Information for vendors
Brock University Procurement Services is committed to obtaining the best value for the total acquisition cost of all goods and services purchased. Our role is to facilitate and encourage the timely purchase of goods and services, and to ensure that our procurement practices are accountable, transparent, efficient and equitable.
Goal: To ensure an ethical, professional and accountable university supply chain.
- Personal integrity and professionalism
All individuals involved with procurement or other supply chain-related activities must act, and be seen to act, with integrity and professionalism. Honesty, care and due diligence must be integral to all supply chain activities within and between the university, suppliers and other stakeholders. Respect must be demonstrated for each other and for the environment. Confidential information must be safeguarded. All participants must not engage in any activity that may create, or appear to create, a conflict of interest, such as accepting gifts or favours, providing preferential treatment, or publicly endorsing suppliers or products. - Accountability and transparency
Supply chain activities must be open and accountable. In particular, contracting and purchasing activities must be fair, transparent and conducted with a view to obtaining the best value for public money. All participants must ensure that public sector resources are used in a responsible, efficient and effective manner. - Compliance and continuous improvement
All individuals involved in procurement or other supply chain-related activities must comply with this Code of Ethics, the laws of Canada and Ontario and the Brock University Purchasing Policy, which was developed in alignment with the Ontario Broader Public Sector Procurement Directive. All individuals should continuously work to improve supply chain policies and procedures, to improve their supply chain knowledge and skill levels, and to share leading practices.
Procurement at Brock University is subject to the Ontario Ministry of Finance Broader Public Sector (BPS) Procurement Directive.
This directive:
- sets out requirements to ensure that designated BPS organizations acquire publicly funded goods and services through a process that is open, fair and transparent,
- identifies the responsibilities of designated BPS organizations throughout each stage of the procurement process,
- promotes consistent procurement processes throughout the BPS.
Check out the updated BPS Procurement Directive: effective April 1, 2024.
This updated Directive includes additional requirements to support implementation of the government’s Building Ontario Businesses Initiative (BOBI) and to reflect direction set out in a regulation made under the Building Ontario Businesses Initiative Act, 2022 (BOBIA).
The following agreements are developed for internal trade within Canada and among provinces with the main objectives being to eliminate inter-provincial trade barriers and to improve the competitiveness of Canadian companies by removing preferential treatment based on location or other local considerations.
The Canada-European Union (EU) Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) is a progressive trade agreement that upholds and promotes the values that Canada shares with the EU.
To learn more about these trade agreements, visit the government website by clicking on above agreements.
Brock University is actively engaged in collaborative procurement. We are currently participating in collaborative sourcing agreements through the following organizations:
Ontario Education Collaborative Marketplace (OECM)
Canadian Association of University Business Officers (CAUBO)
Kinetic GPO
Niagara Public Purchasing Committee (NPPC)
Ontario University Professional Procurement Management Association (OUPPMA)
Read Brock’s Procurement Policy here.
Social and environmental objectives
Brock University Procurement Services, where practical, will take social and environmental factors into consideration alongside financial factors in making decisions on the purchase of goods and services.
Our ethical objective is to ensure that people in the supply chain are treated with respect and rights with regard to employment including the rights to freely choose employment, freedom of association, payment of a living wage, working hours that comply with national laws, equal opportunities, recognized employment relationship, freedom from intimidation and to a safe and healthy working environment. It is also our objective to maintain Brock University’s recognition as a national certified “Fair Trade Campus.”
See Brock University’s 2024 Annual Report on Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains.
Brock University is a proud Champion member of the Canadian Council for Indigenous Business (CCIB). As a Champion member, Brock demonstrates a commitment to enhancing Indigenous procurement outcomes by reporting annual Indigenous procurement spend and efforts to grow partnerships and spend with Indigenous businesses.
For more information on sustainability at Brock, visit the Brock University Sustainability website.