Policy Notification (PN)

A Policy Notification, abbreviated PN, is a procurement instrument used by Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) to communicate and implement new or amended procurement policies, procedures, clauses or conditions. It carries them into practice on an interim basis, before they are written into the applicable manuals. PSPC was historically known as Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC), and older notifications use that name.

Policy Notifications are issued within the PSPC Acquisitions Program and are directed mainly to contracting officers. They change what appears in solicitation and contract documents. Suppliers see the effect of a PN in the clauses, specifications and certifications attached to a bid, standing offer, supply arrangement or contract, rather than in the notification itself.

How a Policy Notification fits with the SACC Manual and Supply Manual

A PN is an interim implementation notice. Its content is intended to be incorporated later into the Standard Acquisition Clauses and Conditions (SACC) Manual or the Supply Manual. Until that happens, the PN is the authority contracting officers follow when they draft solicitations and contracts. Federal archives of PSPC public accounts material describe this role, including the PSPC procurement policy documentation.

Current notifications are published on CanadaBuys, which keeps a Policy Notifications section where individual PNs can be read in full.

Policy Notifications in use: PN-158, PN-150U1, PN-132 and PN-48R2

Four notifications show the range of subjects a PN can cover.

• PN-158, environmentally preferable packaging. PSPC states that PN-158 informs Acquisitions Program contracting officers of packaging obligations. It requires the applicable environmental packaging specifications to be included in solicitations and contracts for goods that need packaging. It is effective immediately. Under it, suppliers may be required to use reusable, returnable or recyclable packaging, minimize single-use plastics, make sure recyclable packaging is accepted at the delivery location, and take back packaging that cannot be reused or recycled at no additional cost to Canada. The CanadaBuys announcement sets out these terms, subject to stated exceptions.
• PN-150U1, anti-forced-labour requirements. This notification informed PWGSC contracting officers of expanded anti-forced-labour requirements. It introduced seven new Standing Offer clauses and four new Supply Arrangement clauses. See PN-150U1.
• PN-132, ethical procurement of apparel. The Public Service Commission reported that PSPC inserted clause A3006T, Ethical procurement certification, into Clothing, Individual Equipment and Insignia Standing Offers (N84) under this notification.
• PN-48R2, official languages and contracting. This notification updated Acquisitions Program requirements under the Official Languages Act. It states that procurement notices and related tender documents published online must be available in both official languages. The text is in the PN-48R2 amendment.

How PN clauses reach other federal departments

A PN issued by PSPC does not stay inside PSPC. Other federal entities use PSPC standing offers and supply arrangements, so the clauses that came from a PN carry into their contracts. Federal departments reporting under the Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act state that contracts for goods resulting from PSPC standing offers and supply arrangements include forced-labour clauses derived from PN-150. The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat report is one example.

What a Policy Notification means for a supplier

A supplier does not apply for a Policy Notification. The supplier complies with the requirements and clauses that the contracting authority places in the solicitation, standing offer, supply arrangement or contract. Depending on the PN, that can mean:

• meeting packaging requirements;
• providing certifications, such as an ethical-procurement certification;
• accepting anti-forced-labour representations, warranties, audit-related requirements or termination consequences;
• following technical, language or documentation requirements stated in the bid documents or resulting contract.

The obligation is set by the PN-derived clause or specification in the procurement document, not by the existence of the PN alone. Bid teams should read each solicitation for clauses that originate in a PN, and check the Policy Notifications section of CanadaBuys when a clause references one.