SERCO FACILITIES MANAGEMENT INC.
Determinations
SERCO FACILITIES MANAGEMENT INC.
File No. PR-2007-030
TABLE OF CONTENTS
BY FACSIMILE
August 14, 2007
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| Subject: |
Solicitation Nos. GB-18826 and GB-18829 |
The Canadian International Trade Tribunal (the Tribunal) (Meriel V. M. Bradford, Presiding Member) has reviewed the complaint submitted by Serco Facilities Management Inc. (Serco) on August 13, 2007, and has decided that the complaint is premature. Therefore, the Tribunal will not initiate an inquiry into the complaint.
Subsection 6(2) of the Canadian International Trade Tribunal Procurement Inquiry Regulations (the Regulations) provides that a potential supplier who has made an objection to the relevant government institution within 10 working days after the day on which the basis of the objection became known or reasonably should have become known to the potential supplier may file a complaint with the Tribunal “. . . within 10 working days after the day on which the potential supplier has actual or constructive knowledge . . .” of a denial of relief by the government institution.
Serco alleged that Defence Construction Canada (DCC) improperly disqualified its tenders in regard to the subject solicitations. According to the complaint, on July 27, 2007, DCC informed Serco of the reasons for the disqualification of its tenders. By way of a letter dated July 31, 2007, Serco objected to DCC’s decision. Serco provided the Tribunal with no further correspondence indicating a response from DCC.
The Tribunal finds therefore that Serco has not yet received a denial of relief, as contemplated by subsection 6(2) of the Regulations, as DCC has yet to respond to the objection, and that, therefore, the complaint is premature. The Tribunal’s decision at this time does not preclude any future complaint by Serco if DCC responds to its objection or if DCC fails to do so within a reasonable period of time, which, in the Tribunal’s opinion, would be by September 4, 2007.
If Serco wishes to file a new complaint, it must do so within 10 working days after it receives actual denial of relief by DCC. However, if its objection is not addressed by September 4, 2007, Serco may assume denial of relief and, therefore, any complaint must be filed within 10 working days of that date, i.e. no later than Tuesday, September 18, 2007. In either circumstance, Serco may request that the documentation already on file with the Tribunal be joined to the new complaint.
Subsection 30.11(2) of the Canadian International Trade Tribunal Act (CITT Act) requires that a complaint include, among other things, a clear and detailed statement of the substantive and factual grounds of the complaint, all information and documents relevant to the complaint that are in the complainant’s possession and the form of relief being sought. In order to ensure that any future complaints comply with subsection 30.11(2), you should provide any future correspondence between Serco and DCC, as well as the following information:
• All tender documents relating to the solicitations, including copies of:
- Form DCL 193 (R-03-99), Instructions to Tenderers
- Form DCL 32 (R-01-97), General Conditions “C”
- Form DCL 244 (R-01-97), Supplementary Conditions
• A copy of the Department of Public Works and Government Services contract with Serco, referenced by DCC in its letter of July 27, 2007.
If the complaint contains information that you wish to be kept confidential, you should consult subsection 46(1) of the CITT Act and rule 15 of the Canadian International Trade Tribunal Rules and proceed accordingly.
For guidance in fulfilling the requirements for filing a complaint, you may wish to refer to the Tribunal’s guide entitled “Procurement Review Process:— A Descriptive Guide” that can be found on the Tribunal’s Web site at http://www.citt-tcce.gc.ca/publicat/index_e.asp#6.
Please note that you are to file an original and eight copies of the requested information.
If you have any questions concerning this letter, please contact the undersigned at 613-993-3595.
Yours sincerely,
Susanne Grimes
Acting Secretary