Veterans Outreach and Visitation Initiative

Trade Agreement: Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA)
Tendering Procedures: Generally only one firm has been invited to bid
Non-Competitive Procurement Strategy: Government Objectives Representing Best Interests/Value to Govt
Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement: No
Vendor Name and Address: 
Royal Canadian Legion DominionCommand
86 Aird Place
Ottawa Ontario
Canada
K2L0A1
Nature of Requirements: 

Veterans Outreach and Visitation Initiative

51019-182001/A
LeBlanc, JoAnne
Telephone No. - (902) 440-0279
Fax No. - (902) 496-5016


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 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. 

Due to the nature of this requirement, the Contractor must have a Designated Organization Screening (DOS) clearance.

Outreach and Visitation Objectives
The Outreach and Visitation Initiative provides a mechanism by which the Department maintains contact with Veterans in long term care.

Through a Contract for Service, the Department will use the Royal Canadian Legion (RCL) Dominion Command volunteer network to conduct up to 5,000 visits with Veterans who are receiving financial assistance from the Department for long term care. 

This initiative will facilitate face to face visits with Veterans, providing them with an opportunity to have a conversation and social visit with a volunteer and to raise concerns or identify needs that might be addressed by Veteran Affairs Canada. 

Target Audience for this requirement is for the Veterans receiving departmental support for long term care in approximately 1,400 nursing homes and long term care facilities across Canada. 


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 meets the following requirements: 

The proposed Contractor is responsible for the following activities:

Recruit, select, and maintain a supply of volunteers to conduct up 5,000 visits with Veterans in facilities across Canada.

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 read the verbal consent statement and leave a written privacy notice for each Veteran visited.

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

Review Veteran Outreach and Visitation Reports from volunteers. 

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

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


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’s databases.
All volunteers are required to obtain Reliability Status in accordance with the Government Security Policy prior to conducting visits.
Volunteer comments are to remain objective. We ask that volunteers follow the training guidelines in writing comments. 
Volunteers must inform Veterans visited of their rights under the Privacy Act and Access to Information Act and ensure that those rights are protected throughout the visit. This includes: ensuring appropriate notice is provided to Veterans regarding the purpose of the visit (letter to the facility to include a request to notify the Veteran of the impending Royal Canadian Legion Dominion Command volunteer visit) and how the information collected will be used; identifying the sponsoring department; and informing Veterans that the visit is voluntary and the information provided will be administered according to the requirements of the Privacy Act.

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.

Training:
The Proposed Contractor will be required to provide volunteers with training on how to conduct visits with Veterans and requirements as outlined in the contract.  
  
4. Applicability of the trade agreement(s) to the procurement: 
This procurement is subject to the following trade agreement: 
o Canada Free Trade Agreement (CFTA)

5. Justification for the Pre-Identified Supplier: 
The supplier selected in advance and identified in section 10, Royal Canadian Legion - Veteran Outreach and Visitation Report, is to our knowledge the only supplier meeting all the specifications required in the section 3 noted above.  
 

The Royal Canadian Legion has been the contractor for this initiative for four years and has a proven ability to meet the requirements. The Legion is well suited 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 RCL Dominion Command, coupled with the RCL Dominion Command’s network of approximately 115 trained volunteers with previous experience in visiting Veterans in long term care facilities, has ensured an efficient and cost effective approach to this initiative in the past. The RCL is well positioned to continue to bring success to this initiative into the future. 


6. Government Contracts Regulations Exception(s): 
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: 

Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA) - 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.


8. Period of the proposed contract or delivery date:
From October 1, 2019 to September 30, 2019, with an option to extend for one additional Option Year (October 1, 2019 to September 30, 2020).


9. Cost estimate of the proposed contract. 
The estimated value for this notice is as follows: 
$339,000.00 (applicable taxes included). Taxes are includes in this amount.


10. Name and address of the pre-identified supplier: 
Royal Canadian Legion
86 Aird Place
Ottawa, Ontario 
K2L 0A1


11. 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.

12. Closing date for a submission of a statement of capabilities: 
The closing date and time for accepting statements of capabilities is:  2:00 p.m. ADT, Thursday August 23, 2018.


13. Inquiries and submission of statements of capabilities: 
JoAnne LeBlanc
A/Supply Specialist
Public Services and Procurement Canada
Atlantic Region - Acquisitions Branch 
1713 Bedford Row
Halifax, Nova Scotia
B3J 3C9
Telephone: (902) 440-0279
Facsimile:  (902) 496-5016
E-mail address:  joanne.leblanc3@pwgsc-tpsgc.gc.ca


Delivery Date: Above-mentioned

You are hereby notified that the government intends to negotiate with one firm only as identified above. Should you have any questions concerning this requirement, contact the contracting officer identified above.

An Advance Contract Award Notice (ACAN) allows departments and agencies to post a notice, for no less than fifteen (15) calendar days, indicating to the supplier community that it intends to award a good, service or construction contract to a pre-identified contractor. If no other supplier submits, on or before the closing date, a Statement of Capabilities that meets the requirements set out in the ACAN, the contracting authority may then proceed with the award.  However, should a Statement of Capabilities be found to meet the requirements set out in the ACAN, then the contracting authority will proceed to a full tendering process.

Suppliers who consider themselves fully qualified and available to provide the services/goods described herein, 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.

The PWGSC file number, the contracting officer's name and the closing date of the ACAN must appear on the outside of the envelope in block letters or, in the case of a facsimile transmission, on the covering page.

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

Documents may be submitted in either official language of Canada.