Conflict of Interest Declaration

A Conflict of Interest Declaration is a formal statement in which an individual or supplier discloses any real, apparent, potential, or perceived conflict that could affect impartiality or the performance of procurement-related duties. In Canadian federal procurement, it applies to the people who run and evaluate a purchase and to the suppliers who bid on it.

For public servants, evaluators, and technical authorities, the declaration records interests, relationships, outside activities, employment, or gifts that could conflict with official duties. For suppliers, it is a disclosure or contractual attestation about conflicts that affect contract performance. The term is not an abbreviation, and it sits alongside related ideas such as conflict of duties and the Code of Conduct for Procurement.

Two uses of the declaration

Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) requires its employees to submit a Conflict of Interest Declaration when circumstances may create a conflict with their official duties. Its guidance links conflict management to the Policy on People Management, the Directive on Conflict of Interest, and the Guide to Mitigating Conflict of Interest in Procurement. See the PSPC guidance on managing conflicts of interest.

A declaration can serve several purposes:

• identifying conflicts before an evaluator accesses bids or joins an evaluation;
• documenting that evaluators worked independently and impartially;
• disclosing a supplier's or subcontractor's conflict during contract performance; and
• supporting mitigation, such as recusal, changed duties, ending an outside activity, or obtaining management and ethics advice.

The supplier warranty under the Code of Conduct for Procurement

Under the federal Code of Conduct for Procurement, submitting a bid, offer, or arrangement is a warranty that no real, apparent, or perceived conflict of interest exists or is likely to arise. The Canada Revenue Agency supplier code for procurement sets out this warranty.

The duty continues after award. A supplier or subcontractor that becomes aware of a matter causing or likely to cause a conflict must immediately disclose it in writing to the contracting authority. The PSPC code of conduct clause for contracts contains the same obligation. The Government of Canada's procurement guide confirms that suppliers are subject to the Code and must give this warranty for the duration of contract performance.

Declarations by evaluators and technical authorities

Government guidance recommends that bid evaluators sign conflict-of-interest declarations where appropriate, before they access bid material or begin an evaluation. The declaration confirms that the evaluator has no conflict with the bidders or the procurement. Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada has described a process in which evaluators and technical authorities complete declarations before seeing bid or evaluation material.

The exact declaration requirement depends on the organization and the procurement process, so the buyer's own procedures govern.

Consultants and expert reviewers

Federal contracting policy calls for appropriate clauses addressing the Conflict of Interest Act. A Department of National Defence internal audit of consulting contracts reports that selected consultants or professionals may be required to sign a declaration that they have no pecuniary interest in a third party that would affect their objectivity.

Expert engagements follow a similar pattern. For peer reviews of automated decision systems, departments are expected to assess disclosed conflicts before entering an agreement and to include a conflict-of-interest declaration in the reviewer's documented agreement, as the guide to peer review of automated decision systems explains.

What it means for a supplier bidding on Canadian public contracts

Read the solicitation and the resulting contract for any specific declaration form, representation, or conflict clause. Under the Code of Conduct for Procurement, a supplier should:

• identify and disclose relevant real, apparent, potential, or perceived conflicts;
• cover relevant subcontractors in the disclosure where required;
• give the disclosure to the contracting authority in writing;
• disclose new or changed conflicts immediately; and
• comply with any mitigation or remedial direction in the procurement documents or from the contracting authority.

Check your team's employees, subcontractors, and former public servants for relationships with the buyer before you submit, because the warranty is given with the bid itself.