Ineligibility and Suspension Policy

The Ineligibility and Suspension Policy is the Government of Canada policy that sets out when and how a supplier may be declared ineligible or suspended from doing business with the Government of Canada. It is the core instrument of the federal supplier-integrity regime and is administered by the Office of Supplier Integrity and Compliance (OSIC) at Public Services and Procurement Canada. The supplier integrity and compliance page describes the policy in these terms.

The policy identifies offences and other material events that affect a supplier's eligibility. It reaches suppliers through standard policy clauses placed in solicitations, resulting contracts and real-property agreements, so a bidder meets it in the bid documents themselves. The about page for the integrity regime confirms that it applies across all three.

OSIC's role in administering the policy

OSIC is the PSPC office responsible for administering the policy. Its work includes the integrity-verification process that federal buyers must complete before a contract or real-property agreement subject to the policy is awarded. PSPC's 2025-2026 transparency reporting on addressing misconduct and wrongdoing states that contracting and real-property officers submit an integrity-verification request to OSIC before award.

PSPC also published a notice on the coming into force of the Office of Supplier Integrity and Compliance in May 2024.

Which version of the policy applies

The current policy took effect on May 31, 2024. It replaced the earlier version that applied to contracts entered into from April 4, 2016, to May 30, 2024. PSPC keeps the current text and the earlier text on separate pages, including the current Ineligibility and Suspension Policy and the 2016 version of the policy. The policy and directives page lists the instruments together.

How the policy enters solicitations and contracts

Departments and agencies that apply the policy add it by reference through policy clauses. For procurement, the clauses for procurement contracts provide that the policy and directives in force on the solicitation date form a binding part of the solicitation. Suppliers must acknowledge that they have read and understood the policy.

The policy also appears in real-property transactions, including invitations to offer, leases and the resulting agreements. PSPC publishes clauses for real-property transactions and a matching page on integrity provisions in real-property transactions. The full set is collected on the ineligibility and suspension clauses page.

Public Interest Exceptions and Administrative Agreements

The policy provides mechanisms for cases where a supplier might otherwise be ineligible. These include Public Interest Exceptions and Administrative Agreements. CanadaBuys lists both among the elements federal buyers consider at contract award. PSPC describes related processes on its administrative actions page.

What it means for a supplier bidding on Canadian public contracts

• Read the policy version cited in each solicitation. The version in force on the solicitation date is binding.
• Acknowledge the policy as the solicitation requires, since suppliers must confirm they have read and understood it.
• Expect an integrity-verification check by OSIC before award of a contract or real-property agreement that is subject to the policy.
• Respond to any integrity-verification or administrative process the policy requires.
• Keep the same obligations in mind for real-property bids, because the policy applies to leases and invitations to offer as well as to procurement contracts.