Former Public Servants

In Canadian federal procurement, a former public servant is a former member of a Government of Canada department as defined by the Financial Administration Act, a former member of the Canadian Armed Forces, or a former member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). CanadaBuys uses this definition in its guidance to contracting authorities.

The term matters in contracting when the former public servant, or an entity they control, receives a Public Service Superannuation Act (PSSA) pension or a lump-sum payment. It is a Canadian government procurement term, used in solicitations, supply arrangements and Treasury Board contracting rules.

Who is covered by the definition

Solicitation clauses commonly extend the definition beyond the individual. According to a federal request for proposals on CanadaBuys, the clause can apply to:

• an individual;
• an incorporated individual's company;
• a partnership made up of former public servants; and
• a sole proprietorship or other entity in which the former public servant has a controlling or major interest.

A bidder can therefore be caught by the clause even when the bidding entity is a corporation or partnership rather than a person. Ownership and control are what count.

Why federal contracts with pensioned former public servants get extra scrutiny

Federal procurement clauses state that contracts awarded to former public servants who receive a pension or lump-sum payment must receive the closest public scrutiny and reflect fairness in public spending. The wording appears in a CanadaBuys tender notice. The rules grow out of federal conflict-of-interest, contracting-approval, pension and public-accountability controls.

The framework is set through Treasury Board contracting policy. Departments, contracting authorities, Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) and CanadaBuys apply it in day-to-day procurement. PSPC also publishes guidance on contracting with former public servants.

Declarations, approvals and proactive disclosure

Federal solicitations commonly ask whether the bidder is a former public servant in receipt of a pension. If the answer is yes, the bidder provides the former public servant's name and the date of termination or retirement from the public service. A bid can be declared non-responsive if the required information is not provided within the stated time.

Approvals sit with the buyer. The Treasury Board directive assigns contracting authorities responsibility for obtaining responsible-minister approval before entering into certain non-competitive service contracts with former public servants receiving a PSSA pension. The Treasury Board directive sets out the thresholds. For Task and Solutions Professional Services, PSPC guidance states that Treasury Board approval is required before a call-up or contract goes to specified former-public-servant suppliers when the total value, including amendments, exceeds $100,000.

Some supply-arrangement and task-based contracts also carry a proactive-disclosure clause. By declaring that it is a former public servant receiving a PSSA pension, the contractor agrees that the information may be published on departmental websites. The clause is described in the task-based supply arrangement documentation.

What it means for a supplier bidding on Canadian public contracts

Check ownership and control before you submit. If any owner, partner or controlling individual is a former public servant, answer the declaration accurately and supply the name and the retirement or termination date by the deadline. Expect additional scrutiny on pensioned former public servants, and expect that the buyer, not your firm, will seek any Treasury Board or ministerial approval. Where the contract includes a proactive-disclosure clause, assume the declaration will be published.