Working with the Office of the Procurement Ombud

The Canadian International Trade Tribunal and the Office of the Procurement Ombud (OPO) work closely together to facilitate suppliers’ access to the organizations’ complaint review mechanisms. A memorandum of understanding governs this relationship and provides for continued cooperation between the Tribunal and OPO. 

Jurisdiction over procurement complaints

The Tribunal’s role in procurement review came about because of certain federal-provincial and international trade agreements. Later, Parliament created OPO to deal with matters that fall under the lowest dollar-value threshold amounts of the Canadian Free Trade Agreement. 

There are three threshold amounts: one for procurements concerning goods, one for procurements concerning services, and one for construction contracts. These amounts change every two years.

If you’re a Canadian supplier (i.e., you have a place of business in Canada), the Tribunal has jurisdiction over designated contracts beginning at $34,700 for goods, and $139,000 for services. OPO has jurisdiction for designated contracts below these amounts.

Filing a complaint with OPO does not mean that a complaint has been filed with the Tribunal and, vice versa, filing a complaint with the Tribunal does not mean that a complaint has been filed with OPO. That being said, both organizations work closely together and can coordinate their efforts to help suppliers identify the proper recourse mechanism.

Information transmitted to the Office of the Procurement Ombud

You can transmit information to OPO directly or we can do so for you.

In the procurement complaint form, if you consented to us transmitting to OPO certain information concerning your complaint, only the following information will be transmitted: 

  • your name, title, company affiliation (if any) and contact information; 
  • the solicitation or contract number relating to the complaint; 
  • the dollar value of the solicitation or contract; 
  • whether a contract has been awarded; and
  • a public summary of the grounds of your complaint against the relevant government institution.

Someone from OPO will contact you within one business day after receiving the information from the Tribunal, but you can contact OPO to follow up as well.

Deadlines for filing your complaint

There are strict deadlines for filing a complaint with the Tribunal or OPO. If you miss them, neither organization can respond to your complaint.

Getting help

OPO has intake officers and the Tribunal has registry officers who are available to guide you. They do not give legal advice and they are not decision makers. They can explain the process and help you make sure that your file contains all the information you’re required to provide by law.

Often, they’ll ask you to explain your situation in writing or to fill out certain parts of the complaint form that you may have missed. They may also ask you to provide various documents that you didn’t think about sharing but that you’ve referred to in conversation, or in other documents that you’ve already provided.

If you require help, you can contact the Registry of the Tribunal by telephone at 613 993 3595 or by email at citt-tcce@tribunal.gc.ca, or OPO by telephone at 1 866 734 5169 or by email at ombudsman@opo-boa.gc.ca.

Processing your case

Your file will be examined by OPO and a formal review of your complaint will be launched if it falls under the legislative mandate of the Procurement Ombud. 

If it concerns the Tribunal, it will be examined by the Tribunal’s Chairperson or one of its members.