Pacific Northwest Raptors undisclosed evaluation criterion case
Risk Mechanism
Evaluators applied an undisclosed criterion that disadvantaged bidders using a particular technical approach, undermining procedural fairness and allowing the assessment to depart from the published tender rules.
Case Summary
The Tribunal found that the evaluators had relied upon an undisclosed criterion, which had unforeseeably prejudiced bidders for proposing certain techniques. The complainant would not have won the contract, but it was nonetheless awarded bid preparation costs because it did not receive the evaluation it could reasonably have expected.
Risk Lesson
This case demonstrates how undisclosed evaluation criteria can undermine tender fairness by allowing bids to be assessed outside the published rules. It highlights warning signs such as evaluation factors absent from tender documents, assessment logic introduced during evaluation, unequal treatment of technical approaches, and award decisions not clearly traceable to the published evaluation framework.
Reference
Canadian International Trade Tribunal. (2020). Annual report for the fiscal 2020 (Chapter 5, “Case Summaries and Judicial Reviews,” p. 38, PR-2019-017, Pacific Northwest Raptors Ltd. v. Department of Public Works and Government Services). Available from: https://www.citt-tcce.gc.ca/sites/default/files/2022-03/CITT_AR2020_EN_web.pdf