Veterans Outreach/Visitation

Trade Agreement: Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT)
Tendering Procedures: Generally only one firm has been invited
to bid
Attachment: None
Competitive Procurement Strategy: Lowest/Lower Bid
Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement: No
Nature of Requirements:
ACAN - VETERANS OUTREACH/VISITATION

51019-138003/A
MacNeil, Blaine A.
Telephone No. - (902) 496-5180
Fax No. - (902) 496-5016

Advance Contract Award Notice (ACAN)

An ACAN is a public notice indicating to the supplier community
that a department or agency intends to award a contract for
goods, services or construction to a pre-identified supplier,
thereby allowing other suppliers to signal their interest in
bidding, by submitting a statement of capabilities. If no
supplier submits a statement of capabilities that meets the
requirements set out in the ACAN, on or before the closing date
stated in the ACAN, the contracting officer may then proceed
with the award to the pre-identified supplier.

Requirement:

The Department of Veterans Affairs has a requirement to provide
nation-wide visitation services with Veterans, providing them
with an opportunity to have a conversation and social visit with
a volunteer allowing them to raise concerns or identify needs
that might be addressed by Veterans Affairs.

The proposed Contractor will be responsible for the following
activities:

Recruit, select, and maintain a supply of volunteers to visit up
to 4,000 Veterans in facilities across Canada by the end of the
first year of the contract.

Train qualified volunteers who have a driver's license and are
willing to travel to long term care facilities to conduct
face-to-face visits with Veterans in the Veteran's official
language of choice.
The Proposed Contractor is required to ensure volunteers with
proper language requirements are available.

Ensure volunteers complete the Veteran Outreach and Visitation
Report for each Veteran visited.

Review Veteran Outreach and Visitation Reports from volunteers.

Provide the Department with a monthly invoice identifying the
number of Veteran visits performed by the volunteers.

Ensure all Veteran Outreach and Visitation Reports are returned
to the Department for tracking.

Volunteers will be responsible for providing the Proposed
Contractor with the following:

Veteran Outreach and Visitation Reports for each Veteran visited.

The Proposed Contractor will be responsible for providing the
volunteers with the following:

Payment according to receipts/travel expense reports received.

Department will be responsible for providing the Proposed
Contractor with the following:

Payment according to the invoices submitted by the Proposed
Contractor.

Requirements (Security, Information Management, Privacy and
Other)

Veterans' contact information provided for this initiative must
not be used for any other projects
or for adding names to the Proposed Contractor databases.

All volunteers are required to obtain Reliability Status in
accordance with the Government
Security Policy prior to conducting visits.

Handling of Personal Information

Veterans Affairs Canada is bound by the Privacy Act with respect
to the protection of personal information as defined in the Act.
The Proposed Contractor must keep private and confidential any
such personal information collected, created or handled by the
Proposed Contractor under the contract, and must not collect,
use, copy, disclose, dispose of or destroy such personal
information except in accordance with the Privacy Act and the
delivery provisions of the contract.

All personal information is under the control of Veterans
Affairs Canada, and the Proposed Contractor and volunteers have
no right in or to that information. The Proposed Contractor must
deliver to the Department all such personal information in
whatever form, including all working papers, notes, memoranda,
reports, data in machine-readable format or otherwise, and
documentation which have been made or obtained in relation to
the contract, within 30 days of the completion or termination of
the contract, or at such earlier time as the Department may
request. Upon delivery of the personal information to the
Department, the Proposed Contractor will have no right to retain
that information in any form and must ensure that no record of
the personal information remains in the Proposed Contractor's
possession. Volunteers will not record, collect, copy, disclose
any Veteran personal information. All reports will be prepared
by hand.

Requests for Information

Should the Proposed Contractor receive a request for information
from a third party, including but not limited to any of the long
term care facilities where Veterans were visited, relating to
information in their custody for the purposes of this contract,
the Proposed Contractor will advise the Department. Following
consultation with a departmental access to information and
privacy office, the Department will provide the Proposed
Contractor with guidance and direction on handling the request.

Collection of Personal Information

Personal information collected about clients by the Proposed
Contractor for the provision of services covered by the contract
shall be collected in accordance with the following requirements.

The Proposed Contractor shall agree to work with the Department
to determine the personal information elements that will be
collected to fulfill the requirements of the contract, and to
develop the notification statement that will be used when
collecting personal information from clients.

Notification of Non-Compliance or Breach of Privacy and Security

The Proposed Contractor shall notify, in writing, Veterans
Affairs Canada and the Contracting Authority immediately of any
reason it does not comply with the Privacy and Security
provisions of the Contract in any respect. The Proposed
Contractor shall promptly notify the Department of the
particulars of the non-compliance and what steps it proposes to
take to address, or prevent recurrence of the non-compliance.

The Proposed Contractor shall work with the Departments to
achieve resolution and compliance with Government of Canada
privacy and security requirements.

Training

The Proposed Contractor will be required to provide volunteers
with training on how to conduct visits with Veterans and
requirements as outlined in this contract.

Justification for Intended Supplier

The Proposed Contractor is well qualified to meet the
requirements of this outreach and visitation initiative with
Veterans receiving departmental support for long term care. The
Royal Canadian Legion Dominion Command is well positioned as a
national entity to administer a program of this size and scope
with reliable, screened and trained volunteers. The existing
and well established relationship between the Department and the
Proposed Contractor, coupled with the Proposed Contractor's
network of in excess of 150 volunteers with previous experience
in visiting Veterans in long term care facilities, will ensure
an efficient and cost effective approach to this one year
contract.

Criteria for assessment of the Statement of Capabilities
(Minimum Essential Requirements)

Any interested supplier must demonstrate by way of a statement
of capabilities that it meets the following requirements:

Given the advanced age and frailty of residents in long term
care, extensive previous experience with direct communication
with residents in long term care facilities is required.

Applicability of the trade agreement(s) to the procurement

This procurement is subject to the following trade agreements:

Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT)
World Trade Organization - Agreement on Government
Procurement (WTO-AGP)
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)

Justification for the Pre-Identified Supplier

The following exclusion(s) and/or limited tendering reasons are
invoked under the (section of the trade agreement(s) specified):

Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT) - Article 506 para 12(b) where
there is an absence of competition for technical reasons and the
goods or services can be supplied only by a particular supplier
and no alternative or substitute exists.

World Trade Organization - Agreement on Government Procurement
(WTO-AGP) - Article XV 1(b)

North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) - Article 1016(b)
and WTO-AGP Article XV 1(b): where, for works of art, or for
reasons connected with the protection of patents, copyrights or
other exclusive rights, or proprietary information or where
there is an absence of competition for technical reasons, the
goods or services can be supplied only by a particular supplier
and no reasonable alternative or substitute exists;

Period of the proposed contract or delivery date

The proposed period of the contract is from August 1, 2013 to
July 31, 2014 with one option year.

Estimated Award Value:

The estimated value of the contract, including option year, is
$240,000.00 (GST/HST extra).

Name and address of the pre-identified supplier:

Royal Canadian Legion
86 Aird Place, Ottawa, ON K2L 0A1
Veteran Outreach and Visitation Report

Suppliers' right to submit a statement of capabilities

Suppliers who consider themselves fully qualified and available
to provide the goods, services or construction services
described in the ACAN may submit a statement of capabilities in
writing to the contact person identified in this notice on or
before the closing date of this notice. The statement of
capabilities must clearly demonstrate how the supplier meets the
advertised requirements.

Closing date for a submission of a statement of capabilities:

The closing date and time for accepting a statement of
capabilities is: TBD.

Inquiries and statements of capabilities are to be directed to:

Blaine MacNeil
Supply Specialist
Atlantic Region Acquisitions
Public Works and Government Services Canada
Telephone: 902.496.5180
Facsimile: 902.496.5016
b••••••••@•••••.••.ca
1713 Bedford Row, Halifax, NS B3J 3C9
Government of Canada

Delivery Date: Above-mentioned

The Crown retains the right to negotiate with suppliers on any
procurement.

Documents may be submitted in either official language of Canada.