Government Operations committee  I don't have the exact numbers. However, what we can say is that a certain percentage of our general contracts are subject to national security and mission security parameters. That's roughly between 5% and 10% of our procurement at any given time. Despite not having access to the sample itself, I would expect that maybe 5% to 10% of those contracts were subject to national security exemptions.

Government Operations committee  We have a vetting mechanism internally. Regarding the release of information, some contracts are repetitive in nature, like those for protection services in various missions, and there are the same kinds of issues, so we know exactly what we're looking for and we have processes in place to withhold specific information.

Government Operations committee  Thank you very much. The contract with the increase above the $40,000 threshold was a single instance where an initial contract for two resources was put in place for, in essence, temporary help services, as we needed some resources to come in and help with a surplus or surge in workload.

Government Operations committee  Good afternoon, Mr. Chair. My name is Daniel Pilon, and I'm the director general of procurement at Global Affairs Canada. A procurement-related risk was identified, quite simply because of the nature and volume of transactions we carry out. We have over 170 missions throughout the world.

Information & Ethics committee  There is, actually, a varying timeline for contracts. If it's a sole-source contract for simple services for which a vendor is identified, the department could, in practice, award that within two weeks to a month, on average. If it requires a competitive process or the services are undefined and we need to do some additional research and possibly market research, it is not unusual for a competitive contract to take anywhere between nine and 12 months to be awarded, and there have been instances in which it has taken longer.

Information & Ethics committee  Consideration is given to how critical the service is. There are certain policies that allow for emergency procurement, and what constitutes an emergency is defined in a policy, which would allow for a streamlined approach to procurement. However, that is made at the initial determination of what goods or services are required, and that is made in collaboration with the contracting officer.

Information & Ethics committee  I'm not aware of the members of Parliament's procurement process, no. I'm sorry.

Information & Ethics committee  At Global Affairs, when a client—we call them “fund centre managers”—requests a service, there is an attestation process or a certification process that asks them to certify that the goods were received, yes.

Information & Ethics committee  The attestation is confirmation that the goods were received in accordance with the contract.

Information & Ethics committee  Yes.

Information & Ethics committee  I have worked in three federal departments.

Information & Ethics committee  Yes.

Information & Ethics committee  Normally, the department awards on average about 10,000 contracts per year, with a total value of about $300 million to $500 million. I can't give you the exact proportion of sole-source contracts right now, but we can provide that information later.

Information & Ethics committee  There are certainly more than 1,000 of the 10,000 total.

Information & Ethics committee  We don't do it in the contracting process.