COMPLIANCE

At Canoe, we are fully committed to ensuring that our contracts and procedures adhere to all relevant trade regulations and obligations, including the Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA), New West Partnership Trade Agreement (NWPTA), Ontario-Quebec Trade and Cooperation Agreement (OQTCA), and the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA).

Trade agreements, alongside governmental directives and policies, generally require public sector entities to conduct open and competitive procurement processes when the estimated value of the goods or services exceeds specified thresholds. Once a relevant threshold is met, the entity must select a supplier through a competitive process—such as a Request for Proposals (RFP) or Request for Quotation (RFQ) accessible to the entire marketplace and meeting applicable trade requirements. This involves posting public notices, disclosing pertinent information, and implementing a fair and transparent evaluation process.

As Canada’s national leader in group procurement, Canoe is dedicated to upholding and advancing public procurement standards to bring optimal value to our members. We meet these standards through the following practices:

• Engaging with internal and external procurement experts to rigorously review and refine our policies, procedures, and documentation to ensure full alignment with public procurement best practices.
• Facilitating fully open and competitive procurement processes, avoiding invitation-only or non-competitive awards.
• Ensuring transparency regarding our membership, with all partner municipal associations providing lists of eligible members, enabling market participants to know who may purchase through awarded contracts.
• Structuring processes to account for distributor networks, allowing regional distributors to collectively bid on opportunities, with member organizations entering contracts directly with the applicable regional distributor.

Our commitment is to ensure that all Canoe contracts and programs deliver the highest value to your organization. For additional guidance or support at any stage, please reach out to your local client relations manager. Our team is here to assist you.