Procurement Bid Complaint Dismissed

Summary#

The Canadian International Trade Tribunal concluded an inquiry and issued a determination on June 15, 2021 (File PR-2020-085). It found that a complaint by ACT for Performance Inc. about how a bid on Solicitation No. 2020-7412621-2 was evaluated was not valid.

What it does#

• Describes the outcome of a bid complaint about a federal procurement for consulting and professional services.
• Says that ACT for Performance Inc. alleged its bid was evaluated improperly.
• States the Tribunal reviewed the evidence and trade-agreement rules and decided the complaint was not valid.
• Notes that further information can be requested from the Tribunal’s Deputy Registrar (contact details were provided in the notice).

Who's affected#

• The main parties named are ACT for Performance Inc. (Montréal, Quebec) and the federal contracting department, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development.
• Other companies that bid, or might bid, on the same solicitation or similar government consulting contracts could be indirectly affected, since the Tribunal upheld the original evaluation.
• It is unclear from the notice whether this decision changes the award of the contract or has other practical consequences beyond dismissing the complaint.

Why it matters#

• For bidders: the Tribunal’s decision means the complaint did not overturn how the government evaluated the bids. That keeps the original procurement outcome in place unless another legal step is taken.
• For suppliers watching procurement fairness: this is a concrete example of how a bid protest was handled and may inform how future complaints are assessed.