The Corporate Management Branch of the Office of the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner of Canada (the “PSIC”), represented by the Commissioner (the “Commissioner”) has a requirement for Legal Agents (“Legal Agents”) to complement the work of the PSIC Legal Services.
These Legal Agents may be asked to provide independent legal advice and/or litigation services to the Commission when internal resources are unable due to timelines, resources, expertise, or where there may be a conflict of interest.
Establishing a list of potential Legal Agents will also permit the PSIC to ensure fairness and equality in the procurement process.
Services Sought
To carry out the mandate of the PSIC, it relies on in-house counsel with occasional assistance from private sector lawyers, referred to as Legal Agents, who are retained to provide services for a definite period of time. The majority of legal work will take place in the National Capital Region.
Requested legal services shall relate to one or more of the following areas of law, all within the context of the federal public service:
- Administrative law;
- Litigation expertise and experience before the Federal Court of Canada;
- Human resources and Labour relations;
- Proceedings before the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Tribunal;
- Values and Ethics; and,
- Commission governance and Crown Liability.
The work may also include legal proceedings in which the Commission is a party and/or which engages the interests of the Commission. Any required litigation services will be in support of one of the foregoing areas of law. All services shall be subject to solicitor-client privilege.
Generally, the following types of activities are considered to be “legal services”:
- Provision of legal advice and opinions;
- Conduct of litigation and related work;
- Negotiations; and
- Drafting of other legal documents such as contracts, agreements, etc.
The PSIC determines the scope of any legal mandate to be conferred and reviews any legal services provided to ensure that it meets the requirements of the PSIC
