CITT Procurement Review

A CITT procurement review is a complaint proceeding run by the Canadian International Trade Tribunal (CITT), Canada's federal bid-challenge body for designated procurements. A potential supplier that believes it was treated unfairly in a covered solicitation can file a complaint, and the Tribunal examines whether the procurement met Canada's obligations under applicable trade agreements. The CITT describes this function in its procurement review publication.

The Tribunal first decides whether a complaint meets the requirements to proceed. If it opens an inquiry, it reviews the procurement record and the response from the federal government institution that ran the solicitation. It can look at whether bids were evaluated fairly and according to the terms and conditions of the solicitation. Review can cover procurement activity up to and including contract award, as noted in the Government of Canada material on supplier conduct.

What the CITT examines when it receives a complaint

The Tribunal begins with three threshold questions. Was the complaint filed on time? Does it concern a procurement within the Tribunal's jurisdiction? Does it disclose a reasonable indication that the procurement breached applicable trade-agreement obligations? These tests are set out in the CITT's 2024 annual report on procurement reviews. A complaint that fails any of them does not go to a full inquiry.

Trade agreements behind the CITT's jurisdiction

The CITT's authority comes from Canadian legislation and from the procurement obligations in domestic and international trade agreements. Historically, its procurement-review jurisdiction covered NAFTA, the Agreement on Internal Trade, the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement, and the free trade agreements with Chile, Peru and Colombia, as described in the CITT's 2015 annual report chapter on procurement review. Current complaints are framed around designated contracts and the trade-agreement obligations that apply to them.

The process concerns federal government institutions. It is the CITT's own review function, not a general procurement method used by provinces, municipalities or NATO.

Monetary thresholds and the steps in a complaint

The CITT has jurisdiction over complaints about goods valued at $33,400 or more and services valued at $133,800 or more. Complaints below those values fall to the Office of the Procurement Ombudsman. Both points are stated in the CITT's 2024 procurement review report.

A supplier filing a complaint must:

• file within the applicable statutory deadline;
• identify a procurement process within the Tribunal's jurisdiction;
• provide enough information to show a reasonable indication of a breach of trade-agreement obligations; and
• generally try to resolve the issue with the responsible government institution first.

If the Tribunal accepts the complaint, the government institution files a Government Institution Report. The complainant and any interveners can then comment on that response. The Tribunal weighs the complainant's allegations, the institution's submissions and, where applicable, the submissions of interested parties.

Remedies the Tribunal can recommend

When a complaint is valid, the CITT can recommend a new solicitation, a re-evaluation of bids, termination of the contract, or compensation. The CITT's 2014 annual report chapter describes these outcomes, and the 2024 report confirms them.

What a CITT procurement review means for your bid team

If you lose a federal competition you believe was run unfairly, the CITT is the forum to test that belief, provided the contract is a designated one above the monetary thresholds. Check the deadline first, because a late complaint does not proceed. Raise your concern with the contracting authority early, since the Tribunal generally expects that attempt. Keep your bid, the solicitation documents and the evaluation correspondence together, because the review turns on whether bids were assessed according to the solicitation's stated terms. For lower-value contracts, the Office of the Procurement Ombudsman is the route instead.