WHEREAS the City of Ottawa’s Procurement By-law (By-law No. 2000-50, as amended) provides for non-competitive contracts, commonly known as sole source contracts, to be awarded in certain circumstances; and
WHEREAS with respect to the reporting to Council of non-competitive contracts, Subsection 39(1) of the Procurement By-law provides that the Chief Procurement Officer “shall submit to Council an information report semi-annually containing the details relevant to the exercise of delegated authority for all contracts awarded by Directors exceeding $25,000 and Supply Services shall certify in the report that the awards are in compliance with the Procurement By-law”; and
WHEREAS the current reporting/disclosure threshold that exceeds $25,000 does not provide for the disclosure of non-competitive contracts valued at $25,000 or less, resulting in a lack of transparency regarding these sole source contracts; and
WHEREAS enhanced reporting to Council of non-competitive contracts valued at $25,000 or less would align with the overarching principle in the Routine Disclosure and Active Dissemination Policy, which is to advance the view that information held by the City should be made available to the public, and any exceptions to this principle should be limited and specific; and
WHEREAS the City of Toronto Purchasing and Materials Management Division’s Routine Disclosure Plan dated November 23, 2020, provides for the online disclosure of relevant details regarding non-competitive contracts issued, including the supplier name, contract amount, description, contract date, division name and rationale (except where the procurement is confidential, in which case only the contract amount is disclosed);
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that City Council direct staff to bring forward in Q2 2024 options for the public disclosure of non-competitive contracts valued at $25,000 or less, which are awarded in accordance with the Procurement By-law (By-law No. 2000-50, as amended), including the supplier name, contract amount, description, contract date, and department name.