trade Agreement, the World Trade Organization - Agreement on Government Procurement, and the Agreement on Internal Trade, as well as those other Appendices and Sections which consist of both mandatory and optional requirements or a combination of both, as specified.
4.1.2 Work descriptions or specifications must be defined in terms of clear outputs or performance requirements that will encourage and accommodate the use of the competitive process and as required under the North American Free Trade Agreement, the World Trade Organization - Agreement on Government Procurement, and the Agreement on Internal Trade.
4.1.3 Whenever practical, an equal opportunity must be provided for all firms and individuals to compete, provided that they have, in the judgement of the contracting authority, the technical, financial and managerial competence to discharge the contract and meet, where appropriate, the objectives established by overall national policies or as required under the North American Free Trade Agreement, the World Trade Organization - Agreement on Government Procurement, and the Agreement on Internal Trade.
4.1.4 Where applicable, bid evaluation criteria must be established to address socio-economic factors in relation to the total cost of a contract before bids are solicited, and solicitation documents must give notice that socio-economic factors will be used to assess bids when they are received.
4.1.5 The Government Contracts Regulations as amended (refer to Appendix B), require that:
1. bids must be solicited from potential contractors before any contract is entered into unless one or more of the exceptions in Section 6 of the Regulations are applicable;
2. advance payments must be approved by the Treasury Board where the Board's authority is required for entry into the contract;
3. the provisions of the regulations on bid or contract security must be followed when the contracting authority believes they are appropriate.
4.1.6 Treasury Board approval must be obtained prior to entering into contracts or contractual arrangements where the values or the contract costs (which include all applicable taxes including GST and HST) exceed the limits prescribed by the Treasury Board in the Treasury Board Contracts Directive (Appendix C).
4.1.7 Contracting authorities may enter into contracts in response to a pressing emergency in accordance with Part III of the Treasury Board Contracts Directive on condition that details of the use of this authority are reported to the Treasury Board Secretariat within 60 days of the authorization or beginning of the work.
4.1.8 Public servants who have been delegated authority to negotiate and conclude contractual arrangements on behalf of the Crown must exercise this authority with prudence and probity so that the contracting authority (the minister) is acting and is seen to be acting within the letter and the spirit of the Government Contracts Regulations, the Treasury Board Contracts Directive and the government's procurement policies, the North American Free Trade Agreement, the World Trade Organization - Agreement on Government Procurement, and the Agreement on Internal Trade.
4.1.9 With respect to contracting for services, contracting authorities must:
1. ensure that the statement of work or the requirements description clearly describes the work to be carried out, the objectives to be attained and the time frame;
2. ensure that an employer-employee relationship will not result when contracting for the services of individuals in accordance with criteria established by the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency and pertinent court rulings;
3. ensure that the fees paid do not exceed the appropriate market rate for the service provided;
4. deleted.
5. ensure that contracts for the services, awarded competitively or non-competitively, of former public servants in receipt of a pension or a lump sum payment (or both) reflect sound contracting practices, including fairness in selection and compensation. No contract for the services of a former public servant in receipt of a pension or a lump sum payment may be entered into unless the contracting authority is satisfied that it is in the public interest.
4.1.10 The Government Contracts Regulations as amended (refer to Appendix B) require that contracts for the performance of legal services may be entered into only by or under the authority of the Minister of Justice. Accordingly, while it is recognized that lawyers may be engaged for purposes other than the performance of legal services, the Department of Justice must be consulted in every case where a contract for services is entered into with a practising member of the bar, to determine whether the contract is for legal services and thus whether the approval of the Department of Justice is required. No contracting authority may enter into a contract for services with a practising member of the bar without first having obtained the approval of the Department of Justice, or having been advised by the Department of Justice that the contract does not involve legal services.
4.1.11 If a contracting authority enters into a contract without Treasury Board approval when such approval should have been obtained, ratification by the Treasury Board must be sought as soon as possible.