Procurement Assistance Canada (PAC) was created within Public Services and Procurement Canada to advocate on behalf of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in federal procurement. PAC improves SMEs access to government contract opportunities by reducing procurement barriers, simplifying the contracting process, providing advice to SMEs wishing to do business with the government, collaborating to improve procurement policies and best practices and working with SMEs to ensure their concerns are brought forward and heard.
The Government of Canada is committed to giving small and medium enterprises (SME) access to compete for government business. PAC represents the views of smaller businesses and encourage their participation in federal government procurement.
Procurement Assistance Canada provides the following information services:
- Buyandsell.gc.ca, the authoritative source for federal procurement that includes the tenders portal for bid opportunities, procurement tools, reference documents, contract history and open data to help guide SMEs in their journey
- Free seminars/webinars and one-on-one sessions to assist suppliers in understanding federal procurement
- A 1-800 InfoLine for suppliers who have questions about the procurement process and related tools
- Understanding and reducing the barriers that prevent SMEs from participating in federal procurement
- Advising government buyers and policymakers on SME concerns
- Recommending improvements to procurement tools and processes to encourage SME participation in federal procurement