Statement from Minister Duclos in response to the Auditor General's Report on its Performance Audit of Professional Services

GATINEAU, QC, June 4, 2024 /CNW/ - Today, the Auditor General of Canada presented her report on the Performance Audit of Professional Services.

I welcome the findings of the Auditor General's report and our government remains fully committed to fairness, openness and transparency in federal procurement practices. A rigorous process is in place to ensure that procurement activities are effective and well managed.

And with the intention of constantly improving its process, the government had already accepted the recommendations of previous studies and continues to implement strong measures to strengthen and streamline oversight and controls of federal government management practices in the area of procurement, as announced by Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) and the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS) on March 20, 2024. The department achieved a key milestone on May 31, 2024, with the coming into force of the Office of Supplier Integrity and Compliance and the revised Ineligibility and Suspension Policy. This will strengthen the integrity and oversight of the procurement process and will allow the department to better respond to misconduct and wrongdoing.

I also welcome the Auditor General's recommendation to further strengthen measures to appropriately report and monitor potential conflicts of interest.

TBS recently announced new mandatory procedures as part of the Directive on the Management of Procurement. The procedures provide an additional check and balance for public service managers to ensure that they are clear about their responsibilities and accountabilities when undertaking professional services procurement activities related to oversight, conflict of interest and integrity provisions in the Directive.

In addition, there are important conversations taking place across the public service to ensure that employees understand their obligations and duties in alignment with the Values and Ethics Code for the Public Sector, including requirements related to Conflict of Interest

The other findings in this report are in line with several previous internal and external reviews relating to professional services contracts and other procurements. PSPC and TBS have instituted several changes and process improvements including but not limited to implementing a new mandatory professional services requirement for PSPC and client contracting authorities to retain contractual decisions, as well as taking steps to change how it administers non-competitive National Master Standing Offers, including ensuring justifications are on file and a challenge function occurs. The position of Chief of the Contract Quality and Records Compliance Office has been created to ensure that critical elements of decision-making throughout the procurement process are properly documented, that guidelines and tools are put in place and that quality is being actively monitored.

We are committed to protecting the integrity of procurement, and we expect public servants and departments to operate at the highest standard and prioritize the optimal use of public resources for Canadians.

SOURCE Public Services and Procurement Canada