The Ontario Construction Secretariat (OCS) has released a twelve-page paper aimed at discrediting Cardus’ work on open tendering in Ontario. Its paper comes just as the City of Toronto considers a June 2019 staff report that recommends the city finally adopt fair and open bidding for its construction projects. Sadly, the OCS response to that staff report, Just Not Credible: Challenging Claims About Closed Tendering in Ontario, is full of vague generalities, non-sequiturs, and inconsistencies, which Cardus Work & Economics Program Director Brian Dijkema addresses in this letter.
It is important, writes Dijkema, to remember that closed tendering treats the City of Toronto like a private firm that is driven by the profit motive rather than public service. It is not. The City of Toronto is a corporation whose goal is to serve all of its citizens, regardless of their private beliefs, associations, and identities, and to provide them with an equal opportunity to build the beautiful city in which they live, work, play, and raise their families.