Procurement By-law No. 50 of 2000
Being a by-law respecting the procurement of goods, services and construction for the City of Ottawa.
Last amended January 2021.
Amending By-Laws:
- 2001-72
- 2003-373
- 2004-565
- 2006-276
- 2007-475
- 2008-332
- 2008-427
- 2010-291
- 2011-355
- 2014-443
- 2016-374
- 2017-362
- 2020-144
- 2021-26
The Ottawa Transition Board pursuant to the City of Ottawa Act 1999, and Regulation 540/00 made thereunder enacts as follows:
Section 1 - Short title
This By-law may be cited as the “Procurement By-law”. (2017-362)
Section 2 - Purpose
- The objective of this By-law respecting procurement is to obtain best value when purchasing goods, construction and services for the City while treating all suppliers equitably.
- The guiding procurement principle is that purchases be made using a competitive process that is open, transparent and fair to all suppliers.
- These objectives and principles are reflected in this By-law.
Section 3 - Definitions
- In this by-law,
“Amendment” means an increase to an existing contract related to a change in scope that is unanticipated; (2007-475)
“Award” means authorization to proceed with the purchase of goods, services and construction from a chosen supplier;
“Best Value” means the optimal balance of performance and cost determined in accordance with a pre-defined evaluation plan;
“Bid” means an offer or submission from a supplier in response to a bid solicitation;
“Bid Solicitation” means a formal request for bids that may be in the form of a Request for Quotation, Request for Qualifications, Request for Tender, Request for Proposal or Request for Standing Offer;
“Business Model Required Outsourcing” means a business model in which a Branch outsources all or a percentage of the professional services it provides; (2007-475)
“Chief Procurement Officer” means the senior official in Supply Services of the City; (2010-291)
“City” means the City of Ottawa;
“Construction” means a construction, reconstruction, demolition, repair or renovation of a building, structure or other civil engineering or architectural work and includes site preparation, excavation, drilling, seismic investigation, the supply of products and materials and the supply of equipment and machinery if they are included in and incidental to the construction, and the installation and repair of fixtures of a building, structure or other civil engineering or architectural work, but does not include professional services related to the construction contract unless they are included in the procurement;
“Consulting Services” means assistance to management, including but not limited to the areas of strategic analysis, organizational design, change management, policy development, feasibility studies and other services intended to assist decision making within the organization; (2007-475)
“Contract” means a binding agreement by way of a Purchase Order or Purchase Order incorporating a formal agreement or a formal agreement between two or more parties that creates an obligation to do or not to do a particular thing;
"Council" means the Council of the City of Ottawa;
“Council approved estimates” and “Council approved branch estimates” means Council approved branch budget including authorized revisions;
"Department” means an organizational unit headed by a General Manager or Director; (2010-291, 2017-362)
“Director” means the person appointed by the City Manager or General Manager to be responsible for the operation of a Service Area and includes the person appointed to the position of City Solicitor, Deputy City Treasurer, Chief Information Officer, Chief Procurement Officer, Chief Safety Officer, Fire Chief, and Chief Ottawa Paramedic Services; (2017-362, 2021-26)
“Disposal” means the removal of material from the City by sale, trade-in, alternative use or destruction;
“Departmental Purchase Order" means a written offer to purchase goods, services and construction or a written acceptance of an offer received in accordance with this by-law where the estimated value is $15,000 or less; (2014-443)
“Electronic Tendering” means the use of a computer-based system directly accessible by suppliers irrespective of their location that provides them with information related to bid solicitations;
“Employee-Employer Relationship” means a relationship that exists where persons for pay or other consideration enter into the service of others and devote their personal labour for any given period and the other person has the power or right to control or direct the person in the material details of how the work is to be performed;
“Fair Market Value” means the price that would be agreed to in an open and unrestricted market between knowledgeable and willing parties dealing at arm’s length who are fully informed and not under any compulsion to transact;
“Goods” means moveable property including,
- the costs of installing, operating, maintaining or manufacturing such moveable property, and
- raw materials, products, equipment and other physical objects of every kind and description whether in solid, liquid, gaseous or electronic form, unless they are procured as part of a construction contract;
“Follow-On Contract” includes situations where the City, in the original contract or bid solicitation document, has communicated the potential for the award of subsequent phases of a project to the successful service provider and fees for any follow-on contract are to be based on the same unit or per diem rates proposed under the original contract or bid; (2007-475)
“Formal complaint” means a written complaint following a mandatory bidder debriefing by City staff addressed to the Chief Procurement Officer containing the identity of the complainant and the procurement process at issue as well as a clear and detailed statement of the legal and/or factual grounds upon which the complaint is based subject to the proviso that the objection is not precluded by legislation or applicable trade agreements; (2010-291)
“General Manager” means the person appointed by the City Manager to be responsible for the operation of a Department and includes the person appointed to the position of City Manager, Chief Financial Officer, City Clerk, Medical Officer of Health, and Auditor General; (2017-362, 2021-26)
“Highest Technical Bid” means the bid that would provide the City with the best product or service as measured by the evaluation criteria;
“Holdback” means an amount withheld under the terms of the contract to ensure the complete performance of the contract and to avoid overpayment in relation to progress of work;
“Local supplier” means a supplier that has a place of business in Ottawa, Ontario; (2010-291)
“Lowest Responsive Bid” means the bid that would provide the City with the desired goods, services and construction at the lowest cost, meets all the specifications and contains no major irregularity or qualifications;
“Professional Services” means services requiring the skills of professionals for a defined service requirement or for a specific project related deliverable including but not limited to the areas of engineering, architecture, design, planning, information technology, financial auditing and fairness commissioners; (2007-475)
“Progress Payment” means a payment made under the terms of a contract after the performance of the part of the contract in respect of which payment is made but before the performance of the whole contract;
“Purchase” means to acquire goods, services or construction by purchase, rental, lease or trade;
“Purchase Order” means a written offer to a supplier formally stating all terms and conditions for the purchase of goods, services or construction or a written acceptance of an offer received in accordance with this by-law;
“Quote” means a bid submitted in response to a Request for Quotation;
“Security Deposit” means a deposit of securities by a supplier that the City may convert under defined conditions to complete the supplier’s contractual obligation;
“Special Circumstance” means
- an event that is exceptional or could not be foreseen and is a threat to the health, safety or welfare of the public, or
- an event that could cause loss or damage to public or other property or
- an event that has disrupted essential services that need to be re-established without delay;
“Standing Offer” means an offer from a supplier that allows the City to purchase frequently ordered goods, services or construction from suppliers at prearranged prices, under set terms and conditions, when and if these are requested but no contract exists until the City places an order against the Standing Offer;
“Supply Services” means the Chief Procurement Officer and his or her designated staff responsible for performing the procurement services of the City; (2014-443, 2017-362) and,
“Tender” means a written detailed offer where the estimated value exceeds $100,000 from a supplier to supply goods, services, or construction. (2014-443)
“Vendor Performance Management Score” means a rated score given to City vendors and recorded on a web-based platform which documents a vendor’s past performance on City contracts. (2020-144)
- To establish the definition of any other procurement term not herein included, reference shall be made to the latest edition of the NIGP – the Institute for Public Procurement’s Dictionary of Procurement Terms. (2017-362)
- Schedule “A” attached hereto forms a part of this By-law.