Information bulletin: Guidelines for third parties submitting reports to Public Works and Government Services Canada in connection with a determination of ineligibility

Effective date

This information bulletin is effective September 15, 2016.

Context

The Ineligibility and Suspension Policy (the policy) enables Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) to issue information bulletins associated with the policy to provide greater clarity for informational purposes only.

Requirement for third party reports

As set out in the policy, a supplier may be required to retain the services of an independent third party in connection with a determination of ineligibility, if PWGSC requires:

• Validation of information provided by a supplier with respect to whether it directed, influenced, authorized, assented to, acquiesced in, or participated in the commission of a listed offence by an affiliate
• Information with respect to foreign charges or convictions

In these cases, a third party proposed by a supplier and accepted by PWGSC must submit a report containing relevant information.

Content of a third party report

Third parties will be advised by PWGSC of the issues that must be addressed in their report and the types of information, where relevant and available, that may be required in any given case.

Possible involvement of a supplier in the commission of an affiliate's offence

A supplier may be determined to be ineligible under the Ineligibility and Suspension Policy if, in the opinion of PWGSC, the supplier directed, influenced, authorized, assented to, acquiesced in, or participated in the commission of a listed offence by an affiliate in the past three years. To support the determination process, a third party may wish to include the following in their report:

• Corporate structure of relevant parent and affiliate companies, showing relationships
• Description of ownership of the relevant companies
• List of Boards of Directors, officers and senior managers of the relevant companies
• Illustration of any interlocking Directors, officers and senior managers between the relevant companies
• Description of any change in corporate structure, Board of Directors, officers and senior managers and ownership after any company successions (i.e., mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, etc.)
• Illustration of operating segments or business lines of the relevant companies
• Corporate profile reports
• Certificates of incorporation
• Description of business lines of the relevant companies
• Description of any common suppliers, customers, vendors, third-party retailers, etc.
• Description of any business transactions between the relevant companies
• Description of the companies' management, reporting and decision-making structures
• Review of corporate policies governing decision-making, compliance with legal requirements, etc.
• Regulatory filings, corporate books and records of decisions
• Patterns of compensation and rewards, and other financial interests that may encourage law-breaking
• Reports produced by other independent monitor(s)
• Sworn affidavits and declarations of Directors, officers and senior managers

If any of the above information has changed since the commission of the offence, highlighting changes between the period(s) of wrongdoing and the date of the third party report would support PWGSC's determination process.

Information with respect to foreign charges or convictions

For the purposes of determining ineligibility on the basis of a foreign offence similar to a listed offence included in the policy, PWGSC will take into account the following factors:

• In the case of a conviction, whether the court acted within its jurisdiction
• Whether the supplier was afforded the right to appear during the court's proceedings or to submit to the court's jurisdiction
• Whether the court's decision was obtained by fraud
• Whether the supplier was entitled to present to the court

To support PWGSC's determination process, a third party report may include:

• List(s) of conviction(s) and relevant period(s) of wrongdoing.
• Copies of official court judgments and records, police reports, conviction certificates, warrants of committal, plea agreements, statutory declarations, information documents identifying facts and allegations, indictments and any other official document
• Government or regulatory press releases with respect to such matters as guilty verdicts, plea agreements and sentencing
• Text of the foreign offence(s) (photocopy of relevant provisions), with translation (where applicable)
• Documentary evidence, including jurisprudence, media articles, scholarly journals or expert evidence of the precise wording and meaning of the relevant foreign offence
• A description of the essential elements (i.e., the factual and legal criteria: e.g., actus reus and mens rea) of the foreign offence
• Evidence as to the nature of the foreign offence (e.g., civil, criminal, regulatory, etc.)
• Evidence, both oral and documentary, of facts proven before the adjudicator of the conduct for which the person or entity was convicted
• A description of available defences in the foreign jurisdiction
• An analysis of the proven facts giving rise to the foreign conviction, establishing whether or not the convicted person would have been able to raise a broader Canadian defence

Both lists are not intended to be exhaustive. Third parties are encouraged to be insightful and thorough in their reports.

Requests for additional information

PWGSC reserves the right to request additional information from third parties where required

How to contact us

If you have questions, please contact the Integrity Regime team:

Toll free:

1-844-705-2084

Email:

PWGSC.O.integrity-TPSGC.O.integrite@pwgsc-tpsgc.gc.ca