Pursuant to section 112 of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, 2015, the OIPC offered comment to Service NL on the new Public Procurement Act  and the Public Procurement Regulations . We regard the new legislation as a positive step towards proactive transparency in procurement.

Some of the new provisions affect submissions in response to an open call for bids and any subsequent access to information requests seeking information contained in such bids. As part of our legislative role in educating the public and public bodies on all aspects of the ATIPPA, 2015, we have issued new guidance document, The Public Procurement Act and ATIPPA, 2015 . This document contains information for those seeking to do business with government pursuant to the Public Procurement Act . Of particular significance is a new legal requirement (since March 24, 2018) to identify, in bid submissions, any information in a bid that may qualify for an exemption from disclosure under subsection 39(1) of the ATIPPA, 2015.

This new guidance document and our revised guidance piece, Business Interests of a Third Party (Section 39) , are instructive for public bodies, businesses and the public in general.

The Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner offers free presentations to groups interested in learning more about these changes or any subject of interest arising from the ATIPPA, 2015.

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Media contact
Sean Murray
Director of Research and Quality Assurance
709-729-6309