Mr. Speaker, the interdepartmental committee on household goods removal services, which I will call the IDC for short, recently conducted a review of the household goods removal service process. It had three goals when it did this.
The first was to reduce the cost and increase the efficiency of an admittedly overregulated arrangement with the industry. The second was to encourage the entry of new competitors into the process. Third was to secure greater savings through the application of economies of scale and consolidation of service.
The committee reviewed the feasibility of using a single supplier, as the hon. member said, for its moving business. The committee's evaluation of the concept after meetings with parliamentarians and others in the business concluded that there was a potential for saving, but insufficient grounds exist at this time to introduce a major change in the process. The information was too soft and the risks were too high.
The committee met with current contractors and other interested parties to seek industry feedback and to include their views in order to ensure that the process was open and transparent.
A new approach to acquiring these services has been developed which represents strong potential for savings, addresses the concerns of the bureau of competition and moderates the implementation risks involved.
The basic elements of the changes are: a one year competitive tender fully accessible by any interested party; the lowest bidder will receive 40 per cent of total government business, while the remaining compliant bidders, maximum of three more, would receive 25 per cent, 20 per cent and 15 per cent respectively; the lowest bidder's rate would be used; contractors would not have the right to refuse government moves; contractors rather than the government would determine the infrastructure requirements; and exclusivity rules would be rescinded whereby any carrier could align itself with another carrier, van line or government moves. These changes will take effect in April 1996.
Finally, I want to assure the hon. member and this House that this government is committed to fairness in awarding government contracts while at the same time ensuring that the best possible value for the Canadian taxpayer exists. I assure her that her concerns will be taken into consideration.