Treasury Board Secretariat Risk Management Policy

The Treasury Board Secretariat Risk Management Policy refers to the former Government of Canada Risk Management Policy, administered by the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS). Its objective was to safeguard government property, interests and certain employee interests by identifying, assessing and reducing or eliminating risks, and by minimizing the costs and consequences of harmful incidents. The full text remains posted on the TBS policy page, where it is marked as rescinded on September 3, 2010.

The policy no longer sets requirements, but the term still turns up in federal references and in supplier research. The current federal approach is the Framework for the Management of Risk, which sets out broad risk-management principles and clarifies the roles and responsibilities of deputy heads and TBS. Suppliers who see the older title should read it as a reference to the earlier policy and look to the current framework and to the solicitation documents for what applies today.

What the former Risk Management Policy required

The former policy focused on protecting the government's own property and interests during its operations. It required departments to analyze and assess the risks they identified. Departments then had to put in place cost-effective controls to prevent, reduce or avoid those risks.

The policy also reflected a cost-minimizing approach. Its stated purpose included minimizing both the cost and the consequences of harmful incidents, not only preventing them. This made risk management a matter of departmental judgment about which controls were worth their price.

Rescission in 2010 and the Framework for the Management of Risk

The Risk Management Policy was rescinded on September 3, 2010. TBS's current risk-management page identifies the Framework for the Management of Risk as a key Treasury Board policy instrument that applies a principles-based approach to federal organizations.

According to the TBS Guide to Integrated Risk Management, the framework provides broad principles and clarifies the roles and responsibilities of deputy heads and TBS. It also informs other Treasury Board policy instruments, and some of those contain risk-management requirements specific to their subject matter. Risk management under this model involves deputy-head responsibility, departmental practices and TBS oversight.

Insurance and contractor risk in the former policy

The former policy spoke directly to contracting. It stated that contracting authorities should ensure contractors do not obtain insurance for risks that are clearly the government's responsibility. The one exception was where the responsibilities are so commingled that they cannot be distinguished.

It also said insurance requirements should generally be specified in tender documents and contracts when the work involves inherent, identifiable risks closely associated with the contract. The policy gave examples of such work:

• most construction contracts
• work performed to particular government specifications
• work involving extraordinary danger to the public
• work beyond the contractor's normal operations

How CanadaBuys describes the policy

The CanadaBuys buyer portal lists a "Risk management policy" on its policies and directives page. It describes the policy as a Treasury Board policy providing the framework for managing risks within the Government of Canada. In procurement, the term therefore works as a federal policy reference. It is not a supplier certification, a registration or a standard contract clause.

What it means for a supplier bidding on Canadian public contracts

A supplier does not bid against this policy. A supplier bids against the solicitation and the resulting contract. Where those documents contain insurance, indemnity, security, safety or other risk-control requirements, the supplier must meet them as written.

Because the Risk Management Policy was rescinded, its title alone is not an operative contractual requirement. Bid teams should read the insurance and liability provisions in each solicitation closely, especially for construction, work to government specifications, hazardous work and work outside the firm's usual operations. These are the categories the former policy tied to specified insurance. Questions about how a requirement applies should go to the contracting authority named in the solicitation.