Special procurements

Special procurements are a Government of Canada procurement category for purchases that require special handling because the normal Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) procurement procedures do not apply. The category is described in the PWGSC Supply Manual, which sets out the procedures that federal buyers follow, and it covers a defined set of programs rather than a single type of purchase.

The term is a procurement-administration label, not an abbreviation. It appears in departmental guidance from PWGSC, now Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC), and CanadaBuys lists "Special procurements" as a category under what the government buys. Suppliers who see the label should treat it as a signal that the purchase follows its own rules.

What the Supply Manual says about special procurements

The Supply Manual states that a number of procurement programs require special handling. The 2005 edition of the manual makes this point directly, and the 2006 edition carries a chapter titled Special Procurements. That chapter identifies the procurements for which normal PWGSC procedures do not apply.

The defining feature is therefore the departure from standard procedure. A special procurement is not defined by the product bought or by its value. It is defined by the fact that something outside the usual PWGSC process, such as a Cabinet decision, a statute or a regulation, governs how the purchase is carried out.

Examples of special procurements

The 2006 Supply Manual lists several kinds of procurement within the category:

• Local procurements made by PWGSC offices abroad.
• Procurements of bulk foods and fertilizer made as tied aid to developing countries.
• Procurements subject to Cabinet, legislation or regulation, including the Small Arms Replacement Project, the Munitions Supply Program, Foreign Military Sales and shipbuilding.

The list mixes international aid, overseas purchasing and large defence programs. What they share is a governing instrument or program arrangement that replaces the ordinary procedures.

Defence programs, the Canadian Commercial Corporation and national-security exceptions

Defence features heavily in this category. CanadaBuys states that a memorandum of understanding with the Canadian Commercial Corporation specifies procedures for these special procurements involving the Department of National Defence. Defence-related purchases of this kind follow the arrangements in that agreement.

The earlier Supply Manual also addresses trade-agreement exclusions. It states that requests to invoke national-security exceptions, which exclude a procurement from the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement, NAFTA or the Agreement on Internal Trade, were normally submitted for approval regardless of dollar value. The details are in the 2005 edition.

How the Canadian term differs from NATO's Special Procurement

NATO uses a similar phrase with a different meaning. In NATO operational procurement guidance, Special Procurement means the procurement of complex or sensitive goods and services that support an operation, made in response to requests from the relevant operational headquarters. That is an alliance concept tied to operations. The Canadian category is a Government of Canada classification for purchases outside normal PWGSC procedures. Suppliers should not treat the two as interchangeable.

What special procurements mean for a supplier

A supplier should read the specific solicitation and contract terms rather than assume that ordinary competitive-procurement rules apply. Special procurements follow special procedures, so the path to a contract may run through a program office, the Canadian Commercial Corporation or another arrangement instead of an open tender. Check the category on CanadaBuys, identify the governing program or instrument named in the notice, and confirm the requirements that apply before committing bid resources.