CCA, NTCCC among groups opposing federal security changes
Several construction associations have joined forces to oppose changes to the federal government’s security screening processes which they say will add nothing but red tape and delays to project delivery timelines.
A joint letter written to Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) Minister Anita Anand by the Canadian Construction Association (CCA), the National Trade Contractors’ Council of Canada (NTCCC), the Facilities Operations Maintenance Association of Canada (FOMAC), the Association of Consulting Engineering Companies - Canada (ACEC) requests that the federal government halt the changes it is proposing to introduce to its Contract Security Program’s (CSP’s) screening process on September 1, and that the federal department work with industry to create a faster and more efficient system that works for everyone.
Under the current CSP regime, contractors can receive blanket security clearances for their organizations, and for the workers they employ, for periods of five or 10 years. Doing so allows them to move among many projects requiring clearances with relative ease, and does not require them to request new clearances as they bid on new work.
The proposed CSP changes would remove those broad clearances. It would require organizations to request security clearances only when they are bidding on secure projects, and would require personnel security screenings when a contract is in place.
PSPC says its analysis of the CSP processing volumes over the last five years shows that only a small percentage of CSP-registered organizations and their personnel use the clearance to work on contracts. The department calls the current regime “unsustainable” and says it “places unnecessary burden on industry.”
Furthermore, the rationale for a new program holds that contractors will no longer have to expend efforts and associated costs on administrative activities to fulfil unnecessary security requirements, and allow the CSP to enforce need-to-know and need-to-access principles by assessing any risks companies or personnel pose in relation to the work they will perform for the Government of Canada.
The joint CCA, NTCCC, FOMAC and ACEC letter takes aim at these changes, arguing that they will make worse an already-poor situation. For one, they say the additional paperwork the proposed system will create will effectively make bidding on secure contracts untenable for most in the industry—including small and medium sized firms that do not have the resources to dedicate to completing lengthy and at-times complex security clearance forms.
“This, combined with an anticipated increase in demand from other sectors, will directly reduce the number of bidders on federal contracts, making it less competitive and giving the government, and ultimately taxpayers, less choice in their procurement,” says the letter.
The associations also argue that changes will lead to project delays, with those firms that are able to meet the new requirements forced to complete their security clearance processes post-tender award. They say that this requirement, when combined with the significant reduction in the number of bidders per project, will force cost per project to dramatically increase.
Finally, the associations say the requirements are discriminatory towards new Canadians and other vulnerable populations that are more likely to require a complex screening processes.
The letter urges PSPC to take immediate action to postpone these changes and allow time for proper consultation with industry stakeholders.