Lineman’s Services for the maintenance and repair of the Rapid Lake (aka Barriere Lake) electrical distribution network

Advance Contract Award Notice (ACAN)

An ACAN is a public notice informing the supplier community that a department or agency intends to award a contract for goods, services or construction to a pre-selected supplier, which allows 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, no later than the closing date indicated in the ACAN, the contracting officer may proceed to award the contract to the selected supplier at advance.

Definition of Requirement

Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) requires the provision of Lineman’s Services for the maintenance and repair of the Rapid Lake (aka Barriere Lake) electrical distribution network.

Specifications of the Rapid Lake electrical distribution network:

• Electricity distribution network of about three (3) km mounted on wooden poles, some sections are three-phase and others single-phase at a voltage of 2400/4160 volts and isolated at 25 kV.

• About twenty voltage transformers on the network (120/240 volts and 347/600 volts).

• A substation (347/600 volts to 2400/4160 volts).

Lineman’s work will require the following:

• The supply of all materials, labor, tools and equipment necessary for maintenance and repair on the Rapid Lake electrical distribution network;

• Respond to a request for maintenance or repair work within 6 hours of the verbal request from the ISC representative or on any other date mentioned by the latter;

• Unless otherwise indicated, use new materials and spare parts suitable for the use for which they are intended and match the existing materials and equipment. Replaced spare parts may be requested by the ISC representative.

• Replace, within a reasonable period of about one (1) month, the spare parts stored on the premises that were used for the work;

• Install materials, spare parts and equipment according to manufacturers' instructions;

• Carry out the work according to the best recognized methods and the standards in force in the province of Quebec for the required trades (Lineman);

• Replace, at ISC's request, any personnel who do not meet the requirements of the Province of Quebec for the lineman trade.

• Provide the operator of the Rapid Lake power station with the manufacturer's warranty certificates for materials or spare parts, if applicable;

• Guarantee the quality of the workforce against any defect in execution for a minimum period of thirty (30) days from the date of final invoicing.

• Any service calls required for a labor warranty repair within thirty (30) days of the final invoice date will be at the Contractor's expense.

• Requests and acceptances of work will be made by the representative of ISC.

Criteria for assessing the statement of capabilities

(Minimum essential requirements)

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

• have a general contractor's license in the following sub-category: 1.7 Contractor in telecommunications, transport, transformation and distribution of electrical energy. (https://www.rbq.gouv.qc.ca/en/online-services/licence/determining-the-required-licence/list-of-subclasses.html)

• the linemen(s) must have the qualifications as defined in the construction decree.

• The contractor must be able to get to Rapid Lake within twelve (12) hours in response to an urgent repair request for a major breakage.

• The contractor must be established within a radius of one thousand (1000) kilometers of Rapid Lake to be able to respond to an urgent service call and must be in business for a minimum of ten (10) years.

Applicability of trade agreements to requirement

-Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA)

-Canada-Chile Free Trade Agreement

-Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement

-Canada - Honduras Free Trade Agreement

-Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement

-Free Trade Agreement between Canada and Panama

-World Trade Organization Agreement on Government Procurement (WTO-AGP)

Reserved contract under the Procurement Strategy for Aboriginal Businesses

Not Applicable

Comprehensive Land Claims Agreement (s)

Not Applicable

Justification of the use of a supplier selected in advance

• The supplier concerned is the only one who has bid during the last ten (10) years, on three (3) different calls for tenders granted by Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) during this period.

• The supplier is very familiar with the Rapid Lake electrical distribution network having done maintenance and repairs for the past ten (10) years.

Exception (s) to the Government Contracts Regulations

The following exception (or the following exceptions) to the Government Contracts Regulations is invoked for this purchase:

 "Only one person is able to execute the contract".

Exclusions and / or reasons justifying the use of a single source contract

For more than twenty years, the firm SIFEC North has carried out maintenance and emergency repairs of the Rapid Lake electricity distribution network. This company also operated under other names during these years. Despite a market process reserved for Aboriginal businesses and one open to all businesses during the renewal of standing offers for previous years, only this contractor submitted a proposal.

Period of the proposed contract or delivery date

The proposed contract is for a period of two (2) years, from March 1, 2021 until February 28, 2023 as well as three (3) optional periods of one year each.

Estimated cost of the proposed contract

The estimated value of the contract, including any options, is $ 250,000.00 (GST / HST extra).

Name and address of the supplier selected in advance

SIFEC North Inc.

595 Boul. de l’Aéroparc

Lachute, Quebec

J8H 3R8

Right of Suppliers to Submit Statement of Capabilities.

Suppliers who believe they are fully qualified and ready to provide the goods, services or construction services described in this ACAN may submit a written statement of capabilities to the contact named in this notice by the date. closing date, which is also specified in this notice. The statement of capabilities must clearly demonstrate that the supplier meets the published requirements.

Closing date for submitting statements of capabilities

The closing date and time for accepting statements of capabilities is:

February 26, 2021 at 2:00 p.m. EST.

Inquiry and submission of statements of capabilities

Inquiries and Statements of Capabilities should be submitted to:

Name: Bruno Paradis

Title: Senior Purchasing and Contracting Officer

Indigenous Services Canada (ISC)

10 Wellington Street

Gatineau, Quebec

K1A 0H4

Email address: Bruno.Paradis2@canada.ca