Government Operations Committee on April 30th, 2020

[Patrick Weiler, Liberal, West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, BC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you to the witnesses for taking time out of their busy days to come to speak to this committee.

There are many distilleries in my riding that have retooled to be able to make hand sanitizers. There's also a sizable recreational technology sector that has the ability to retool and produce medical gowns.

How are you marketing to these and other businesses the opportunities that are available for them to contribute to the federal government's efforts to get through the pandemic?

[Lorenzo Ieraci]

I don't know that I would say we're necessarily marketing in any way, shape or form. I think the fact that our website has been available and the fact that we've received such an enthusiastic response demonstrate that Canadians and Canadian companies are keenly aware of the fact that there's a need domestically to be able to have as much product as possible to be able to assist, not just our front-line workers, but all Canadians as well.

We want to make sure that, as companies come forward and identify their capabilities or products, we're reaching out to them as quickly as we can, as I mentioned, to be able to obtain more information on what they have available and the quantity of the products. Then we're sharing that information with our procurement colleagues.

The other thing I would say is that as an organization, one of the things we're also doing is reminding Canadian companies that, of course, while we're always interested and hope that Canadian companies will think about doing business with the Government of Canada, we are not the only entity right now that is buying personal protective equipment and other equipment. Our provincial and territorial counterparts are looking for some, as well as hospital groups and other groups.

Of course, we're encouraging people to be able to make available as much product to as many different people as possible, because at the end of the day, having more product available within Canada is a benefit to all of us.

[Patrick Weiler, Liberal, West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, BC]

Absolutely, and I very much appreciate that.

You mentioned earlier that the website that businesses can access to find out about federal government opportunities is buyandsell.gc.ca. I imagine there's been a huge influx of new business coming in. Has your organization brought on additional staff to deal with this unprecedented time?

[Lorenzo Ieraci]

Yes, in the same way that the office of small and medium enterprises is doing its share to help Public Services and Procurement Canada, the department has been wonderful in helping us out. We've had support and assistance from numerous areas, particularly in the regions where we've been given extra capacity on a short-term basis that has allowed us to make sure that we reach out to all of these companies. We've provided folks with information, with training and with tools to enable them to make those calls and capture that information.

As Mr. Jeglic pointed out, even the Office of the Procurement Ombudsman has provided us with some additional resources. I think that goes to a broader approach that we've seen, not just in the Government of Canada, but I think in every community and across Canada, which is that during this pandemic people are really trying to come together to be able to assist each another. We're both happy as organizations that we can contribute to that, and we're also very thankful for the fact that we have so many colleagues across the department who are giving us assistance.

[Patrick Weiler, Liberal, West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, BC]

Fantastic.

You mentioned in your opening remarks that the OSME is encouraging Canadian companies from traditionally under-represented groups to help them participate in federal procurement. I'm wondering how this mandate and objective has changed, if at all, during the COVID pandemic.

[Lorenzo Ieraci]

From our perspective, the mandate has not really changed. We really want to make sure that groups from traditionally under-represented areas think about doing business with the Government of Canada. That's a fairly broad scope, with indigenous communities and indigenous companies, women-owned or women-led businesses, visible minorities, the LGBTQ2+ community and others. Prior to COVID, we were actively engaged with all of these groups not only to hear about their experiences with federal procurement, but also to make sure that we provided them with direct assistance when it came to that.

Since the COVID pandemic started, there has obviously been a need to procure as quickly as possible and have equipment delivered as quickly as possible. As I mentioned, we're doing our share to help deal with all of the information and reach out to companies to obtain more information.

We still want to focus on helping under-represented groups. As an organization we're looking forward to, as we move our way through the pandemic and out of it, really being able to focus again on under-represented groups.

[The Chair, Conservative, Tom Lukiwski]

You have 30 seconds left, sir.

[Patrick Weiler, Liberal, West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, BC]

This is my last question. What lessons have been learned through the procurement process during the pandemic that will inform and improve how we do procurement in the future?

[The Chair, Conservative, Tom Lukiwski]

I'd like a very brief answer, sir, please.

[Lorenzo Ieraci]

As I mentioned, our office does not do procurement in and of itself. I think we will have a fairly robust list of lessons learned across the board when we look back on the situation.

[The Chair, Conservative, Tom Lukiwski]

Thank you very much. I appreciate it.

We will now go to Madame Vignola.

You have the floor for six minutes, Ms. Vignola.

[Julie Vignola, Bloc, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Good afternoon.

I thought it was my colleague Mr. Barsalou-Duval's turn, but I'll continue.

When an SME is chosen to contribute to the effort and offer goods and services, how does your office support it in managing its growth, since this must necessarily be done?

[Lorenzo Ieraci]

Thank you for your question.

Under normal circumstances, outside the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, we help companies understand the supply system, procedures and processes. However, they must take all the necessary steps on their own to win a contract. We can help them understand the process, but we can't compete on their behalf. It is up to them to manage it themselves. We are there to provide suggestions and advice, but we are certainly not there to go outside our area of expertise.

[Julie Vignola, Bloc, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Once they get a contract and they have to manage their growth—a positive consequence, of course—they do not benefit from guidance in that. I just wanted to clarify that part of your mandate.

[Lorenzo Ieraci]

I would like to add something. When a company wins a contract, our door is never closed, of course. They can always send us questions or comments. We especially appreciate feedback from companies about their dealings with PSPC. If they need more advice, support or information, we're always happy to try to help them out.

[Julie Vignola, Bloc, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Thank you.

You said earlier that of the 26,000 Canadian companies that raised their hands, 16,500 had applied.

Of these 16,500 companies, how many are SMEs?

[Lorenzo Ieraci]

That is a very good question.

In all honesty, I can't give you specific numbers. In my experience at the office of small and medium enterprises, the vast majority of the companies we deal with are small businesses.

Our definition of a small or medium-sized business is the one established by Statistics Canada, i.e. a business with 499 employees or less. According to statistics, the vast majority of businesses in Canada fall into this category.

Even if I can't give you an exact number, it wouldn't surprise me if the vast majority of companies involved are small or medium-sized, and rather small.

[Julie Vignola, Bloc, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Fine.

We are in a crisis-management situation. The first measures were put in place in March, and your mandate probably started to change at that time. That said, there were alerts as early as the end of 2019. If memory serves, the first interventions in the House regarding COVID-19 date from January 27, 2020.

Did your offices take any preventive measures with respect to the companies or were the changes only made in March?

[Lorenzo Ieraci]

For us and for most companies, March is the month when there was a pretty dramatic impact, if I can use that term.

On March 12, we created a page on our website to encourage businesses to let us know what goods or services could be useful to them. That's when we started to see a pretty significant change.

As I mentioned in my statement, we often participate in conferences, seminars or webinars. We want to make sure that companies are aware of our organization and that they know that we offer services to them. In March, we saw a fairly significant change. There were no more conferences and we could no longer meet people in person. That forced us to change the way we operate as well, like doing more things by phone, Webex, or in some other way.

[Julie Vignola, Bloc, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Fine.

When you run a business, you try to avoid surprises and prepare for the worst. It is mainly a matter of taking preventative measures, having a strategic plan, and so on. In this case, despite the alerts we received, why were we caught with our pants down? We did not have a prevention plan or a strategy, or at least it looks that way.

[Lorenzo Ieraci]

To tell you the truth, I'm not sure how to answer your question. As an organization—

[The Chair, Conservative, Tom Lukiwski]

Please be brief, if you could, sir. We only have a few seconds left.

[Lorenzo Ieraci]

Like most organizations, including private sector ones, we were forced to react to the situation as it unfolded.

[The Chair, Conservative, Tom Lukiwski]

Thank you very much.

We'll now go to Mr. Green for six minutes, please.

[Matthew Green, NDP, Hamilton Centre, ON]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

I'd like to begin by asking questions of the Office of the Procurement Ombudsman.

We heard earlier today from Innovation, Science and Economic Development that there is funding going into new technologies. I understand that your office is to do alternative dispute resolution, ADR.

What mechanisms are in place to ensure that the businesses that have received funds and government contracts have actually used them for their intended purpose? Does your office play a role in mediating the results of the contracts that have been put in place, or is that left up to individual departments?