Treasury Board Secretariat Delegated Purchasing Authorities

Treasury Board Secretariat delegated purchasing authorities are the contracting powers that the federal government passes down to departments, agencies and designated officials, within limits and policy set by Treasury Board. The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS) supports the Board in setting the procurement policy framework and the contracting limits that govern departmental buying (TBS briefing to the parliamentary committee).

In practice, these authorities answer a simple question: who is allowed to enter into this contract? Depending on its value and risk, a contract may be signed by a department under its minister's delegated authority, requisitioned through Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC), or sent to Treasury Board for approval. Related terms include contracting authority, procurement authority, contracting limits and delegation of authority.

How Treasury Board limits and ministerial delegation fit together

Contracting authority generally starts in the legislation that governs a department and in the minister's authority. The minister then delegates that authority to buyers and other officials who run the contracting process. Treasury Board sets the financial limits under the Financial Administration Act, and they are listed in Appendix A: Contracting Approvals of the Directive on the Management of Procurement (CanadaBuys overview of delegation of procurement authority).

The result is a layered system. Treasury Board sets the ceiling, the minister delegates within it, and individual officials hold signing authority for defined purposes.

Where PSPC and Shared Services Canada take over

PSPC is the government's central purchasing agent and common service provider (TBS horizontal internal audit of procurement governance). When a requirement exceeds a department's own authority, it must be requisitioned through PSPC or go forward as a Treasury Board submission (TBS compliance report). Shared Services Canada is also a common service provider for certain goods and services.

PSPC also holds specialized delegated authority. It can procure through the United States Foreign Military Sales program, which matters for some defence requirements (CanadaBuys: United States Foreign Military Sales).

Instruments covered by delegated signing authority

Delegated signing authority applies to the main procurement instruments: purchase orders, contracts and standing offers. It operates subject to the applicable contracting limits and any exceptional authorities (CanadaBuys: additional signing authorities). An official who can sign a purchase order may not hold authority to sign a larger contract or an amendment that lifts the total past a limit.

Risk-based approvals for non-competitive contracts

Delegation is not purely a matter of contract value. Under the Directive on the Management of Procurement, TBS concurrence is required before PSPC proceeds with certain non-competitive contracts and contractual arrangements classified as overall medium risk. High-risk and high-complexity proposals continue to require Treasury Board approval (Directive on the Management of Procurement, Appendix A).

What it means for a supplier bidding on Canadian public contracts

Suppliers do not register with or submit anything to TBS under this heading. You respond to the contracting authority named in the solicitation, such as PSPC or a departmental contracting organization, and that authority decides who can issue the solicitation, award the contract, sign amendments and approve the instrument.

• Read the solicitation to confirm which organization holds the contracting authority.
• Check the contract ceiling and the amendment procedures, since changes must stay within the authority of whoever signs.
• Note whether the buy runs through PSPC, Shared Services Canada, a standing offer, a supply arrangement or another authorized instrument.
• Expect longer timelines where a non-competitive award needs TBS concurrence or Treasury Board approval.

The term is Canadian. NATO uses "procurement authorities" for NATO or national bodies buying with NATO common funding, which is a separate framework (NATO procurement policy).