Procurement Changes to comply with BOBI effective May 1, 2024 

Please be advised that the provincial government recently passed a new act called Building Ontario Businesses Initiative Act, 2022 (BOBI) which has a significant impact on how the procurement is undertaken moving forward. 

The Act, which came into effect on April 1, 2024, intends to provide Ontario-based businesses access to more government and public sector procurement opportunities. This Act applies to all Ontario Public Sector Entities (including government agencies, hospitals, schools, colleges, and universities). Under this Act, an Ontario business is defined as a supplier, manufacturer or distributor of any business structure that conducts its activities on a permanent basis in Ontario, and the business either has its headquarters or main office in Ontario or has at least 250 full-time employees in Ontario.

To be compliant with BOBI, we will be making changes to ALL our procurement documents (RFx). 

(a) Request for Quotations (RFQ) – where staff undertakes new sourcing event for goods, services and equipment themselves (without engaging purchasing staff), they are required to follow the changes outlined below. If the RFQ procurement value falls between $20,000 and $99,999, there are TWO (2) options to choose from when determining how the quotes will be evaluated and this must be communicated to the THREE (3) vendors invited to quote. You must decide prior to requesting the quotes whether you will evaluate on:

(i) Price only – with this option, Ontario Businesses receive a 10 per cent evaluation advantage on the pricing, or

(ii) Price and Rated Criteria – with this option, Ontario Businesses will receive a 10 per cent advantage on the rated criteria.

The Invitational Procurement Evaluation Form provides guidance on how to apply the 10 per cent evaluation advantage. From May 1, 2024, all purchase requisitions for goods and/or services awarded through an invitational competitive procurement must include a completed Humber Invitational Procurement Evaluation Form.

(b) Request for Proposal (RFP) – when working with the Purchasing Team including Ontario specific rated criteria will be a requirement. To meet the BOBI requirements, a minimum of 25 per cent of the evaluation criteria must be attributed to Ontario Businesses. Purchasing will provide guidance on how to apply the 25 per cent criteria for your sourcing event to ensure compliance to BOBI while meeting your needs and requirements.

We will be asking all vendors who are responding to sourcing events including RFQ and RFP to complete a Humber Vendor Attestation Form to verify if they are an Ontario or Canadian business. 

To assist users with this new requirement, drop in education and rraining sessions will be offered in the next two weeks – please check the Communiqué for dates and times. In the meantime, please feel free to reach out to us or a member of the Purchasing team should you have any questions and/or concerns. 

Thank you.

Additional Resources:

• Building Ontario Businesses Initiative 
• Building Ontario Businesses Initiative Act, 2022 
• Doing Business with the Government of Ontario 
• Broader Public Service Procurement Directive 

Please note the North and Lakeshore libraries will be closed on Friday, April 26 for a team meeting. The North and Lakeshore Learning Commons spaces will be open. 

The libraries will reopen on Monday, April 29, 2024. 

A calendar of hours is available on the library website.

The Office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging in partnership with the LGBTQ+ Resource Centre and the 2SLGBTQ+ Employee Resource Group (ERG) will be celebrating Pride Month in June 2024. In particular, we celebrate queer communities of colour, migrant 2SLGBTQIA+ communities, trans, intersex, and disabled queer folks who still navigate intersectional barriers in their everyday lives. We also acknowledge that Pride takes place on Indigenous lands, and that Pride Month takes place during National Indigenous History Month. We believe that reclaiming Indigenous two-spirit identities and traditions is central to the ongoing process of reconciliation and decolonization of 2SLGBTQIA+ movements. 

We encourage the Humber community to celebrate with us as we honour the identities and self-expression of two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex and asexual members of our community, students, staff, and faculty.

Humber College’s theme for Pride 2024 is “You Belong Here.” Amid growing curbs on the freedoms of 2SLGBTQIA+ people in North America and around the world, it is more important than ever that the Humber community intentionally make space for the celebration of queer life. However, Pride Month is not just about celebrating achievements but also about actively creating spaces of belonging where everyone feels welcome and valued. The theme "You Belong Here" highlights the importance of creating such spaces within Humber and beyond.

We will be marking the start of Pride month on Monday, June 3 by hosting an Opening Ceremony and Pride Flag Raising at both the North and Lakeshore campuses, and there will also be a full calendar of events happening throughout the month. More information on all Pride events will be shared soon. If you or your department are interested in hosting an event for Pride month, please connect with the LGBTQ+ Resource Centre at lgbtq@humber.ca before Friday, May 10.

More information on 2SLGBTQIA+ identities, terminology, and issues for the curious, questioning, teachers and allies can be found in the 2SLGBTQ+ Education Guide.

Humber College and the University of Guelph-Humber are committed to the principles of human rights, equity and inclusion. Passover is a major Jewish holiday which starts at sundown on April 22, 2024 and ends at nightfall on April 30, 2024. Passover commemorates the Biblical story of escape from slavery in ancient Egypt.  

Many Humber students, faculty and staff will be celebrating Passover which is typically celebrated by a meal on the first night of Passover called Seder where families gather and foods of symbolic significance are eaten. Specific food abstentions may be followed for the rest of the week.  

Please be mindful that students, faculty and staff may require accommodations, such as time off or extensions, to celebrate. For questions about accommodations or the duty to accommodation, please contact the Office of Human Rights & Harassment at humanrights@humber.ca.

On behalf of the Division of Inclusion and Belonging, we wish you a happy Passover! Chag Pesach Sameach!