4000-2-1 Purchasing

Policy

1. Purchasing processes shall be consistent with the Broader Public Sector (BPS) Procurement Directive issued by the Management Board of Cabinet and the Centralization and Building Ontario Businesses Initiative effective April 1, 2024.
2. To ensure compliance with government requirements and demonstrate accountability for public funds, the Purchasing department is the only department authorized to issue, amend or cancel a purchase order.
3. All purchases shall normally follow the approval authority schedule as set out in the Delegation of Signing Authority for Expenditures (4000-1-6) policy, which identifies approval limits and authorities.
4. Notwithstanding the above statements, exceptions to this policy (such as sole sourcing) may be permitted through the approval of the Senior Vice-President, Strategy & Corporate Services.
5. Managers shall adhere to purchasing process requirements and consult with the appropriate College department as described in Appendix 3.
6. Lambton College acquires goods and services that benefit College operations. The College will not purchase goods or services for the personal use of employees.

Roles and Responsibilities

1. The Procurement Specialist - Finance is responsible for the integrity and transparency of the purchasing process.
2. The Manager is responsible and accountable for the purchasing decisions made in their area of responsibility, observation of authorization limits, the assessment of a supplier's performance and the management of the contract associated with the purchase.
3. An electronic copy of the final contract supporting a purchase must be sent by the Manager to the Purchasing department.
4. The Manager may delegate purchasing authority within the limits defined in the Delegation of Signing Authority for Expenditure (4000-1-6) policy.
5. The Requisitioner is responsible for complying with this policy and following the purchasing procedures communicated by the Purchasing department.

Fairness and Transparency

1. All College purchases shall follow fair practices, free of any conflicts of interest.
2. Purchases shall not be artificially partitioned to avoid appropriate purchasing procedures.
3. All purchase decisions exceeding a transaction value of $121,200 shall be vetted by a selection committee using written selection criteria. 
4. It is the responsibility of the Manager to obtain and document the verbal or written quotes they require. Appropriate documentation to support verbal quotes is especially important. The quotes must be current. 
5. When an attempt to solicit a minimum number of quotes has not been successful, the Requisitioner should record the attempt and the reason for failing to achieve the required number of quotations.
6. Prices obtained from suppliers or potential suppliers are intended for College use only. Pricing information shall be kept confidential. 
7. College employees shall avoid any conflict of interest or the appearance of a conflict of interest in any purchasing solicitation or decision. 

Blanket Purchase Orders

1. Blanket Purchase Orders may be used for high volume purchases of similar types of goods or services from a single supplier during the course of a fiscal year.
2. Blanket Purchase Orders may not exceed one fiscal year and must follow the standards set out in Appendix 1.

Specific Goods or Services

1. All purchases involving lease arrangements must be approved by the Senior Vice-President, Strategy & Corporate Services, who will assess the appropriateness of the lease.
2. All electrical devices shall have evidence of approval by the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) or equivalent.

Safety Data Sheets

1. It is the responsibility of the requisitioner to determine if the product being ordered is defined as hazardous materials as a Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS) controlled substance.
2. Health and Safety must be notified if hazardous materials are brought on campus. All hazardous materials must have a current Safety Data Sheet (SDS) and must clearly note the product name on the packaging. If an SDS is required, it must be noted on the purchase requisition by the requisitioner.
3. The requistioning department must have appropriate storage facilities available, prior to receiving a hazardous material in the receiving department.
4. When completing the purchase requistion, the requistioning department is required to fill out the section on the form requiring details of the material being purchased. The department is required to send a copy to Health and Safety for notification when completing the requisition.

Consulting Services

1. All consulting service contracts must follow and fulfill the standards set out in Appendix 1B before the commencement of services.
2. A Consulting service contract shall contain clear terms of reference, and reimbursement of expenses shall be limited to those specified in the contract.

Application

1. All new in-scope purchases must comply with the Centralization and Building Ontario Businesses Initiative. All in-scope purchases apply to:
   1. New procurements of goods and services (consulting and non-consulting) valued at $121,200 or higher.
2. This requirement does not apply to out-of-scope/excluded procurements, which are as follows:
   1. Construction work including any consulting services are included in the procurement of construction work.
   2. Good and services procured for commercial resale or used in production of a good or service intended for commercial sale or resale.

Procurements

1. Vendor of Record Arrangements (VOR) must be used whenever possible and appropriate, regardless of the value of the procurement. A Vendor of Record arrangement could be an Enterprise Vendor of Record arrangement managed by Supply Ontario, or any other arrangement available to the organization.
2. Any new contract, including any extensions, must not exceed two years.
3. If a VOR arrangement is not available and/or the contract is unable to be restricted to two years, a Procurement Rationale Report must be submitted to the funding ministry 45 calendar days before the procurement is released to the vendor community. Note that the submission of the form does not change the authority to proceed with the procurement.

Building Ontario Businesses Initiative (BOBI)

1. For procurements below monetary thresholds in domestic trade agreements ($121,200) preference must be given to Ontario businesses where feasible. Refer to Appendix 2 for the definition of an Ontario business.
2. Procurements below monetary thresholds in applicable international trade agreements ($353,300) and above the threshold of $121,200, preference must be given to Canadian businesses where feasible. Refer to Appendix 2 for the definition of a Canadian business.
3. For Procurements above monetary thresholds in applicable international trade agreements ($353,300), the following strategies must be used:
   1. Give preference to Ontario businesses and businesses of Ontario's trading partners.
   2. Apply weighted domestic criteria in procurement evaluations.

Request for Proposals (RFP) and Request for Quotes (RFQ)

1. If open procurement is required, all RFPs and RFQs must be consistent with the requirements of the Broader Public Sector Procurement Directive with specific attention to the following:

Posting Competitive Procurement Documents

1. Calls for open competitive procurements must be made through an electronic tendering system that is readily accessible by all Canadian suppliers.
2. All RFP and RFQ must be posted in such a way that they are accessible to everyone and must comply with the AODA regulations.

Timelines for Posting Competitive Procurements

1. Procurement opportunities for good or services valued between $121,200 and $353,300 must be posted for a minimum of 15 calendar days. For procurements of high complexity, risk and/or dollar value and subject to trade agreements, a minimum posting of 30 calendar days should be considered.
2. Consulting services must be competitively procured irrespective of value.  Exemptions must be in accordance with the applicable trade agreements, Broader Public Sector Procurement Directive and the Centralization and Building Ontario Businesses Initiative.

Accessibility of Ontarians with Disabilities Act 2005 (AODA)

When considering a good or service for purchase, Lambton College will include in the consideration the effectiveness of the item in addressing the accessibility needs of Ontarians with disabilities.