RCMP National Procurement Plan Fiscal Year 2010-2011

Introduction

The RCMP is unique in the sense that it is a federal, provincial and municipal policing body. It provides a total federal policing service to all Canadians and policing services under contract to the three territories, eight provinces (except Ontario and Quebec), more than 190 municipalities, 184 Aboriginal communities and three international airports.

The delivery of these diverse and complex policing programs requires a continuous and reliable supply of goods and services to meet operational needs.  From uniform and equipment needs, vehicles, services for physicians and IT specialists to construction of detachments, the RCMP processes thousands of transactions each year, ranging from low dollar value contracts to high dollar value, complex procurement projects.

The objective of this RCMP National Procurement Plan is to provide industry and the public information regarding the anticipated RCMP contracting activities for fiscal year 2010-2011, including a list of planned major procurement requirements.

RCMP Procurement Function

The RCMP has a strong and well established procurement function capable of meeting both tactical, routine requirements and high risk, high dollar value project oriented requirements in a timely and efficient manner.  This is most notably evident by the recent major events for which the RCMP supplied security services. Significant procurement efforts were devoted to assuring RCMP readiness through a multitude of contracts for equipment, accommodations and related services, all the while ensuring that the Canadian public received best value for the money spent.

The HQ Procurement Division, located in Ottawa, is responsible for procurement requirements in the National Capital Region as well as national initiatives such as force-wide contracts/standing offers and major events. The HQ Division is also responsible for policy, reporting and contract quality assurance functions. Each region has its own procurement unit(s), with offices located in Halifax, Ottawa, Montreal, London, Edmonton, Regina and Vancouver.

Most contracting activities are carried out by the procurement units, though operational unit commanders with delegated contracting approval authority may conduct low dollar value (under $10,000) routine acquisitions. Where requirements exceed the RCMP’s delegated authority, the RCMP utilizes PWGSC in its role as a common service provider of contracting services.

RCMP Procurement Activity

The RCMP is relatively consistent in the type of goods and services it procures. The following list represents the major commodity areas for RCMP contracting:

• Fleet – comprising of cars, boats and planes for patrol, transportation and surveillance functions
• Professional Services – including health services, accounting, management consulting, instructors and advertising
• IT Equipment and Services – which support the RCMP’s many systems including the National Police Services Network and the Canadian Police Information Centre
• Communication Equipment and Services – to provide radios and other police communication infrastructure
• Policing Equipment – including weapons, ammunition, radars, etc
• Protection Services – including commissionaires and guards and matrons for various support functions
• Uniforms – including fabrics, shirts, pants, jackets, boots and body armour;
• Lab Equipment – for the forensic and laboratory operations that support police investigations.

General Procurement Strategy

In conducting its purchasing activities, the RCMP is guided by the principles of operational readiness, fairness, accessibility and transparency and incorporates (where possible) broader government objectives such as encouraging aboriginal business development and green procurement. Amongst other policies and regulations, the RCMP is subject to the Government Contract Regulations, the Treasury Board Contracting Policy and Canada’s national and international trade agreements. The RCMP has a well established procurement framework that includes a strong contract quality assurance program to ensure that its obligations under the various policies and regulations are met and to instill an environment of continuous improvement. The RCMP also demonstrates significant participation on government initiatives related to the advancement and improvement of procurement.

When an individual request for a good/service is received by a procurement unit, the contracting officer first looks to determine if there is an existing contract, standing offer or supply arrangement that can be used to source the requirement. The RCMP makes great use of the PWGSC issued standing offers and supply arrangements. In fact, a little less than half of all contracts issued last fiscal year were call-ups against these procurement instruments. Where established procurement vehicles are not available to meet the need of a particular requirement, the contracting officer will determine the most appropriate procurement strategy to meet operational needs and obtain best value for the Crown while respecting prevailing policies, regulations and trade agreements.

For large, complex and high dollar value projects, individual procurement strategies are developed to encompass all the related requirements.  Contracting Officers are often part of the project team to ensure that requirements are tracked and procured in time to meet project deadlines. In some cases, separate contracting units are set up due to the size of the project. This model was successfully used for major events.

For the 2010-2011 fiscal year, the RCMP plans to continue with its general strategy in meeting the day to day tactical and complex requirements. Unlike recent years, there are no major events planned at this time that require a dedicated procurement team. Smaller events, such as the 2010 World Junior Track and Field Championships, will be dealt with through normal procurement channels.

RCMP Procurement Forecast for Fiscal Year 2010-2011

The level of RCMP contracting activity, both in terms of dollar value and transactions, is expected to drop substantively as compared to the 2008/2009 and 2009/2010 fiscal years. This is due to the fact that the RCMP increased its procurement efforts over the previous two fiscal years to accommodate the security demands of major events. Given the current climate of fiscal restraint, it is forecasted that contracting activity will fall slightly below the levels experienced prior to these major events.

Table 1 provides a list of major planned procurement activities by commodity group and was derived from the RCMP Investment Plan and input from internal stakeholders. The plan provides high level information on procurement activities and this list is for information purposes only. It is important to note that all values are high level estimates. Procurement activities will be posted on the Government Electronic Tendering System (MERX) as required and industry will be fully informed going forward. Unforeseen, challenging priorities may affect some procurements planned for the year.

Further Information

For information on doing business with the Government of Canada, please visit the Contracts Canada Website at www.contractscanada.gc.ca.

For current RCMP issued open competitive solicitations, please refer to the Government Electronic Tendering System (GETS) as provided through MERX at www.merx.com.

Information on PWGSC standing offers and supply arrangements can be obtained through their website at www.tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca.

All requests for information related to this Procurement Plan are to be addressed to:

RCMP Procurement Plan
HQ Procurement and Contracting Branch
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
73 Leikin Drive, Mail Stop 15
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0R2