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11
Apr

Ontario Procurement Opportunities Fees Eliminated

Ontario is making it easier and cheaper for companies to do business with the government by eliminating the fees that businesses have to pay to access procurement contracts.

Jeff Leal, Minister Responsible for Small Business, made the announcement at the Canadian Aboriginal and Minority Supplier Council’s Diversity Procurement Fair in Toronto.

“By eliminating procurement bidding fees, we are creating new opportunities for Ontario small and medium sized businesses to better compete and grow. This part of our government’s commitment to create the right conditions for small business in Ontario to succeed, including increasing government procurement for SMEs to 33 per cent by 2020.”— Jeff Leal, Minister Responsible for Small Business

Businesses can now submit bids for free on the Ontario Tenders Portal, waiving the previous requirement of a $300 submission fee per bid or $750 annual fee for an unlimited bid for procurement opportunities with the government. Businesses will now also have free access to the Registration, Appraisal and Qualification System used by the Ministry of Transportation for road maintenance procurements, which previously required businesses to pay a $525 annual fee to access that system.

The elimination of these fees is part of Ontario’s plan to make it easier for businesses to submit bids for government contracts, which also includes the designation of 33 per cent of its procurement spending to small and medium-sized businesses by 2020.

QUICK FACTS

  • Annually, Ontario government ministries procure approximately $6 billion worth of goods, services and construction.
  • On average, the government does business with 52,000 vendors annually.
  • This is part of an investment of more than $500 million over three years in new initiatives for small businesses, including lowering the small business tax rate by 22 per cent from 4.5 per cent to 3.5 per cent, new financial supports to help small businesses hire youth, investments to revitalize downtown and main street business areas, and cutting red tape.
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Assistant Editor