Ontario’s Supply Chain Response to COVID-19

On March 28, 2020, the Government of Ontario (Government) announced that it had passed regulations under the Supply Chain Management Act (Government, Broader Public Sector and Health Sector Entities), 2019 (Act) related to COVID-19 response and recovery. These are the first regulations promulgated under this Act, which was introduced as part of the Government’s budget in November 2019 and came into force on March 27, 2020.

These new regulations empower the Ministry of Government and Consumer Services (MGCS) and the Ministry of Health (MOH) to centrally manage public sector supply chains. MGCS is designated as the supply chain management entity for government entities and broader public sector entities, which includes school boards, post secondary institutions, children’s aid societies and public sector buying groups. MOH is designated as the supply chain management entity in respect of health sector entities, which, for these purposes, includes an entity that operates a hospital within the meaning of the Public Hospitals Act or a private hospital within the meaning of the Private Hospitals Act.

These new measures allow MGCS and MOH to carry on centralized supply management activities, including coordinating and conducting procurement activities, controlling logistics and inventory and overseeing resources. MGCS and MOH are also specifically authorized to allocate procured goods and services among entities, regardless of who procured the goods and services.

The Government has also indicated that MGCS and MOH will be able to engage in the collection of key data on inventories, orders and supply constraints, and the development of a virtual inventory tool so that demand for crucial supplies are visible and trackable.

Finally, the Government has indicated that other public entities, such as publicly funded social service agencies and municipalities, may choose to participate in these centralized procurement activities.

For further information, please contact any member of our Procurement group.

Please visit our COVID-19 Resource Centre to learn more about how COVID-19 may impact your business.