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Ontario procurement needs to open up: Cardus report

September 23, 2014

Governments in Ontario are spending hundreds of millions of dollars more each year for the construction of infrastructure due to closed procurement practices, according to a Hamilton, Ont.-based think tank. "The idea is very simple. Reducing competition, in any circumstance, drives the price up and reduces the pool of bidders," said Stephen Bauld, a procurement expert and president of Purchasing Consultants International Inc. "If this trend continues, which only allows the very select few to bid on projects, it will be the beginning of the end for the small and medium-sized contractor." Bauld co-authored a report recently released by Cardus, which concludes that changing the public procurement process could save between $188 million and $283 million on the construction of infrastructure. The paper, Hiding in Plain Sight: The Need for Fairness and Fiscal Responsibility in Construction Procurement, examines restriction that are imposed on the public procurement process, by the Ontario Labour Relations Act. In particular, a section of the Ontario Labour Relations Act which requires large municipalities, including Toronto, Hamilton, Sault Ste. Marie, and the Region of Waterloo to be certified as "construction employers" was examined. Read the rest of this article the Daily Commercial News website.