Federal IT agency Shared Services Canada has handed out millions of dollars in “rolling” sole-sourced contracts to repeat suppliers in 90-day windows, according to records tabled in Parliament.Blacklock's Reporter says in an Inquiry Of Ministry response, the department disclosed it identified 390 vendors awarded two or more contracts valued at $10,000 or more within a rolling 90-day period, resulting in 13,883 qualifying instances over the past three years.Asked why the contracts were issued without competitive bidding, the agency said in many cases “only one supplier was capable of performing the work” or there was an “emergency requirement.”The figures were released at the request of Conservative MP Kelly Block, who asked how often companies received multiple contracts over $10,000 within 90 days.Among the examples cited was Toronto-based Like 10 Inc., which on March 13 received a $29,884 sole-sourced contract. Additional non-competed contracts followed on April 10 ($13,283), June 19 ($12,119), July 18 ($21,198), October 21 ($34,751), November 18 ($14,942) and December 8 ($22,906).Fast Lane Canada of Nepean, Ont., received a $39,184 sole-sourced contract for business training on November 20, followed weeks later by another sole-sourced award on December 8 worth $30,122 for similar services..Ottawa-based Orangutech Inc. was awarded a $37,941 sole-sourced contract on March 3. Additional sole-sourced contracts followed on March 12 ($14,645), April 1 ($23,198), June 16 ($24,568), July 7 ($24,610), July 30 ($28,250), August 18 ($16,044), September 9 ($26,917), November 11 ($15,934) and November 24 ($15,934).The disclosures come after a 2018 Treasury Board of Canada decision to raise the maximum value for sole-sourced service and construction contracts from $25,000 to $40,000 — the largest increase in 22 years. The Board described the change as a “housekeeping amendment.”At the time, the Board said federal departments strongly supported increasing the threshold and encouraged further hikes. Supplier associations called the increase reasonable but warned it could indirectly limit some vendors’ access to procurement opportunities.In a previous annual report to Parliament, Procurement Ombudsman Alexander Jeglic said he was unaware of any contractor who had requested the higher limit, adding that federal managers themselves sought the expanded authority.Cabinet granted managers the enhanced sole-source powers in 2018, allowing departments to award more contracts without open competition — a policy shift that critics say has led to a surge in repeat, non-competed awards under so-called rolling 90-day arrangements.
