Office of Supplier Integrity and Compliance (OSIC)

The Office of Supplier Integrity and Compliance (OSIC) is an office within Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC). It administers the Government of Canada's Ineligibility and Suspension Policy, which determines how and when a supplier may be suspended or declared ineligible to do business with the federal government. PSPC sets this out on its supplier integrity and compliance page.

PSPC describes the office as helping foster ethical business practices, ensuring due process for suppliers and upholding public trust in federal procurement. In practice, OSIC is the central body that decides whether a supplier's conduct affects its eligibility for federal contracts. Its about page explains its role.

What the Ineligibility and Suspension Policy covers

The policy is the rulebook OSIC administers. It sets out the circumstances in which a supplier may be suspended or declared ineligible. A supplier that is suspended or ineligible cannot do business with the Government of Canada while that status applies.

The policy is a revised version of the federal framework that came before it. It modernized the federal suspension and debarment approach and expanded the misconduct and offences that may affect a supplier's eligibility. A supplier may be suspended or declared ineligible if it is captured by the policy's listed offences or other material events, so suppliers should read the policy text itself and not rely on summaries.

How OSIC replaced the Integrity Regime

PSPC launched OSIC on May 31, 2024. It replaced and built on the former Integrity Regime, as PSPC explained in its briefing materials for the Standing Committee on Public Accounts.

The Integrity Regime was a government-wide, policy-based debarment system. It covered federal contracts and real-property transactions. OSIC and the Ineligibility and Suspension Policy continue that purpose, and the framework also applies in the context of federal real-property agreements and transactions.

• Before: the Integrity Regime, a policy-based debarment system for federal contracts and real-property transactions.
• Since May 31, 2024: OSIC administering the Ineligibility and Suspension Policy.

How OSIC works with other federal departments

OSIC administers the policy centrally, but the policy is not limited to PSPC's own contracts. It is applied through memoranda of understanding between PSPC and other federal institutions. This means a supplier dealing with another department or agency may still be subject to the same integrity framework.

Federal officials also feed matters into the office. Officials who identify founded supplier misconduct in a procurement process, or involving a supplier, may refer the matter to OSIC. PSPC reports on this activity in its 2024-2025 report on addressing misconduct and wrongdoing.

What OSIC means for suppliers bidding on federal contracts

Eligibility is a condition of doing business with the Government of Canada, and OSIC is the office that administers it. Bid teams should treat integrity as part of bid readiness, not as an afterthought.

• Meet the applicable eligibility requirements for each federal procurement process.
• Provide the information needed for integrity verification when a procurement process or policy requires it.
• Understand which offences and events the Ineligibility and Suspension Policy lists, because they can lead to suspension or ineligibility.
• Expect that the policy applies across federal institutions, not only PSPC, because of the memoranda of understanding.
• Keep in mind that the framework also reaches federal real-property transactions.

Suppliers also have due process under the framework. PSPC lists ensuring due process for suppliers as part of the office's purpose. Suppliers with questions about their own status can use the contact details on the OSIC contact page.