Thank you very much for your question.
It's something we think about a lot because at the moment we are forced to take on a shared role.
As we heard earlier, Public Services and Procurement Canada, or PSPC, is responsible for the procurement process. However, if one of its client departments wants to use its own budget and justify awarding its own contracts, we have to find a balance.
In the case you brought to our attention, where there was a challenge, I want to add that the CBSA accepted a lot of our advice. They started by asking for a three-year contract. We said no because of the pandemic. We told the agency that it would be more reasonable to award a contract for three, four, five months or a year. We have negotiated with the agency a reduction in the per diem rate. In the end, it decided that it needed this tool.
As you just proposed, perhaps the Treasury Board and PSPC should be more involved in the final decision.