Statutes and regulations

A statute, also called an Act, is legislation enacted by Parliament or a provincial legislature. A regulation is a legally binding rule made under authority that an Act delegates. Together they make up the body of written law that sets out how governments in Canada may act, including how they spend public money and buy goods, services and construction.

Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) describes regulations as the rules used to carry out Acts enacted by the Parliament of Canada. They have the force of law. For suppliers, statutes and regulations are the legal foundation beneath every federal solicitation and contract. PSPC's page on regulations sets out this relationship.

How a regulation adds detail to an Act

An Act sets the broad authority and the main obligations. A regulation supplies the more specific requirements. According to PSPC, these include definitions, licensing requirements, performance specifications, exemptions and forms. Because a regulation is made under an Act, it is binding in the same way, and a bid or contract cannot override it.

PSPC publishes lists of the Acts and regulations it administers or relies on. Reading both together shows where authority comes from and where the detailed rules sit.

The three main federal authorities for PSPC procurement

CanadaBuys identifies the Defence Production Act, the Financial Administration Act (FAA) and the Government Contracts Regulations (GCR) as major legal authorities for PSPC procurement. Its page on key acts and contract regulations describes each one.

• Defence Production Act: gives the Minister of Public Works and Government Services responsibility for administering the Act and exclusive authority to acquire defence supplies and construct defence projects required by the Department of National Defence, subject to the exceptions in subsection 10(2). All PSPC contracts for defence supplies or projects are governed by this Act.
• Financial Administration Act: establishes the legal framework for collecting and spending public funds, including federal contracting practices.
• Government Contracts Regulations: made under the FAA, they establish the conditions for entering into federal contracts.

The Government Contracts Regulations and the duty to solicit bids

The GCR carry the most direct consequences for bidders. The Office of the Procurement Ombud explains that the regulations require a contracting authority to solicit bids before a contract is entered into. Section 6 sets out the exceptions, and they include an emergency, a low estimated expenditure, a lack of public interest in soliciting bids, and a situation where only one supplier is capable of performing the work.

The Ombud's summary of the regulations and the Justice Laws Website are the places to confirm the exact wording.

Policy instruments that sit alongside the law

The Treasury Board Directive on the Management of Procurement applies to federal procurement of goods, services and construction. It is intended to ensure that necessary assets and services are obtained while providing best value to the Crown. The Directive works with the Acts and regulations above, and a solicitation may incorporate its requirements.

What statutes and regulations mean for a supplier

Read the solicitation and any resulting contract together with every statutory, regulatory, policy and mandatory-clause requirement they incorporate. Submit a compliant bid, meet the eligibility and certification requirements that apply, and perform the contract according to its terms and applicable law.

The sources establish the legal framework and the rules for soliciting bids. They do not prescribe a single action that fits every procurement, so each solicitation should be reviewed on its own terms.