Metals and Mining Database Services

1. 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.

2. Definition of the requirement

The Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (DIAND) has a requirement to provide the DIAND’s Library users with an access to a database containing detailed information on mining companies, projects, exploration activities, investments, emerging trends and markets, and other issues related to the Canadian and global mining sectors. This information is to be used by the Department to plan strategies and programs that would allow First Nation and Northern communities to fully exploit any economic development opportunities in this field.

The work will involve the following:

• Provide DIAND’s Departmental Library with an annual subscription to a database on Canadian and global mining industries that allows simultaneous Web access to at least 99 departmental employees.

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

Any interested supplier must demonstrate by way of a statement of capabilities that its product/equipment/system (as appropriate) meets the following requirements:

1) Provides current and historic data on the global and Canadian mining industries such as information on company and project profiles, claims, reserves and resources, drill results and financial information.

2) Provides an intelligence service on the global mining industry, that shall include an alert service for the most recent news in the mining industry.

3) Provides tools that allow users to easily compare data.

4) Provides a search engine that allows users to easily search operating and financial data on mining projects and companies.

5) Provides an interactive mapping tool that provides customized layered maps of claims and project data.

6) Provides a tool that allows users to build customized reports and to export them in Excel templates.

7) Is hosted on the Contractor’s server and is accessible through a Web access.

8) Allows simultaneous access to at least 99 departmental employees.

4. Applicability of the trade agreements 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)
• Canada-Panama
• Canada-Columbia
• Canada-Peru
• Canada-Chile

5. Justification for the Pre-Identified Supplier

The selected Contractor is the only one known that can provide the DIAND’s Library with a database that fulfils all the following requirements:

1) provides current and historic data on the global and Canadian mining industries such as information on company and project profiles, claims, reserves and resources, drill results and financial information;

2) provides an intelligence service on the global mining industry, that shall include an alert service for the most recent news in the mining industry;

3) provides tools that allow users to easily compare data;

4) provides a search engine that allows users to easily search operating and financial data on mining projects and companies;

5) provides an interactive mapping tool that provides customized layered maps of claims and project data;

6) provides a tool that allows users to build customized reports and to export them in Excel templates;

7) is hosted on the Contractor’s server and is accessible through a Web access;

8) allows simultaneous access to at least 99 departmental employees.

6.Government Contracts Regulations Exception

The following exception to the Government Contracts Regulations is invoked for this procurement under subsection 6(d) - only one person is capable of performing the work.

7. Exclusions and/or Limited Tendering Reasons

The following exclusion(s) and/or limited tendering reasons are invoked under the:

• North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) – Article 1016, 2(b) 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
• Canada-Columbia Free Trade Agreement (FTA) – Article 1409, 1(b) where the goods or services can be supplied only by a particular supplier and no reasonable alternative or substitute goods or services exist for any of the following reasons: (iii) due to an absence of competition for technical reasons;
• Canada-Panama Free Trade Agreement (CCFTA) – Article 16.10, 1(b) the procurement can be carried out only by a particular supplier and a reasonable alternative or substitute does not exist because (iii) of the absence of competition for technical reasons
• Canada-Chile Free Trade Agreement (CCFTA) – Article Kbis-09, 1(b) 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;
• Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT) – Article 506.12(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 XIII, 1 (b) where the goods or services can be supplied only by a particular supplier and no reasonable alternative or substitute goods or services exist for any of the following reasons: (iii) due to an absence of competition for technical reasons;
• Canada-Peru Free Trade Agreement – Article 1409, 1(b) where the goods or services can be supplied only by a particular supplier and no reasonable alternative or substitute goods or services exist for any of the following reasons: (iii) due to an absence of competition for technical reasons

8.Ownership of Intellectual Property

The Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development has determined that any intellectual property arising from the performance of the work under the contract will vest in the Contractor for the following reason: the databases are proprietary.

9.Period of the proposed contract or delivery date

The proposed contract is for a period of 2 years, from March 1, 2016 to February 28, 2018

10. Cost estimate of the proposed contract

The estimated value of the contract is $173 151 (GST/HST extra).

11. Name and address of the pre-identified supplier

SNL Financial ULC

1718 Argyle Street, Suite 300

Halifax, Nova Scotia B3J 3N6

12. 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.

13.Closing date for a submission of a statement of capabilities

The closing date and time for accepting statements of capabilities is

February 25,2016 2:00 pm

14. Inquiries and submission of statements of capabilities

Inquiries and statements of capabilities are to be directed to:

Sophie Champagne

Procurement Officer

10 Wellington, room 195

Gatineau, Quebec
819-934-1497
Sophie.Champagne@aandc-aadnc.gc.ca