Ratification

Ratification is what happens when someone in your department makes a purchase or signs a contract without the proper authority—and now you need to make it legal after the fact. It's the government's way of fixing procurement mistakes. Here's the thing: you really don't want to be in a position where you need it. The process exists because errors happen, but it comes with scrutiny and potential consequences that can make your procurement life considerably more complicated.

How It Works

When a federal department commits funds or enters into a contract without proper contracting authority, the expenditure sits in legal limbo. The work might be done, the supplier might be expecting payment, but technically the government hasn't authorized anyone to make that commitment. That's where ratification comes in. According to the Government of Canada Supply Manual, the Treasury Board must formally approve these unauthorized commitments to make them valid and allow payment to proceed.

The ratification process typically starts when someone—often a finance officer or procurement specialist—discovers that a contract was signed by someone without proper delegation or that spending exceeded authorized limits. The department must then prepare a detailed submission explaining what happened, why it happened, and what controls are being put in place to prevent it from happening again. This submission goes up through your departmental hierarchy and eventually to Treasury Board for approval. In practice, this can take months, leaving suppliers waiting for payment and creating strained relationships.

Most ratification cases fall into a few common scenarios: an employee signs a contract thinking they have authority when they don't, someone exceeds their financial delegation limits, or a department continues a contract past its expiry date without proper extension. Each situation requires the same remedy, but the consequences vary depending on whether the error appears to be an honest mistake or a pattern of poor procurement discipline.

Key Considerations

• Prevention is everything: Training your staff on their actual delegation limits and ensuring proper contract management processes are in place will save you from the ratification headache. Review your delegations annually and make sure people know where their authority actually ends.

• Document immediately: If you discover an unauthorized commitment, start documenting everything right away. Treasury Board will want to know exactly what happened, when, and what you're doing about it.

• Suppliers still expect payment: Just because the government made an error doesn't mean suppliers should suffer financially. You'll need to manage supplier relationships carefully while the ratification works through the system—some wait six months or longer.

• Career implications exist: Repeated ratifications can signal management problems within a department and may affect performance evaluations for those responsible for procurement oversight.

Related Terms

Contracting Authority, Delegation of Authority, Financial Administration Act, Commitment of Funds

Sources

• Government of Canada Supply Manual - Official federal procurement policy and procedures

• Canada Buys - Procurement Portal - Federal government procurement information and opportunities

The best ratification is the one you never have to request. Make sure your team knows their limits and has the right processes in place before commitments are made, not after.