Summary#

The Executive Committee approved a notice of motion on 5 October 2026 and sent it to Council for consideration on 27 October. The motion, sponsored by Mayor Farkas and Councillors Jamieson, McLean, Schmidt, Kelly, Clark and Pantazopoulos, would ask City staff to plan a searchable public webpage or dashboard listing certain City procurement contracts. Its stated goal is to make contract information easier to find and support transparency and accountability.

• If Council approves the direction, City staff would have to report back to the Executive Committee by Q2 2027 with an implementation plan. The committee has not approved building the webpage.
• The proposed list would cover executed and active competitive contracts above the City’s applicable procurement thresholds, except confidential procurements.
• Where available, the webpage would show the contract title, successful supplier, award value, number of bids and contract execution date. Information would be posted only after a contract is awarded and executed.
• The plan would consider search or filters by supplier, procurement type and date where feasible, and ways to limit extra staff work using existing data, tools and automation.
• For standing offers and similar arrangements, the plan would publish successful suppliers and available award information without requiring staff to report every individual work release.

What it means for you#

• Calgarians: If Council approves the motion and the plan is implemented, you could have one place to search for information about qualifying contracts. The notice does not require publishing confidential procurements.
• Suppliers: The proposed information could include your company’s name and contract award value when you win a qualifying contract.
• City staff: The direction is to develop an implementation plan, not to launch the webpage now. The motion asks staff to consider minimizing extra administrative work.

Money#

No cost estimate is provided; the notice says the initiative is intended to use existing resources without additional budget impacts.

• The materials do not provide a cost for preparing the plan or building and maintaining a webpage.

What is unclear#

• Council has not yet considered the motion, and it is not known whether it will approve the direction.
• The notice does not set out how the webpage would work, when it would launch, or who would maintain it.
• The City’s applicable procurement thresholds and the scope of confidential procurements are not specified in the notice.
• The notice does not say how complete the information would be when details are not available, or how the City would protect confidential, proprietary and commercially sensitive information.

Case for#

• The notice says the City already publishes procurement opportunities through SAP Ariba and Alberta Purchasing Connection. A single searchable location for contract awards could make information easier for the public, businesses and Council to find.
• The proposed limits—publishing only after award and execution, and protecting sensitive information—could allow more public access while preserving confidentiality.
• Using existing data, tools and automation could help limit extra staff work.

Case against#

• The proposed list would exclude confidential procurements and cover only contracts above applicable thresholds, so it would not show every City purchase.
• Some details would be published only “where available,” and search options are subject to feasibility; the notice does not guarantee complete or consistent information.
• The notice calls for a plan, but gives no cost estimate or launch date. City Council and the public would not yet know the ongoing workload or cost of operating the webpage.