Guide to the Ineligibility and Suspension Policy

The Ineligibility and Suspension Policy directs the Government of Canada’s Integrity Regime. The policy sets out when and how a supplier may be declared ineligible or suspended from doing business with the government. Public Services and Procurement Canada is the department responsible for applying the policy.

The purpose of this guide is to help suppliers better understand their responsibilities as a prospective or current supplier to government. You will learn which offences and charges will or may lead to ineligibility or suspension, your responsibilities toward your affiliates and subcontractors and the various processes in place to ensure that the government deals only with ethical suppliers.

In this guide

Ineligibility

Some offences will automatically make you ineligible to do business with the government, while others may make you ineligible. Consult the list of offences to learn how each affects your eligibility.

Consult the list of ineligible and suspended suppliers under the Integrity Regime.

Offences that will make you ineligible

The following offences will make you ineligible to do business with the government. Both your period of ineligibility and, following an administrative agreement, your ability to get this period reduced depend on the type of offence.

Table A: Offences leading to automatic ineligibility

Offence If the offence was committed… Your period of ineligibility from the date of determination is… Pursuant to… Reduction to the period of ineligibility
Accounting (offences), Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act, section 4 In the past three years Ten years Ineligibility and Suspension Policy Up to five years
Agreements or arrangements of federal financial institutions, Competition Act, section 49 In the past three years Ten years Ineligibility and Suspension Policy Up to five years
Bid rigging, Competition Act, section 47 In the past three years Ten years Ineligibility and Suspension Policy Up to five years
Bribery of judicial officers, etc., Criminal Code, section 119 In the past three years Ten years Ineligibility and Suspension Policy Up to five years
Bribery of officers, Criminal Code, section 120 In the past three years Ten years Ineligibility and Suspension Policy Up to five years
Bribing a foreign public official, Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act, section 3 In the past three years Ten years Ineligibility and Suspension Policy Up to five years
Conspiracies, agreements or arrangements between competitors, Competition Act, section 45 In the past three years Ten years Ineligibility and Suspension Policy Up to five years
Criminal breach of contract, Criminal Code, section 422 In the past three years Ten years Ineligibility and Suspension Policy Up to five years
Deceptive notice of winning a prize, Competition Act, section 53 In the past three years Ten years Ineligibility and Suspension Policy Up to five years
Extortion, Criminal Code, section 346 In the past three years Ten years Ineligibility and Suspension Policy Up to five years
False entry, certificate or return, Financial Administration Act, subsection 80(1)(d) At any time As long as you are without capacity to contract Disability to contract, Criminal Code, section 750(3) None possible
False or deceptive statements, Income Tax Act, section 239 and Excise Tax Act, section 327 In the past three years Ten years Ineligibility and Suspension Policy Up to five years
False or misleading representation, Competition Act, section 52 In the past three years Ten years Ineligibility and Suspension Policy Up to five years
(Falsification of) books and documents, Criminal Code, section 397 In the past three years Ten years Ineligibility and Suspension Policy Up to five years
Foreign directives, Competition Act, section 46 In the past three years Ten years Ineligibility and Suspension Policy Up to five years
Forgery and other offences resembling forgery, Criminal Code, section 366, section 367 and section 368 In the past three years Ten years Ineligibility and Suspension Policy Up to five years
Fraud, Criminal Code, section 380 At any time As long as you are without capacity to contract Disability to contract, Criminal Code, section 750(3) None possible
Fraud against Her Majesty, Financial Administration Act, subsection 80(2) and section 154.01 At any time As long as you are without capacity to contract Disability to contract, Criminal Code, section 750(3) None possible
Frauds on the government, Criminal Code, section 121 At any time As long as you are without capacity to contract Disability to contract, Criminal Code, section 750(3) None possible
Fraudulent manipulation of stock exchange transactions, Criminal Code, section 382 In the past three years Ten years Ineligibility and Suspension Policy Up to five years
Importing and exporting (of substance), Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, section 6 In the past three years Ten years Ineligibility and Suspension Policy Up to five years
Laundering proceeds of crime, Criminal Code, section 462.31 In the past three years Ten years Ineligibility and Suspension Policy Up to five years
Offence committed outside Canada, Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act, section 5 In the past three years Ten years Ineligibility and Suspension Policy Up to five years
Participation in activities of criminal organization, Criminal Code, section 467.11, section 467.12 and section 467.13 In the past three years Ten years Ineligibility and Suspension Policy Up to five years
Production of substance, Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, section 7 In the past three years Ten years Ineligibility and Suspension Policy Up to five years
Prohibited insider trading, Criminal Code, section 382.1 In the past three years Ten years Ineligibility and Suspension Policy Up to five years
Requirement to file return, Lobbying Act, section 5 In the past three years Ten years Lobbying Act, section 14(1) Up to five years
Requirement to file return, Lobbying Act, section 7 In the past three years Ten years Lobbying Act, section 14(1) Up to five years
Secret commissions, Criminal Code, section 426 In the past three years Ten years Ineligibility and Suspension Policy Up to five years
Selling defective stores to Her Majesty, Criminal Code, section 418 At any time As long as you are without capacity to contract Disability to contract, Criminal Code, section 750(3) None possible
Selling or purchasing office, Criminal Code, section 124 At any time As long as you are without capacity to contract Disability to contract, Criminal Code, section 750(3) None possible
Trafficking in substance, Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, section 5 In the past three years Ten years Ineligibility and Suspension Policy Up to five years

Other offences leading to automatic ineligibility

Consult the policy

Offences that may make you ineligible

The following offences may make you ineligible to do business with the government. Public Services and Procurement Canada will determine your ineligibility. Both your period of ineligibility and, following an administrative agreement, your ability to get this period reduced depend on the type of offence.

Table B: Offences leading to discretionary ineligibility

Offence If the offence was committed… Your period of ineligibility from the date of determination is… Pursuant to… Reduction to the period of ineligibility
Convicted of an offence outside of Canada that is similar to an offence listed in Table A: Offences leading to automatic ineligibility In the past three years Ten years Ineligibility and Suspension Policy Up to five years
Your affiliate was convicted of an offence outside of Canada that is similar to an offence listed in Table A: Offences leading to automatic ineligibility and you directed, influenced, authorized, assented to, acquiesced in or participated in your affiliate committing the offence In the past three years Ten years Ineligibility and Suspension Policy Up to five years
You breached any term or condition of an administrative agreement Any time during the administrative agreement Possibly longer than the original period of ineligibility that was reduced by the administrative agreement Ineligibility and Suspension Policy Not applicable

How Public Services and Procurement Canada determines ineligibility

The department may determine ineligibility:

If you are notified of being ineligible, the department will provide information about the processes available to you.

Requesting a limited review

You may request a limited review of a determination of ineligibility:

As part of the limited review, you may present evidence and written submissions to the department before it makes its final determination.

Consult the policy

Suspension

The following charges may make you suspended from doing business with the government. The suspension period is 18 months from the date that Public Services and Procurement Canada determines the suspension. The period may be extended pending final disposition of the charges. If you are convicted, the department will determine ineligibility.

Table C: Charges leading to suspension

Charge If the charge was filed… Your period of suspension from the date of determination is… Pursuant to… Reduction to the period of suspension
Charged with, or admits guilt of an offence in Canada that is similar to an offence listed in Table A: Offences leading to automatic ineligibility In the past three years Eighteen months, subject to extension pending final disposition of the charges Ineligibility and Suspension Policy May be stayed by an administrative agreement
Charged with, or admits guilt of an offence outside of Canada that is similar to an offence listed in Table A: Offences leading to automatic ineligibility In the past three years Eighteen months, subject to extension pending final disposition of the charges Ineligibility and Suspension Policy May be stayed by an administrative agreement

How Public Services and Procurement Canada determines suspension

The department may determine suspension:

Once you are notified of being suspended, the department will provide information about the processes available to you.

Consult the policy

Termination

If you are determined as ineligible during the life of the contract or real property agreement, the department may terminate for default. In this case, it will notify you of the violation and will give you an opportunity to show cause as to why you should not be terminated.

If the department decides to continue with the contract or real property agreement, you must enter into an administrative agreement to assure the department that you are taking steps to address the causes of the misconduct.

Consult the policy

Pardons

The department will not determine you as ineligible:

Consult the policy

Reducing the ineligibility period

The department does not allow for reinstatement. However, if you have been determined to be ineligible and have cooperated with law enforcement or have taken positive steps to address the causes of the conduct that lead to the ineligibility, you may be able to have your ineligibility period reduced by up to five years.

You may apply for this reduction at any time, including before you bid and when in contract.

The ineligibility time limit does not include offences listed in the Criminal Code. Those offences make you permanently ineligible to do business with the government unless you are granted a pardon.

Determining a reduction

To determine whether to grant a reduction, the department will consider whether you have done at least one of the following:

If your ineligibility period has been reduced to five years, you must:

Without certification, you remain ineligible.

Administrative agreements

An administrative agreement is an arrangement between the supplier and the government. It is used when the department determines that it must exercise additional caution to further mitigate risks of contracting with a particular supplier.

It includes conditions that the supplier must fulfil to be eligible to be awarded a federal contract. Conditions include remedial and compliance measures. The agreement must be monitored by a qualified and independent third party, recognized by the department and at the supplier’s expense.

The agreement may be required:

Consult the list of suppliers subject to administrative agreements

Consult the policy

Public interest exceptions

The Public Interest Exception allows the government to conduct business with an ineligible supplier when it is in the public interest. The exception is applied on a case-by case basis by the authority issuing the contract or real property agreement.

The department may apply the exception when:

When an exception is involved, an administrative agreement between the department and the supplier is required.

Learn more

Consult the policy

Foreign convictions

If you were convicted, in the last three years of an offence outside of Canada that is similar to an offence listed in the policy, you are ineligible for ten years.

You must retain the services of an independent third party to provide the information on the foreign conviction. Using that information, the department assesses what elements constitute the foreign offence to determine how similar the conviction is to a listed offence in Canada.

To help make its final determination, the department requires answers to the following questions:

Subcontractors

The department applies to all suppliers. As a supplier, you cannot subcontract with an ineligible supplier. You must verify the status of your prospective first-tier subcontractors prior to entering into a contract. A first-tier subcontractor is one with whom you have a direct contractual relationship.

If you require the services of a suspended or ineligible subcontractor, you will need to get written consent from the contracting authority. If you enter into a contract with an ineligible subcontractor without written consent when information about that subcontractor’s ineligibility or suspension was reasonably available, you will be ineligible to do business with the government for five years.

Learn more

Consult the policy

Affiliates

If you have an affiliate, you may be determined as ineligible based on the opinion of the department:

You must retain the services of an independent third party to assess your involvement in the actions of the affiliate that led to the conviction. This assessment must be done at your expense and provided to the department. Public Services and Procurement Canada will make a determination.

Existing contracts

If the department determines a supplier to be ineligible or suspended during a contract or real property agreement, the contracting authority may terminate the contract or agreement for default.

The supplier will be given an opportunity to show cause as to why the termination should not be exercised.

An administrative agreement between the supplier and the department may be required if a decision is taken to not terminate the contract or real property agreement.

Certification

By submitting a bid for a solicitation that contains the integrity provisions, you certify all of the following:

Third party monitoring and verification

In specific situations, you will be required to get and pay for the services of an independent, qualified third party to:

Public Services and Procurement Canada makes all determinations of ineligibility.

Learn more

Consult the policy

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