Government Operations committee  In the area of sole-source contracts, the government uses something called an “advance contract award notice”, which is a notice that goes out to the supplier community advising that a particular contract is going to be awarded to a particular supplier. That advance contract award notice is intended to ensure that there are no other suppliers who can provide the same service, and it provides an opportunity for someone who feels they can provide the service to come forward and challenge the award or make their case.

Government Operations committee  Yes, we do. We have an interesting mandate. Part of our mandate is to review the practices and processes and tools and procedures that government departments use to procure goods and services, including construction services, so we can certainly undertake a practice review in this area.

Government Operations committee  Yes, I am.

Government Operations committee  No, they have not contacted us, and we have not been tasked with doing any investigation of this matter.

Government Operations committee  I can't give you an answer on that either.

Government Operations committee  I have specific responsibilities, as I indicated, as the deputy procurement ombudsman. I do not have the authority at the present time under the legislation to initiate a practice review of this matter, or an investigation of this matter. That could be done upon the appointment of a new procurement ombudsman, depending on whether that individual would like to investigate this matter or not.

Government Operations committee  Mr. Chair, members of the committee, thank you for inviting us to be here today and for the continued interest that you have shown in the Office of the Procurement Ombudsman's work towards strengthening the fairness, openness, and transparency of federal government procurement.

Government Operations committee  Thank you. Your question raises comments on two areas of our business line. We have an inquiries and investigations line that receives the complaints. This is where we act informally. We facilitate. We try to work with departments, demystify the process for suppliers, and ultimately resolve issues for suppliers.

Government Operations committee  Yes: four times. In recent weeks we've seen an increase in the number of requests for ADR. We have made a concerted effort since September to go out to departments and supplier associations to make them aware of the service, so we expect that this line of business will grow.