Procurement

Heenan Blaikie’s Procurement group includes several former senior government officials, military officers and politicians who work with all levels of government (federal, provincial, territorial and municipal) to further the interests of our clients. We deal with all aspects of the government procurement process, including the preparation of bids and requests for proposals, negotiations with government departments such as Public Works and National Defence, and the preparation and implementation of procurement guidelines and standard bidding documents.

We represent a wide spectrum of clients, including:

• international and domestic suppliers and contractors
• federal and provincial government departments and agencies
• foreign governments
• municipalities
• international institutions
• non-profit organizations
• school boards
• health and social services entities
• lenders

Services Overview

Heenan Blaikie represents suppliers and public authorities in all facets of procurement, including:

• Government relations – lobbying public authorities on contracting matters; advising on rules relating to lobbyist registration and gift-giving and entertainment of public officials; intergovernmental relations; Competition Act and regulatory issues, including bid-rigging, supplier debarment, product regulation and security clearance issues
• Construction – bidding and tendering; drafting and negotiation of construction contracts; insurance coverage; national and international projects, including infrastructure and public-private partnerships; inspection and supervision claims; liens; engineering matters
• Procurement policies – development of procurement policies and standard bidding documents, training and compliance
• Green procurement – federal Policy on Green Procurement and comparable provincial policies; promotion of sustainable development; reduction of GHG emissions; energy and water efficiency; responsible environmental planning; waste management; reduction of toxic and hazardous substances; cost efficiencies of green products
• Information technologies – particularly e-procurement, including information requests, standards for e-submissions, document security, data evaluation, privacy and information management considerations, contract compliance and performance management
• Litigation – bid challenges, construction litigation, government contract disputes, procurement litigation, constitutional disputes, domestic and international trade disputes, defence of Competition Act bid-rigging and Criminal Code conspiracy charges
• Corporate and commercial – project finance, preparation and negotiation of contract documentation, corporate governance
• International trade agreements – trade agreement negotiation and implementation, compliance advice, counsel in the bid challenges before the Canadian International Trade Tribunal and the courts. Our expertise in these areas covers procurement in all sectors of activity from software and services to real property and military hardware