The Building Ontario Businesses Initiative Act, 2022 (BOBIA) came about in response to the many challenges in public procurement and supply chain management that COVID underscored. The intent of the legislation is to reduce barriers and provide companies in Ontario with greater access to public procurement opportunities, and to strengthen Ontario’s supply chain resiliency, thus leaving the province better prepared for future emergencies.

To Whom Does BOBIA Apply?

BOBIA applies to procurement processes conducted by all public sector entities, including ministries and agencies of the government, hospitals, school boards, and universities. BOBIA expands on the traditional considerations for procurement (e.g. price, experience, and specified qualifications) to incorporate other factors, such as social and economic considerations. It is hoped that this will level the playing field for businesses in Ontario and the communities they serve.

How Does BOBIA Impact RFPs?

As firms respond to RFPs from the Ontario Public Service or the Broader Public Sector Procurement Directive, issues that should be taken into consideration include:

• How BOBIA affects your public-sector client groups;
• How BOBIA may affect the type of information that a public sector RFP may ask for, such as supply chain security, business responsiveness, landed emissions, environment and sustainability;
• How BOBIA may affect the evaluation of your RFP submission;
• The extra cost and time impact of the requirements your client needs to abide with as this may affect your fees, procurement, and staffing approaches;
• Your practice’s website and marketing documents;
• The development of a standard attestation to show your practice qualifies as an Ontario business; and
• The questions that may be asked to demonstrate BOBIA compliance—consider developing standard answers which can be reused, where possible.

A New Regulation Under BOBIA

In December 2023, the provincial government introduced a new regulation under BOBIA to prescribe the circumstances in which public sector entities are required to give preference to Ontario businesses. Those circumstances include:

• Determining when a business is considered to be an “Ontario” business under the Act;
• Prescribing the types of goods and services;
• Prescribing the threshold amounts; and
• Specifying the manner in which preference is to be given to Ontario businesses.

This regulation—Ontario Regulation 422/23—has passed and comes into force on April 1, 2024.

For additional information about the Building Ontario Businesses Initiative (BOBI), click here.

This article originally appeared in the Practice Advisory—the OAA’s bimonthly e-newsletter developed by the OAA’s Practice Advisory Services team, comprising architects and other staff, which offers numerous resources for both member and the public. The OAA does not provide legal, insurance, or accounting advice. Readers are advised to consult their own such representatives to obtain suitable professional advice in those regards.