12.1.1 Contracting authorities should manage and administer their contracts in a manner that ensures that they are successfully executed in accordance with the agreed terms of time, cost and performance.
12.1.2 Contract Documentation The terms and conditions of any contract issued pursuant to the Government Contracts Regulations and this Contracting Policy should be formulated in writing. This includes but is not limited to hard copy documents, facsimile copies or other electronic means.
12.1.3 Sanctions. If the contracting policy is ignored or if contracting practices or contract administration are not acceptable, the Treasury Board may direct that sanctions be imposed either on the contracting authority (the institution) or on the officials responsible. Sanctions may include any or all of the following:
1. revocation of contracting authority or reduction of the dollar levels above which Treasury Board approval must be obtained, either for a specified project or program or for a specific period of time;
2. establishment of special financial allotments within the funds allocated to the contracting authority which would limit spending to certain purposes or even require specific Treasury Board approval;
3. instructions to the contracting authority to apply the sanctions in the personnel policies of the Government of Canada against individual employees who have ignored the contracting policy.
Officials responsible for the management of contracts should be made aware of possible institutional or personal sanctions.
12.1.4 Canadian International Trade Tribunal. NAFTA, WTO-AGP and AIT require that members to the agreements maintain an independent bid challenge authority. The Canadian International Trade Tribunal (CITT) has been designated as the bid challenge authority for Canada for all three agreements. A potential supplier may file a complaint concerning a procurement practice to the CITT if the supplier is concerned that any part of the procurement process was unfair or discriminatory under the three trade agreements. In dealing with a complaint, the Tribunal must determine whether the government department or agency responsible for the procurement under review has complied with the requirements of NAFTA, WTO-AGP and AIT and such other procedural requirements, as prescribed in the Canadian International Trade Tribunal Procurement Inquiry Regulations. Information on the CITT and its complaint and inquiry process, are contained in the CITT publication Procurement Review Process - A Descriptive Guide. The CITT has the statutory authority to award the complainant reasonable costs associated with responding to the solicitation and filing the complaint. In addition, the CITT is authorized to:
1. recommend a delay in the awarding of a contract during the resolution of the bid protest;
2. issue a recommendation to resolve the bid protest, which may include directing the contracting authority to re-evaluate offers, terminate the contract or renew the competition process;
3. recommend the award of compensation for lost profit; or
4. make written recommendations to the contracting authority concerning practices that the CITT considers to be inconsistent with the agreements.