The federal government’s much-publicized “Buy Canadian” policy will be rolled out gradually with no enforcement deadline, according to internal documents that acknowledge Ottawa continues awarding billions in contracts to foreign suppliers.Blacklock's Reporter says a Department of Public Works memo obtained through Access To Information records said the policy announced by Prime Minister Mark Carney last Sept. 5 was never intended to immediately guarantee preferential treatment for Canadian businesses.“As announced by the Prime Minister in September, the department is developing a Buy Canadian procurement policy framework that will apply across all federal institutions including Crown corporations,” stated the Oct. 23 memo.“Buy Canadian measures will be phased in to federal procurements to incentivize the participation of Canadian suppliers and use of Canadian content,” it added.The memo, titled Buy Canadian, provided no timeline for full implementation and said the policy would only “conditionally” limit procurement opportunities to Canadian suppliers.Federal records show Ottawa awarded 564 contracts worth roughly $2 billion to foreign suppliers in the year before the Buy Canadian announcement. The department did not explain whether those contracts would have been affected under the new policy.The internal memo also confirmed comments made March 19 by Housing Minister Gregor Robertson, who acknowledged the policy would not strictly require government projects to source exclusively Canadian materials or companies..“On the Buy Canadian policy across the federal government, we are still working on implementing that,” Robertson said at the time.Robertson cited housing construction as an example, saying Ottawa’s Build Canada Homes initiative would initially target just 30% Canadian materials.“An example I’d give on the housing front with Build Canada Homes, we are targeting 30% Buy Canadian as an initial point to begin scaling up the Canadian materials that are used in housing construction,” said Robertson. “Across government, it will vary.”Robertson said Ottawa was avoiding rigid requirements because supply chains remain dependent on foreign materials and products.“We’re not being rigid about this because there are many supply chains we still need to improve across the country to make sure we can supply Canadian materials at affordable rates for the infrastructure and housing that we build,” he said.He did not provide examples of industries or materials Canada currently cannot supply domestically.“We want to be responsive to the realities out there, but also we want to push our businesses and give them that opportunity to provide Canadian material,” Robertson added. “As we spend in Canada we want to make sure we are creating as many jobs as possible here.”Federal officials have also clarified that suppliers do not need Canadian ownership to qualify under the policy. Internal guidance notes indicate preferential treatment may still depend on factors such as timing and cost.Government documents further show the Buy Canadian policy will not apply to federal procurement activities conducted outside Canada.“Early indications from the Treasury Board suggest procurement conducted outside of Canada will be excluded from the policy as part of the exceptions,” stated a Nov. 28 Department of Foreign Affairs memo titled Consultations With Export Development Canada And Canadian Commercial Corporation On The Buy Canadian Policy.
