Treasury Board—this is the policy—is responsible for the rules governing government contracts, and we apply those rules.
We hear small and medium business managers say that the complexity of these rules makes it difficult to interpret how to access the procurement system. That is why we created the website, the seminars, etc. We wanted to show that there is room for everyone in this system. It is complicated, it is complex, the regulations are quite long, but we try to demystify the jargon—as there is a great deal of jargon in the regulations—so that businesses may understand how they can access the procurement system.
I think that is what the ombudsman presented. There is really a gap between what the rules require and the interpretation of how to use the system. With regard to the entrepreneurs there is a shortfall in the process and we try to fill that gap. Several procurement mechanisms exist, and it is a matter of choosing the approach that will work. There is on the one hand a department that makes purchases, and there are the providers of services or goods. That is the work that we do.