Supplier Conduct and Conflict of Interest

The City of Maple Ridge requires its Suppliers to act with integrity and conduct business in an ethical manner. The City of Maple Ridge may refuse to enter into contracts with any Supplier when the City is aware that the Supplier has engaged in illegal or unethical bidding practices, has an actual or potential conflict of interest or an unfair advantage or fails to adhere to ethical business practices.

Illegal or Unethical Bidding Practices

Illegal or unethical bidding practices include:

a) bid-rigging, price-fixing, bribery or collusion or other behaviors or practices prohibited by federal or provincial statutes;

b) offering gifts or favors to City Officers, Employees, appointed or elected officials or any other representative of the City;

c) engaging in any prohibited communications during a Procurement process;

d) submitting inaccurate or misleading information in a Procurement process; and

e) engaging in any other activity that compromises the City’s ability to run a fair procurement process.

The City will report any suspected cases of collusion, bid-rigging or other offences under the Competition Act to the Competition Bureau or to other relevant authorities.

Conflict of Interest

All Suppliers participating in a Procurement process must declare any perceived, possible or actual conflicts of interest.

The term “Conflict of Interest”, when applied to Suppliers, includes any situation or circumstances where:

a) in the context of a procurement process, the Supplier has an unfair advantage or engages in conduct, directly, or indirectly, that may give it an unfair advantage, including but not limited to (i) having, or having access to, confidential information of the City that is not available to other Suppliers, (ii) communicating with any person with a view to influencing preferred treatment in the procurement process (including but not limited to lobbying of decision makers involved in the procurement process), or (iii) engaging in conduct that compromises, or can be seen to compromise, the integrity of an open and competitive procurement process or render that process non-competitive or unfair; or

b) in the context of performance under a potential Contract, the Supplier’s other commitments, relationships or financial interests (i) could, or could be seen to, exercise an improper influence over the objective, unbiased and impartial exercise of its independent judgement, or (ii) could, or could be seen to, compromise, impair or be incompatible with the effective performance of its contractual obligations; and

c) where a Supplier is retained to participate in the development of a solicitation document or the specifications for inclusion in a solicitation document, that the Supplier will not be allowed to respond, directly or indirectly, to that solicitation.

Ethical Business Practices

In providing deliverables to the City, Suppliers are expected to adhere to ethical business practices, including:

a) performing all Contracts in a professional and competent manner and in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Contract and the duty of honest performance;

b) complying with all applicable laws, including safety and labour codes (both domestic and international as may be applicable); and

c) providing workplaces that are free from harassment or discrimination.