LATEST NEWS
Professional Services
October 10, 2008
Canadian Design-Build Institute
RFP wording could expose owners to tender law obligations, lawyer warns
TORONTO
Although requests for proposals are gaining increasing favour with owners, care needs to be taken to avoid unnecessary “drama” and exposure to unintended risks, says Edmonton lawyer Paul Stocco.
“RFPs are becoming more popular because this procurement model provides owners with more flexibility than the tendering process, which is governed by a series of very strict and very specific rules,” says the associate in Brownlee LLP Barristers & Solicitors.
However “careful consideration should be given to the express wording contained in RFP document,” Stocco warns in a paper prepared for the Canadian Design-Build Institute’s national design-build conference in Toronto.
In a presentation entitled “Avoiding RFP Dramas: An Owner’s Perspective,” Stocco points out terms that are synonymous with the tendering paradigm often are “mistakenly” incorporated into an RFP document.
“This can be problematic for an owner in that tendering law obligations are very different than those in the RFP paradigm. Simply labeling the procurement documents as an RFP will not be enough.
“In other words, an owner can become subject to tendering law obligations and potentially be exposed for significant damages if the RFP is poorly worded.”
Stocco said the courts in fact “look beyond the title of the procurement document to the substance of the procurement request in order to determine whether the procurement is a true tender or an RFP.“An owner can unwittingly become liable for significant damages if its RFP mistakenly contains tender-like concepts and terminology.” Stocco is a former chair of the construction law subsection of the Canadian Bar Association and a frequent lecturer on issues related to construction and procurement. His clients include municipalities and other public sector owners.
| MOST POPULAR STORIES |
| TODAY’S TOP CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS |
These projects have been selected from 315 projects with a total value of $1,397,361,898 that Reed Construction Data Building Reports reported on yesterday.
$160,000,000 Toronto ON Negotiated
CONDOMINIUM APARTMENT BLDG, RETAIL
$90,000,000 Etobicoke ON Negotiated
$48,000,000 Cramahe Twp ON Tenders
| CURRENT STORIES |
- Decision to delay Darlington nuclear power plant carries job cost
- Boutique building takes shape in Toronto
- Algonquin College’s new Ottawa facility will have trades working together
- Project phasing keeps Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario industry near full employment
- Solaris @ Metrogate Phases I and II shaping up in Toronto
- Stantec to rehabilitate major Boston sewer tunnel
- U.S. non-residential construction rises as general industry spending drops
- Developers order Vancouver 2010 Olympic village review
- Romanian Bishop calls office building ‘hideous’ and ‘illegal’
- U.S. manufacturing in ‘slow recovery’ mode
- PTI Group lands field accommodation job for 2010 Vancouver Olympics
- Malaysia bans high-rises on resort island
- Deere’s salaried workers in U.S. line up for buyout program
- Union highlights deficiencies in construction of Vancouver 2010 Olympic village
- Engineers advocate Qualifications Based Selection for public construction projects
- Construction restarts at stalled oilsands project in Fort McMurray, Alberta
- Competition produces new visions of seniors’ housing
- Worker fatally crushed in Edmonton
- Wolfe Island, Ontario wind farm in operation
| ALEX’S ECONOMICS BLOG |

Reed Construction Data Chief Economist Alex Carrick discusses current developments in the North American economic environment with emphasis on the construction industry.
| PROJECT NEWS BRIEFS |
Updates on Canadian construction projects from Reed Construction Data’s research team. More 
- Orillia Market Square aims for LEED Silver certification (Jun 25, 2009)
- Designs for new York Region District School Board building features energy efficiency (Jun 23, 2009)
- Vancouver Convention Centre expansion sets new standards for environmental design (May 22, 2009)
- Waterloo partnership seeks LEED Silver for West Side Family YMCA and District Library (May 22, 2009)
- IPC Energy considers Milford location for future wind farm (May 22, 2009)

