Government Contract Regulations

Regulation
Registration
R-032-2006
Source
Unofficial consolidation PDF (justice.gov.nt.ca)
Under
Financial Administration Act

This is an unofficial reading copy parsed from the Department of Justice consolidation PDF above — itself an office consolidation, not an official statement of the law. The authoritative text is in the Revised Statutes of the Northwest Territories, 1988 and the annual Statutes volumes.

  • s.1 amended by R-013-2016,s.2 in force April 1, 2016
  • s.1 amended by R-053-2018,s.2,3 in force Jan. 29, 2018
  • s.4 amended by R-087-2011,s.2
  • s.5 amended by R-053-2018,s.5 in force Jan. 29, 2018
  • s.8 amended by R-013-2016,s.3 in force April 1, 2016
  • s.10 repealed by R-013-2016,s.4 in force April 1, 2016
  • s.11 amended by R-013-2016,s.5 in force April 1, 2016
Contents
1. 1 2. 2 3. 3 4. 4 5. 5 6. 6 7. 7 8. 8 9. 9 10. Repealed 11. 11 12. 12 13. 13 14. 14 15. 15 16. 16 17. 17 18. 18

The Commissioner, on the recommendation of the Board, under section 107 of the Financial Administration Act and every enabling power, makes the Government Contract Regulations.

REGULATIONS

PART 1

INTERPRETATION, APPLICATION

AND GENERAL

Interpretation

1.

(1) In these regulations,

"bid" means an offer to sell or provide goods, services, real property, or a combination of these, that is submitted to a contract authority in response to a tender; (soumission)

"bidder" means a person who submits a bid; (soumissionnaire)

"contract" means a contract for the supply of

(a) services,

(b) insurance,

(c) goods or real property, whether by way of sale, conditional sale, lease or otherwise, or

(d) any combination of services, insurance, goods or real property referred to in paragraph (a), (b) or (c); (contrat)

"contract authority" means, in respect of a contract, other than a contract referred to in subsection (2) or (3),

(a) the Minister responsible for the department in respect of which the contract is to be made,

(b) the Deputy Minister of the department in respect of which the contract is to be made, and

(c) a public officer to whom the powers and duties of a contract authority have been designated under section 5; (autorité contractante)

"Director of Child and Family Services" means the Director of Child and Family Services appointed under the Child and Family Services Act or a Deputy Director of Child and Family Services appointed under that Act; (directeur des services à l’enfance et à la famille)

"goods" includes materials, equipment and goods that were not in existence at the time of the contract; (biens)

"insurance" has the same meaning as in the Insurance Act; (assurances)

"legal aid" means legal services and disbursements that are provided, or that may be required to be provided, to eligible persons under the Legal Aid Act; (aide juridique)

"legal services contract" means a contract for the performance of legal services other than legal aid; (contrat de services juridiques)

"person" includes a joint venture and a partnership; (personne)

"professional services" means services provided by a member of a profession established or regulated by an Act of the Northwest Territories; (services professionnels)

"proponent" means a person who submits a proposal; (promoteur)

"proposal" means an offer to provide goods, services, real property, or a combination of these, that is submitted to a contract authority in response to a request for proposals; (proposition)

"request for proposals" means a solicitation, made by public advertisement or private invitation, of proposals in respect of a proposed contract; (demande de propositions)

"tender" means a solicitation, made by public advertisement or private invitation, of bids in respect of a proposed contract. (appel d’offres)

(2) For the purposes of a legal services contract, "contract authority" means

(a) the Minister of Justice;

(b) the Deputy Minister of the Department of Justice;

(c) a person to whom the powers and duties of a contract authority have been designated by that Minister or Deputy Minister under section 5; and

(d) the Director of Child and Family Services in respect of a legal services contract, other than a contract referred to in subparagraph 8(1)(c)(ii), for the benefit of a child in his or her care or custody who has been charged with an offence.

(3) For the purposes of a contract of insurance and a contract for the services of an insurance broker, "contract authority" means

(a) the Minister of Finance;

(b) the Deputy Minister of the Department of Finance; and

(c) a person to whom the powers and duties of a contract authority have been designated by that Minister or Deputy Minister under section 5.

(4) Subsections (2) and (3) do not apply in respect of a contract that is entered into or proposed to be entered into by the Speaker, in respect of the Office of the Legislative Assembly.

(5) Subsection (3) does not apply in respect of a contract of insurance that forms an integral part of another contract. R-013-2016,s.2; R-053-2018,s.2,3.

Application

2.

(1) Subject to subsection (2), these regulations apply to all contracts that are entered into by or on behalf of the Government.

(2) These regulations do not apply to the following:

(a) a contract of employment;

(b) a contract for the provision of food, lodging or transportation, other than by chartered airplane, in respect of travel

(i) that is authorized by the Government for Government business, and

(ii) in respect of which the Government pays or reimburses expenses;

(c) a contract in respect of legal aid;

(d) a contract in respect of which a court of competent jurisdiction has, by order, dictated the supplier of goods or services to be supplied under the contract;

(e) a contract in respect of the provision of insured services to insured persons under the Hospital Insurance and Health and Social Services Administration Act;

(f) a contract in respect of the provision of insured services and benefits to insured persons under the Medical Care Act;

(g) a contract that provides for the transfer of public money or public property to a recipient for the purpose of funding or facilitating projects, programs or services to be delivered by the recipient to third parties, other than projects, programs or services to be delivered on behalf of the Government.

3.

The provisions of Part 2 do not apply to a contract of insurance or to a contract referred to in section 4.

Paramount Authority of the Executive Council

4.

(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of these regulations, the Executive Council may, on behalf of the Government,

(a) enter into a contract with any person;

(b) authorize a contract authority to enter into a specific contract with any person; or

(c) authorize contract authorities to enter into any contract that falls within a class of contracts.

(2) The Executive Council shall record its reasons for

(a) entering into a contract under paragraph (1)(a);

(b) authorizing a contract authority to enter into a specific contract under paragraph (1)(b); or

(c) authorizing a class of contracts that contract authorities may enter into under paragraph (1)(c).

(3) The power under subsection (1) to enter into a contract includes the power to renegotiate the terms of the contract or terminate it. R-087-2011,s.2.

Designation

5.

(1) A Minister or a Deputy Minister may designate a public officer, by reference to the name or the position of the officer, to exercise the Minister or Deputy Minister’s powers and duties as a contract authority under these regulations.

(2) Nothing in these regulations shall be interpreted as authorizing the delegation of any power or duty to enter into an agreement that is expressly provided by another Act. R-053-2018,s.5.

Contract Authority

6.

(1) No person other than a contract authority shall enter into a contract on behalf of the Government.

(2) A contract that is entered into by a person, other than a contract authority acting in accordance with these regulations, is not binding on the Government notwithstanding that the contract purports to be made or the person purports to have acted on behalf of the Government.

7.

Subject to the Act and these regulations, a contract authority may, on behalf of the Government,

(a) enter into a contract under which the total amount payable does not exceed the monetary signing limits assigned to the contract authority;

(b) renegotiate the amount payable under a contract where the total amount payable under the contract does not exceed the signing limits of the contract authority;

(c) renegotiate any other term of the contract; or

(d) terminate the contract.

PART 2

TENDERS AND REQUESTS FOR

PROPOSALS

8.

(1) Subject to subsection (2), a contract authority shall issue a tender before entering into a contract unless the contract authority believes, on reasonable grounds, that

(a) performance of the contract is urgently required and delay would be injurious to the public interest;

(b) only one party is available and capable of performing the contract; or

(c) the value of the contract will be less than

(i) $100,000, in the case of a contract for architectural or engineering services,

(ii) $50,000, in the case of a contract for professional services other than architectural or engineering services, or

(iii) $25,000, in the case of any other type of contract.

(2) A contract authority may issue a request for proposals instead of a tender if, in the opinion of the contract authority, a proposal would be more appropriate than a bid.

(3) A request for proposals must state the criteria to be used in evaluating the proposals.

(4) In evaluating a proposal, no criteria may be used other than those provided by these regulations or stated in the request for proposals. R-013-2016,s.3.

9.

Every tender and every request for proposals must be issued in writing and must specify

(a) the address to which the bids or proposals must be submitted; and

(b) the date and hour after which no further bids or proposals shall be accepted.

10.

Repealed, R-013-2016,s.4.

11.

Every bid and every proposal must be made in writing, if it is for an amount that equals or exceeds the applicable amount set out in paragraph 8(1)(c). R-013-2016,s.5.

12.

(1) Every bid and every proposal that is received in writing at the address referred to in paragraph 9(a) by the date and hour referred to in paragraph 9(b) must be opened as soon as may be practicable after that time.

(2) An opening referred to in this section must be performed in the presence of at least one witness, and must be open to the public.

(3) A person is not eligible to act as a witness for the purposes of an opening referred to in this section if the person is, in respect of the tender or request for proposals that is the subject of the opening,

(a) the contract authority; or

(b) a bidder, a proponent or an agent of a bidder or proponent.

(4) On the opening of a bid, the name of the bidder and the amount of the bid must be announced and recorded.

(5) On the opening of a proposal, the name of the proponent must be announced and recorded.

13.

Every bid or proposal that is received after the date and hour referred to in paragraph 9(b) must be returned unopened to the person who submitted it.

14.

(1) In this section,

"responsible" means, in respect of a bidder or a proponent, having the capability to perform fully the contract requirements and the integrity and reliability to assure performance of the contract obligations; (responsable)

"responsive" means, in respect of a bid or a proposal, conforming in all material respects to the tender or the request for proposals. (admissible)

(2) A contract authority shall,

(a) in the case of a tender, only award the contract to a responsible bidder whose bid is

(i) responsive, and

(ii) lower than any other responsive bid submitted by any other responsible bidder; and

(b) in the case of a request for proposals, only award the contract to a responsible proponent whose proposal

(i) is responsive, and

(ii) will, in the opinion of the contract authority, provide the best value to the Government.

(3) If a contract authority receives, from responsible bidders, more than one responsive bid for the lowest amount, the contract authority shall submit the bids to the Minister responsible for the department in respect of which the contract is proposed to be made, for a decision as to which of the bidders the contract is to be awarded to.

15.

Notwithstanding section 14, a contract authority may refuse all bids and proposals and award the contract to no one.

16.

The Board may establish rules setting out the manner in which openings referred to in section 12 are to be conducted and witnessed, and the manner and form in which their results are to be recorded.

PART 3

TRANSITIONAL, REPEAL AND

COMMENCEMENT

17.

(1) The Government Contract Regulations, R.R.N.W.T. 1990, c.F-3, are repealed.

(2) Notwithstanding these regulations, where a tender or a request for proposals is issued in respect of a proposed contract before the day on which these regulations come into force and the contract is not entered into before that day, the Government Contract Regulations, R.R.N.W.T. 1990, c.F-3, as they read immediately before the coming into force of these regulations, apply in respect of the proposed contract until it is entered into.

18.

These regulations come into force on the later of May 1, 2006 and the day on which they are registered under the Statutory Instruments Act.