XPost: can.politics, ont.politics, ab.politics   
   XPost: bc.politics   
   From: {~_~}@nyet.ca   
      
   Ottawa Citizen - May 4, 2014   
      
      
   Auditor general readies report on relocation-contract mess   
      
      
   OTTAWA – Auditor General Michael Ferguson’s report this week into the   
   contracting process for a 2009 deal to relocate thousands of   
   bureaucrats, military and RCMP will the latest instalment in one of the   
   most complicated, investigated and longest-running procurement disputes   
   in decades.   
      
   The awarding of the 2009 contract was supposed to fix the controversy   
   and allegations of bid-rigging around two previous relocation contracts.   
   Instead, the deal ended up mired in accusations of unfairness.   
      
   The auditor general’s spokesperson, Ghislain Desjardins, said the office   
   regularly examines procurement issues and the 2009 contract was flagged   
   as an “area of higher risk and interest to Parliament and Canadians.”   
      
   The Integrated Relocation Program, developed by Treasury Board, costs   
   the government about $500 million a year to relocate employees – not   
   including moving costs, which are covered by another contract. The   
   government relocates between 15,000 and 20,000 federal employees a year,   
   with military moves accounting for about 85 per cent of those moves.   
      
   The relocation contract, dating back to 1999, is already one of the most   
   scrutinized deals in recent history.   
      
   The handling of 2002 and 2004 contracts has already cost the government   
   millions, after an Ontario Superior Court judge found bureaucrats rigged   
   the contracts to favour Royal LePage Relocation Services (RLRS) – now   
   Brookfield Global Relocation Services.   
   ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^   
   The court ordered the government to pay an unprecedented $40 million to   
   the losing bidder, Envoy Relocation Services. (Although the government   
   filed notice to appeal the decision, it has since reached a settlement   
   with Envoy for an undisclosed amount.)   
      
   In fact, then-auditor general Sheila Fraser delivered a bombshell report   
   that triggered the lawsuit. She found that the 2004 relocation bidding   
   process was unfair and used wrong business volumes that favoured   
   Brookfield.  Brookfield has held the contract since 1999.   
      
   Rather than cancel the 2004 contract, then-Public Works Minister Michael   
   Fortier promised to re-tender when the contract expired in 2009.  That   
   contract was supposed to fix all the problems and plug the contracting   
   weaknesses that had derailed the 2004 contract.   
      
   But Envoy President Bruce Atyeo argued the 2009 contract was also unfair   
   and stacked to rule out all competitors except RLRS.  He appealed to the   
   House of Commons’ public accounts committee to investigate the handling   
   of the 2009 contract and the government’s plans upon expiry.   
      
   Atyeo argued that Public Works and Government Services misled MPs in   
   2009 about bidder complaints that the tender call had impossibly tight   
   deadlines.  The winner would have had to start delivering the service so   
   quickly that no supplier other than RLRS could mount a credible bid.   
   Indeed, in the end, no firm other than winning bidder RLRS – now   
   Brookfield –  submitted a bid.   
   ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^   
      
   Documents obtained under Access to Information raised questions about   
   whether the government decided to proceed with a request for proposals   
   knowing it was unfair, effectively eliminating all competition other   
   than Brookfield. Memos showed senior bureaucrats were sounding the alarm   
   with politicians about delays in getting the RFP out that would affect   
   the fairness of the competition.   
      
   The auditor general’s office is now reviewing the 2009 contracts in two   
   parts. The first focuses on whether key players – Public Works, Treasury   
   Board Secretariat, National Defence and the RCMP – followed all the   
   contracting rules.   
      
   The second part, expected in the fall, will examine the delivery of   
   relocation services.   
      
   The studies come at a time when the program is up for review. The   
   military’s “final move” policy landed Lt.-Gen. Andrew Leslie in hot   
   water for claiming $72,000 in expenses by using a benefit that allows   
   all long-serving Canadian Forces members one final paid move when they   
   retire.   
      
   The existing contract expires this year and the government had   
   originally planned to issue an RFP in January, with a new contractor in   
   place by December. It’s unclear what’s behind the delay, but Public   
   Works and Government Services Canada said, “the government continues to   
   consider its business requirements and options, as a result of a number   
   of consultations with industry.”   
      
   By the numbers:   
      
   $2.45 billion: Estimate total value of relocation contracts over five years.   
      
   $500 million: Estimated total relocation costs per year.   
      
   Up to 20,000: Number of public servants, military and RCMP moved per year.   
      
   $30 million:  Annual administration fee the contractor charges government.   
      
   One: Number of bidders for the 2009 contract. The only bidder, and   
   winner of the contract, was  Brookfield Global Relocation Services.   
   Formerly known as Royal LePage Relocation Services, it has had the   
   contract for 14 years.   
   _________________________________________   
      
   "A million here . . .  a million there . . .  after a while it starts to   
   look like real money".   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)