Wastewater Surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 in the Province of Saskatchewan

Advance Contract Award Notice (ACAN)

Title: Wastewater Surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 in the Province of Saskatchewan

Solicitation Number: 1000240732

Questions and Answers

Question #1: Please confirm if the above noted ACAN is a PSAB tender/RFP

Answer #1: This requirement is not a Procurement Strategy Aboriginal Business tender/Request For Proposal (RFP).

1. The Purpose and Explanation of an ACAN

An Advance Contract Award Notice (ACAN) allows the Public Health Agency of Canada to post a notice for no less than fifteen (15) calendar days, indicating to the supplier community that a goods, services or construction contract will be awarded to a pre-identified contractor. If no other supplier submits, on or before the closing date, a Statement of Capabilities that meets the minimum requirements identified in the ACAN, the Contracting Authority may then proceed to award a contract to the pre-identified contractor.

2. Rights of Suppliers

Suppliers who consider themselves fully qualified and available to provide the services or goods described in this ACAN may submit a Statement of Capabilities demonstrating how they meet the advertised requirement. This Statement of Capabilities must be provided via e-mail only to the contact person identified in Section 12 of the Notice on or before the closing date and time of the Notice. If the Bidder can clearly demonstrate they possess the required capabilities, the requirement will be opened to electronic or traditional bidding processes.

3. Proposed Contractor

University of Saskatchewan, Finance Services, 105 Administration Place, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5A2

4. Definition of Requirements or Expected Results

The Public Health Agency of Canada requires the services of a contractor to sample and test wastewater samples from wastewater treatment plants in Saskatoon, Prince Albert, North Battleford and from five First Nations communities in the province of Saskatchewan.

The Contractor must:

• Sample and test wastewater every week for a maximum of 720 samples for the duration of this contract with guidance as requested by PHAC on sampling techniques, equipment, and sampling location and engagement with the wastewater treatment plants, First Nation communities and public health authorities. 
• Analyse wastewater samples for SARS-CoV-2 using laboratory testing procedures for SARS-CoV-2 which comprise of three major steps: 1) viral concentration, 2) RNA extraction, and 3) molecular detection.
• Provide Testing results must be provided in an excel format.
• Ship the Wastewater samples to PHAC National Microbiology Laboratory (NML).

5. Minimum Requirements

Any interested supplier must demonstrate by way of a Statement of Capabilities that it meets the following minimum requirements:

1. The bidder must provide evidence of managing (for more than 1.5 years) a laboratory conducting qPCR testing on wastewater samples for SARS-CoV2. 
2. The bidder must provide evidence of working with First Nations communities in Saskatchewan for over 2 years and testing First Nation communities’ wastewater samples for surveillance of SARS-CoV-2. .
3. The bidder laboratory must demonstrate experience by providing at least one (1) project of surveillance activity within the past two (2) years in wastewater testing for SARS-CoV-2 in Saskatchewan of at least one of the following:

   SARS-CoV-2

   SARS-CoV-2 Variants of Concern (e.g. omicron)

4. The bidder must demonstrate successful participation in at least one inter-laboratory.
5. The bidder must provide evidence of wastewater samples from Saskatoon, Prince Albert, North Battleford and First Nation Communities in Saskatchewan.

6. Reason for Non-Competitive Award

6.d. Only one person or firm is capable of performing the contract

The University of Saskatchewan has been working on wastewater surveillance in Saskatoon and First Nations communities since early in the pandemic and generating very useful data on community trends of COVID-19. This information is used by SK Health colleagues for public health action. The University of Saskatchewan is the only lab in Saskatoon that currently has the laboratory expertise and equipment required to conduct the testing for the COVID-19 virus. Competing this requirement would mean many weeks of training for laboratory testing and the purchase of equipment which would increase the cost and resources needed to complete the work of this contract. In addition, it is essential there is compatible COVID-19 data generated which could result in a disruption of COVID-19 wastewater surveillance and public health response.

Furthermore, the University of Saskatchewan is in Saskatoon and can collect samples from wastewater and requires no shipping costs. They are in close proximity to North Battleford and Prince Albert who provide their samples for testing at the University of Saskatchewan. Using another Contractor would increase the shipping costs significantly because of the many liters of water that would need to be shipped 2-3 times per week to a laboratory for testing. The location of the University of Saskatchewan saves all of these costs because the work requires it to be completed in the Saskatoon region in order to have access to COVID-19 cases for regional surveillance. No other laboratory in Saskatoon has the expertise in doing this testing. Also, samples from wastewater need to be tested for the COVID-19 virus within 24 hours of collection and priority shipping would need to be used to get the sample to the laboratory on time.

More importantly, the University of Saskatchewan has built strong relationships with First Nation communities and we would need to build new relationships with these communities which would take a significant amount of time. Remote, Northern and First Nation community testing is a priority for PHAC pandemic response. Wastewater surveillance provides information needed for pandemic response to prevent outbreaks in those communities.

7. Applicable trade Agreements and Justification for Limited Tendering or the Procurement Strategy for Aboriginal Business

This procurement is subject to the following:

Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA)

Canada Korea Free Trade Agreement (CKFTA)

Canada-Chile Free Trade Agreement (CCFTA)

Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP)

Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement

Canada-European Union comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA)

Canada-Honduras Free Trade Agreement

Canada-Panama Free Trade Agreement

Canada-Peru Free Trade Agreement

Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement

Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA)

Articles III (8a) and XIII :World Trade Organization Agreement on Government Procurement (WTO-GPA)

8. Ownership of Intellectual Property

The ownership of intellectual Property will rest with the Contractor.

9. Period of the Proposed Contract

The contract period shall be from date of contract award until March 31 2023 with the option to extend the term by 2 additional six (6) month option period until March 31 2024.

10. Estimated Value of the Proposed Contract

"The total estimated value of the proposed contract should not exceed $726,060.00, including travel and living expenses (if applicable), and all applicable taxes."

11. Closing Date and Time

The Closing Date and Time for accepting Statements of Capabilities is April 11 2022 at 2pm EDT.

12. Contact Person

All enquiries must be addressed by e-mail to:

Name: Mira Abdillahi
E-Mail: mira.abdillahi2@hc-sc.gc.ca