Where are Nunavut government tenders posted?

What is the Nunavut Tenders site and who posts on it?

The Government of Nunavut's Request for Tenders/Proposals site is at nunavuttenders.ca. It lists open requests for tenders (RFTs) and requests for proposals (RFPs), each with a reference number, a description, the FOB point or location, the issue date, a named contact person and the closing date and time. The NNI website points to the same place, saying Government of Nunavut procurement is handled at nunavuttenders.ca.

Current listings include Government of Nunavut departments as well as Qulliq Energy Corporation (QEC reference numbers) and the Nunavut Housing Corporation (NHC reference numbers). The work ranges from office supplies and clothing to air charters, janitorial services, standing offer agreements and construction in communities across the territory.

The site also has a Future and Upcoming Announcements page and a contract award history. The award history lists contracts awarded and recorded through the site, starting in 2009, with up to five years of history displayed.

How do I register and get addenda for a Nunavut tender?

Registration on Nunavut Tenders happens tender by tender. The steps below follow the site's own instructions:

1. Find the tender or RFP you want in the list of open opportunities.
2. Click its reference number. This opens a Registration page.
3. Complete the registration information. You can then download the tender or RFP document.
4. When an addendum is issued, you receive an automatic email notice. Go back to the site and download the addendum for that tender yourself.

The site says vendors normally only have to register once, because the system stores the vendor's email address. There is also a separate Subscribe to Nunavut Tenders Listings option for email updates. If you have trouble downloading a document, the site says to contact the contact person named on that listing.

Online bids are accepted for many tenders, and the listing shows an electronic bid submission link where that applies. Procurement documents can be made available on request in any of Nunavut's four official languages: Inuktitut, Inuinnaqtun, English and French.

What is the NNI and how does it affect my bid?

Nunavut Tenders states that the Government of Nunavut's NNI regulations (Nunavummi Nangminiqaqtunik Ikajuuti) apply to all competitive procurement processes, and tells contractors to become familiar with them at nni.gov.nu.ca. The Government of Nunavut's Plain Language Guide describes the NNI as rules that give preferential treatment in public procurement to Inuit Firms, Nunavut Businesses and contractors employing Inuit, local or Nunavut labour. The guide says the NNI Regulations came into effect on April 1, 2017, replacing the previous 2006 NNI Policy, and were developed with Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated (NTI).

The NNI applies to Government of Nunavut departments and territorial corporations, including Nunavut Arctic College, Qulliq Energy Corporation, the Nunavut Housing Corporation and the Nunavut Business Credit Corporation. It does not apply to municipal contracts except as the NNI provides. The main bid adjustments, as the official guide and NNI site describe them:

• Inuit Firms: 5% for an Inuit Firm meeting the 51% ownership requirement, an additional 5% at 76% or higher Inuit ownership, and an additional 5% at 100%, as determined by the Inuit Firm Registry through NTI.
• Inuit labour: where Inuit labour is identified in a procurement, a 15% adjustment for Inuit labour, evaluated separately from goods and services. For RFPs involving labour, 20% of total points go to Inuit labour unless the contract authority decides this is not applicable.
• Nunavut Businesses: a registered Nunavut Business is eligible for a 5% bid adjustment on Government of Nunavut contracts.
• Caps: cumulative bid adjustments cannot exceed 25%. For goods-only tenders, the adjustment applies only to the first $125,000 of bid value, and for mixed goods and services it cannot exceed $125,000. Under a 2021 amendment to the NNI Regulations, bid adjustments other than those for Inuit labour are capped at $500,000 on major construction, defined as construction valued at more than $250,000.

The NNI also lets a contract authority restrict a competition to Inuit Firms, or to Nunavut Businesses, when the contract is under $100,000 for architecture, engineering and construction, or under $25,000 for other contracts. Bids are only adjusted when they meet the conditions of the procurement document, and the guide says each procurement process explains how the NNI will affect selection, so read that section of every tender closely.

How do I get on the Nunavut Business Registry or the Inuit Firm Registry?

These are two different lists, kept by two different organizations.

• Nunavut Business Registry: maintained by the NNI Secretariat. You apply through Register Your Business on nni.gov.nu.ca. There is no fee to register or renew. The criteria include ownership by Nunavut residents or Nunavut businesses, a registered office in Nunavut, a resident manager in Nunavut with final decision-making authority, and the majority of operations in Nunavut. Compliance is shown on a biennial basis.
• Inuit Firm Registry: maintained by Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated, not the NNI Secretariat. An Inuit Firm is a limited company with at least 51% of its voting shares beneficially owned by Inuit, a co-operative controlled by Inuit, or an Inuk sole proprietorship or partnership. The registry sorts firms into Class 1 (51% to 75%), Class 2 (76% to 99%) and Class 3 (100%) Inuit ownership.

The NNI site also notes that once a business is approved, it is entirely the business's responsibility to keep its online profile accurate, including its goods listing.

Where do the City of Iqaluit, NHC and federal departments post?

City of Iqaluit

The City of Iqaluit posts its own tenders and proposals on the Tenders and Proposals page of iqaluit.ca, grouped by department, with documents and addenda downloadable from each reference number. Its recent tender documents say bids are submitted electronically through MERX or by email to the address in the tender, that bidders need a unique PIN from MERX to upload electronic submissions, and that written addenda are posted on both the City's website and MERX. The successful tenderer must provide a valid City of Iqaluit business licence.

Nunavut Housing Corporation

NHC solicitations appear on Nunavut Tenders with an NHC prefix, covering work such as demolition, renovation and material supply in communities. Some NHC notices also appear on CanadaBuys, so a search there for Nunavut Housing Corporation is worth adding.

Federal departments in Nunavut

CanadaBuys publishes federal tender opportunities that are subject to one of Canada's trade agreements, and offers email alerts, bookmarked searches and RSS or ATOM feeds. Federal contracts with final delivery or performance in or into the Nunavut Settlement Area also fall under the Treasury Board's Directive on Government Contracts, Including Real Property Leases, in the Nunavut Settlement Area, which supports Canada's obligations under Article 24 of the Nunavut Agreement. The Treasury Board's 2019 policy notice says it requires officials to consult the Inuit firm list and do market research on Inuit capacity, limits bidding to Inuit firms where capacity exists (for example, contracts above $25,000 when at least two Inuit firms are registered for that good or service), and makes Inuit and Nunavut benefits criteria mandatory on procurements over $100,000.

Where do suppliers most often miss Nunavut opportunities?

What I see most often in Nunavut is a supplier watching one list and assuming it is the whole market. The official sources point to several gaps:

• Treating Nunavut Tenders as complete. The site itself says it may not list every Government of Nunavut tender or RFP.
• Missing addenda. Registration notifies you by email, but you still have to go back and download each addendum yourself.
• Registering for NNI too late. Nunavut Business registration has to be in place before the procurement closes to earn the adjustment.
• Overlooking restricted competitions. Smaller contracts can be restricted to Inuit Firms or Nunavut Businesses, so being registered on the right list affects which opportunities you can bid on at all.
• Expecting municipal work on the territorial site. The City of Iqaluit posts on its own website and uses MERX for submissions.
• Ignoring the federal side. Federal tenders covered by trade agreements are posted on CanadaBuys, and federal procurements over $100,000 in the Nunavut Settlement Area carry mandatory Inuit benefits criteria that need preparation well before closing.
• Short windows. Air charter and supply requests on Nunavut Tenders can close within days of being posted, so a weekly check is often not enough.