Contracting Authority Delegation

Contracting authority delegation is the formal assignment of authority to a person or organization to enter into, administer, amend, or sign contracts on behalf of the Crown or another public body. The person who receives that authority is the contracting authority. Treasury Board guidance defines a contracting authority as a person who has delegated authority to enter into a contract on behalf of a department or agency (Treasury Board).

In practice, a federal contract is not valid simply because a department wants the work done. It must be signed by someone who holds the delegated authority to commit the Crown, and that person must stay within the limits of the delegation. Canadian federal sources describe this concept under several related names, including delegation of procurement authority, delegated contracting authority, and Delegation of Authorities.

How contracting authority reaches a buyer

In Canada, contracts are entered into by His Majesty the King as represented by a minister. CanadaBuys states that the minister's contracting authority is delegated to buyers, who carry out the contracting process (CanadaBuys overview of delegation of procurement authority).

That authority is grounded in legislation. The Department of Public Works and Government Services Act, the Financial Administration Act, and a department's own enabling legislation all form part of the legal basis for federal contracting (Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada).

The delegation instrument and its limits

A department gives its procurement officers and program managers authority through a minister-approved Delegation of Authorities instrument. That instrument lets them enter into contracts and amend them, subject to specified limits (Public Services and Procurement Canada publication).

Limits are a core part of any delegation. Contracting limits are delegated by Treasury Board. Contracts made under exceptional authority must be signed by an appropriately classified procurement officer acting as the contracting authority (audit and procurement reference).

Contracting authority is also distinct from project authority or program authority. A program manager who owns the need does not gain the power to bind the Crown by owning that need.

Delegation inside supply arrangements and departmental agreements

Supply arrangements make delegation visible to suppliers. Under the Professional Audit Support Services supply arrangement, a client may award a contract only if it has legal authority to contract and stays within its delegated authority. Where a client lacks authority or exceeds its limits, PSPC manages the contract (Professional Audit Support Services supply arrangement).

The Solutions-Based Informatics Professional Services Supply Arrangement works the same way. Requirements above the stated Tier 1 threshold must be managed by PSPC or by a department that holds the necessary delegation (Solutions-Based Informatics Professional Services).

The DND and PSPC procurement responsibility matrix allocates procurement responsibilities between the two organizations. It states that it is not itself a delegation of PSPC's procurement authority, and it does not change the responsibilities of contracting authorities under the Treasury Board procurement directive (CanadaBuys on agreements with the Department of National Defence).

What it means for a supplier

Check who signs. A contract or amendment must be signed by an authorized representative of Canada before you start work. Supply arrangement terms state that suppliers may perform only contracts made by an authorized representative and within the applicable contract-authority value limitations.

Do not rely on a program contact's verbal direction to add scope or extend a contract. If a change takes the contract beyond the signer's limits, it needs a contracting authority with the right delegation, which may mean PSPC or another department with that authority. Confirm this in writing before you perform the work.