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Request for Proposals

Feasibility of a British Columbia Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) Program


Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure & Ministry of Tourism, Trade and Investment
Request for Proposals Number: 071CS61242
Issue date: February 22, 2011
Closing Time: Proposals must be received before 2:00 PM Pacific Time on: March 10, 2011
GOVERNMENT CONTACT PERSON: All enquiries related to this Request for Proposals (RFP), including any requests for information and
clarification, are to be directed, in writing, to the following person who will respond if time permits. Information obtained from any other source is not official and
should not be relied upon. Enquiries and any responses will be recorded and may be distributed to all Proponents at the Province’s option.

Dave Bachynski, Senior Manager


Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure
Pacific Gateway Branch
PO Box 9850, Stn Prov Govt,
Victoria, BC V8W 9T5
Dave.Bachynski@gov.bc.ca
DELIVERY OF PROPOSALS:
Proposals must not be sent by mail, facsimile or e-mail. Proposals are to be submitted to the closing location as follows:

(Four) complete hard-copies(and 1copy on CD) must be delivered by hand or courier to:

Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure


Transportation Policy & Programs Department
Finance and Administration Branch
5th Floor, 940 Blanshard Street
Victoria, BC, V8W 9T5
Attention: Heather Weir, Financial Officer
Proposal envelopes should be clearly marked with the name and address of the Proponent, the Request for Proposal number, and the project title.
PROPONENTS’ MEETING:
A Proponents’ meeting will not be held.

PROPONENT SECTION:
For hard-copy proposals, a person authorized to sign on behalf of the Proponent must complete and sign the Proponent Section (below), leaving the rest of this
page otherwise unaltered, and include the originally-signed and completed page with the first copy of the proposal. For electronic proposals, all parts of the
Proponent Section (below) must be completed except the signature field, as the BC Bid e-bidding key is deemed to be an original signature. The rest of this page
must be otherwise unaltered and submitted as part of your proposal.
The enclosed proposal is submitted in response to the above-referenced Request for Proposals, including any addenda.
Through submission of this proposal we agree to all of the terms and conditions of the Request for Proposals and agree
that any inconsistent provisions in our proposal will be as if not written and do not exist. We have carefully read and
examined the Request for Proposals, including the Administrative Section, and have conducted such other investigations
as were prudent and reasonable in preparing the proposal. We agree to be bound by statements and representations made
in our proposal.
Signature of Authorized Representative: Legal Name of Proponent (and Doing Business As Name, if
applicable):
Printed Name of Authorized Representative: Address of Proponent:

Title:

Date: Authorized Representative phone, fax or email address (if


available):

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Table of Contents

Definitions and Administrative Requirements


 
Requirements and Response
 
Summary of the Requirement
 
Additional Definitions
 
Ministry Situation/Overview

Proposal Requirements

Evaluation

Proposal Format

Appendix A - Contract Forms

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A. Definitions and Administrative Requirements

1. Definitions b) Proposals from not-for-profit agencies will be evaluated against the


Throughout this Request for Proposals, the following definitions apply: same criteria as those received from any other Proponents.

a) “SSBC” means Shared Services BC of the Ministry of 6. Evaluation


Citizens’ Services; Evaluation of proposals will be by a committee formed by the Province and
may include employees and contractors of the Province. All personnel will be
b) “Contract” means the written agreement resulting from this bound by the same standards of confidentiality. The Province’s intent is to
Request for Proposals executed by the Province and the enter into a Contract with the Proponent who has the highest overall ranking.
Contractor;
c) “Contractor” means the successful Proponent to this Request 7. Negotiation Delay
for Proposals who enters into a written Contract with the If a written Contract cannot be negotiated within thirty days of notification of
Province; the successful Proponent, the Province may, at its sole discretion at any time
thereafter, terminate negotiations with that Proponent and either negotiate a
d) “Ministry” means Ministry of Tourism, Trade and Contract with the next qualified Proponent or choose to terminate the Request
Investment and Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure for Proposals process and not enter into a Contract with any of the Proponents.
e) “must”, or “mandatory” means a requirement that must be
met in order for a proposal to receive consideration; 8. Debriefing
At the conclusion of the Request for Proposals process, all Proponents will be
f) “Proponent” means an individual or a company that submits, notified. Unsuccessful Proponents may request a debriefing meeting with the
or intends to submit, a proposal in response to this Request Province.
for Proposals;
g) “Province” means Her Majesty the Queen in Right of the 9. Alternative Solutions
Province of British Columbia and includes SSBC and the If alternative solutions are offered, please submit the information in the same
Ministry; format, as a separate proposal.

h) “Request for Proposals” or “RFP” means the process 10. Changes to Proposals
described in this document; and
By submission of a clear and detailed written notice, the Proponent may
i) “should” or “desirable” means a requirement having a amend or withdraw its proposal prior to the closing date and time. Upon
significant degree of importance to the objectives of the closing time, all proposals become irrevocable. The Proponent will not
Request for Proposals. change the wording of its proposal after closing and no words or comments
will be added to the proposal unless requested by the Province for purposes of
clarification.
2. Terms and Conditions
The following terms and conditions will apply to this Request for 11. Proponents’ Expenses
Proposals. Submission of a proposal in response to this Request for Proponents are solely responsible for their own expenses in preparing a
Proposals indicates acceptance of all the terms that follow and that are proposal and for subsequent negotiations with the Province, if any. If the
included in any addenda issued by the Province. Provisions in proposals Province elects to reject all proposals, the Province will not be liable to any
that contradict any of the terms of this Request for Proposals will be as if Proponent for any claims, whether for costs or damages incurred by the
not written and do not exist. Proponent in preparing the proposal, loss of anticipated profit in connection
with any final Contract, or any other matter whatsoever.
3. Additional Information Regarding the
Request for Proposals 12. Limitation of Damages
All subsequent information regarding this Request for Proposals, Further to the preceding paragraph, the Proponent, by submitting a proposal,
including changes made to this document will be posted on the BC Bid agrees that it will not claim damages, for whatever reason, relating to the
website at www.bcbid.ca. It is the sole responsibility of the Proponent Contract or in respect of the competitive process, in excess of an amount
to check for amendments on the BC Bid website. equivalent to the reasonable costs incurred by the Proponent in preparing its
proposal and the Proponent, by submitting a proposal, waives any claim for
4. Late Proposals loss of profits if no Contract is made with the Proponent.
Proposals will be marked with their receipt time at the closing location.
Only complete proposals received and marked before closing time will 13. Proposal Validity
be considered to have been received on time. Proposals will be open for acceptance for at least 90 days after the closing
Hard-copies of late proposals will not be accepted and will be returned date.
to the Proponent. Electronic proposals that are received late will be
marked late and will not be considered or evaluated. 14. Firm Pricing
In the event of a dispute, the proposal receipt time as recorded at the Prices will be firm for the entire Contract period unless this Request for
closing location shall prevail whether accurate or not. Proposals specifically states otherwise.

5. Eligibility 15. Currency and Taxes


a) Proposals will not be evaluated if the Proponent’s current or
past corporate or other interests may, in the Province’s Prices quoted are to be:
opinion, give rise to a conflict of interest in connection with
a) in Canadian dollars;
the project described in this Request for Proposals. This
includes, but is not limited to, involvement by a Proponent in b) inclusive of duty, where applicable; FOB destination, delivery
the preparation of this Request for Proposals. If a Proponent charges included where applicable; and
is in doubt as to whether there might be a conflict of interest,
the Proponent should consult with the Government Contact c) exclusive of applicable taxes.
Person listed on page 1 prior to submitting a proposal.

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16. Completeness of Proposal 21. Liability for Errors
By submission of a proposal the Proponent warrants that, if this Request While the Province has used considerable efforts to ensure information in this
for Proposals is to design, create or provide a system or manage a Request for Proposals is accurate, the information contained in this Request
program, all components required to run the system or manage the for Proposals is supplied solely as a guideline for Proponents. The
program have been identified in the proposal or will be provided by the information is not guaranteed or warranted to be accurate by the Province, nor
Contractor at no charge. is it necessarily comprehensive or exhaustive. Nothing in this Request for
Proposals is intended to relieve Proponents from forming their own opinions
17. Sub-Contracting and conclusions with respect to the matters addressed in this Request for
a) Using a sub-contractor (who should be clearly identified in Proposals.
the proposal) is acceptable. This includes a joint submission
by two Proponents having no formal corporate links. 22. Modification of Terms
However, in this case, one of these Proponents must be The Province reserves the right to modify the terms of this Request for
prepared to take overall responsibility for successful Proposals at any time in its sole discretion. This includes the right to cancel
performance of the Contract and this should be clearly this Request for Proposals at any time prior to entering into a Contract with
defined in the proposal. the successful Proponent.
b) Sub-contracting to any firm or individual whose current or
past corporate or other interests may, in the Province’s
23. Ownership of Proposals
opinion, give rise to a conflict of interest in connection with All proposals submitted to the Province become the property of the Province.
the project or program described in this Request for They will be received and held in confidence by the Province, subject to the
Proposals will not be permitted. This includes, but is not provisions of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act and
limited to, any firm or individual involved in the preparation this Request for Proposals.
of this Request for Proposals. If a Proponent is in doubt as to
whether a proposed subcontractor gives rise to a conflict of 24. Use of Request for Proposals
interest, the Proponent should consult with the Government Any portion of this document, or any information supplied by the Province in
Contact Person listed on page 1 prior to submitting a relation to this Request for Proposals may not be used or disclosed, for any
proposal. purpose other than for the submission of proposals. Without limiting the
generality of the foregoing, by submission of a proposal, the Proponent agrees
c) Where applicable, the names of approved sub-contractors to hold in confidence all information supplied by the Province in relation to
listed in the proposal will be included in the Contract. No this Request for Proposals.
additional subcontractors will be added, nor other changes
made, to this list in the Contract without the written consent 25. Reciprocity
of the Province.
The Province may consider and evaluate any proposals from other
18. Acceptance of Proposals jurisdictions on the same basis that the government purchasing authorities in
those jurisdictions would treat a similar proposal from a British Columbia
a) This Request for Proposals should not be construed as an
supplier.
agreement to purchase goods or services. The Province is not
bound to enter into a Contract with the Proponent who
submits the lowest priced proposal or with any Proponent. 26. No Lobbying
Proposals will be assessed in light of the evaluation criteria. Proponents must not attempt to communicate directly or indirectly with any
The Province will be under no obligation to receive further employee, contractor or representative of the Province, including the
information, whether written or oral, from any Proponent. evaluation committee and any elected officials of the Province, or with
members of the public or the media, about the project described in this
Request for Proposals or otherwise in respect of the Request for Proposals,
other than as expressly directed or permitted by the Province.
b) Neither acceptance of a proposal nor execution of a Contract
will constitute approval of any activity or development
contemplated in any proposal that requires any approval, 27. Collection and Use of Personal Information
permit or license pursuant to any federal, provincial, regional Proponents are solely responsible for familiarizing themselves, and ensuring
district or municipal statute, regulation or by-law. that they comply, with the laws applicable to the collection and dissemination
of information, including resumes and other personal information concerning
employees and employees of any subcontractors. If this RFP requires
19. Definition of Contract Proponents to provide the Province with personal information of employees
Notice in writing to a Proponent that it has been identified as the who have been included as resources in response to this RFP, Proponents will
successful Proponent and the subsequent full execution of a written ensure that they have obtained written consent from each of those employees
Contract will constitute a Contract for the goods or services, and no before forwarding such personal information to the Province. Such written
Proponent will acquire any legal or equitable rights or privileges relative consents are to specify that the personal information may be forwarded to the
to the goods or services until the occurrence of both such events. Province for the purposes of responding to this RFP and use by the Province
for the purposes set out in the RFP. The Province may, at any time, request
20. Contract the original consents or copies of the original consents from Proponents, and
By submission of a proposal, the Proponent agrees that should its upon such request being made, Proponents will immediately supply such
proposal be successful the Proponent will enter into a Contract with the originals or copies to the Province.
Province on the terms set out in Appendix B.

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B. Requirements and Response

Summary of the Requirement


To determine the feasibility of establishing a Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) program in British Columbia, the
Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure and the Ministry of Tourism, Trade and Investment are
seeking an independent consultant to conduct work in the following areas:

Background research:
a. review of Canadian and British Columbia legislation and policy as they relate to FTZs;
b. provide updated statistics on current business participation for established Canadian FTZ
programs;
c. provide updated information on recent federal changes and marketing efforts for FTZ
programs; and
d. analyze the economic performance of existing physical FTZs in Canada (Centrepoint in
Manitoba and Gander in Newfoundland).
Primary Research:
a. determine how the gradual phase out of duties at the federal level would impact existing
programs;
b. develop projections of the possible economic benefits and losses that FTZs and related
marketing activity could bring to British Columbia and Canada;
c. conduct statistical research and analysis on the possible gains and losses of government
revenues associated with establishing FTZs in British Columbia.
d. identify target market(s) that FTZs would benefit, and link to the overall costs/benefits to
British Columbia.
Analysis and Recommendations, including:
a. a list of actions the Federal government could take to improve existing federal FTZ
programs;
b. advantages and drawbacks of establishing a location-specific FTZ in British Columbia or
provincial-wide FTZ programs;
c. preparation of a final report outlining the results of the research and identifying next steps to
implementation should the BC government wish to support the establishment of FTZ in BC.

The consultant will be expected to liaise with the Steering Committee and the contract managers in
developing the report.

Additional Definitions
Not used.

Ministry Situation/Overview
Ministry Responsibility
The Trade Initiatives Branch within the Ministry of Tourism, Trade and Investment works to remove
restrictive and unnecessary barriers to trade, investment and labour mobility. The Branch develops
strategies, negotiating positions, policy options and advice for government and industry. Within the
Province, the Branch provides advice to all ministries and other provincial entities. Nationally, the Branch
works closely with other governments to minimize trade barriers within Canada and leads the Province’s

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efforts and negotiations to reduce/eliminate international barriers to trade, investment and labour mobility
and competitiveness.
 
The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, through the Pacific Gateway Branch, works with Pacific
Gateway partners to develop a reliable, cost competitive, world class supply chain. Through the Pacific
Gateway Strategy, the Province invests with other governments and industry partners to strengthen BC’s
transportation and trade links to the Asia-Pacific. With its natural geographic advantage, B.C. offers a
supply chain delivery system that is unmatched on the west coast of North America. The Pacific Gateway
Strategy also identifies and implements key policy and legislative changes to support investment and open
access to Canada; joint business development and marketing to attract new customers to expand current
markets.

Background
British Columbia has made a strong commitment to establish the Province as the preferred gateway for
Asia-Pacific trade, with a competitive port and supply-chain system. However, visiting foreign delegations
and numerous port-related companies have commented on the lack of foreign trade zones (FTZ) in British
Columbia.

The concept of special economic zones in the province is not new. It is possible that the development of a
British Columbia FTZ Program could increase the Province’s competitiveness in global markets and
attractiveness as a gateway for international trade and encourage new economic activity, but further analysis
is required to consider the costs and benefits of such a program.

While existing federal programs, such as the Export Distribution Centre (EDC) and Duty Deferral
Programs, provide some FTZ-like benefits to businesses regardless of their location in Canada, there may be
room for improvement within, or in addition to, these federal programs.

Currently, Global Container Terminals (GCT) is chairing a committee (the Steering Committee) of
interested parties, which has been seeking improvements to existing federal FTZ programs and would like
further federal, provincial, and local collaboration on developing an effective FTZ model.

A proposal developed by GCT recommends that the federal government:


• restructure and simplify existing programs,
• allow the deferral of GST/HST under the duty deferral program,
• remove or reduce the restrictions on value-added manufacturing,
• relax the requirement that sales must be substantially export oriented, and
• improve marketing overseas through enabling and supporting locally defined FTZs.

While referring specifically to the Pacific Gateway as a potential model, the Steering Committee believes
that locally defined zones with appropriate marketing support would be applicable across Canada. The
Committee believes that physically-defined British Columbia FTZs could significantly improve British
Columbia marketing efforts overseas, attract international investment, and act as a single window for
potential businesses wanting to set up within a physical FTZ while taking advantage of the existing or
improved federal programs. The Committee believes the federal government would not oppose locally-
defined zones for marketing purposes.

The Steering Committee proposal recommends spending $5 million dollars over five years (funding would
ideally be provided by federal, provincial and local agencies) to establish and operate a small agency to
implement and market the FTZ initiative in the Metro Vancouver region.
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A number of questions associated with establishing location-specific FTZs in British Columbia would need
to be considered to evaluate this proposal, including:

• the likelihood of additional investment as a result of changes to Canada’s FTZ like programs and
enhanced marketing activity;
• the value in enhancing mechanisms to avoid the costs of duties on manufacturing inputs that will be
fully phased out by 2015;
• potential incremental revenue to BC and Canada from increased investment and economic activity
vs the possible deferral or loss of government revenues resulting from enhanced FTZ like programs;
and
• the exacerbation of possible regional disparities if an FTZ were established in Vancouver and not
within other regions.

Proposal Requirements
Proposals should be prepared as simply as possible and provide a straightforward, concise description of the
consultant’s capabilities and approach to satisfy the requirements of this Request for Proposals. The
Proponent may identify additional research elements it believes would be necessary to achieve the objective
of evaluating the benefits of the establishment of FTZs in Canada for consideration by the sponsoring
Ministries.

Evaluation
This section details all of the mandatory and desirable criteria against which proposals will be evaluated.
Proponents should ensure that they fully respond to all criteria in order to receive full consideration during
evaluation.

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Mandatory Criteria
Proposals not clearly demonstrating that they meet the following mandatory criteria will be excluded from
further consideration during the evaluation process.

Criteria

a) The proposal must be received at the closing location before the specified closing time.

b) The proposal must be in English.

c) (Four hard copies of the proposal and one copy on CD must be submitted with one
unaltered, completed Request for Proposals cover page including an originally-signed
Proponent Section with the first copy.

Desirable Criteria
Proposals meeting all of the mandatory criteria will be further assessed against desirable criteria. Proposals
must achieve a minimum score of 70% to be considered.

Criterion Weight

Proponent has job experience in transportation policy, relevant 25


connections with industry, and demonstrates capacity to complete
proposed research
Demonstrates a clear understanding of secondary research requirements 15
Demonstrates a clear understanding of primary research requirements 15
Demonstrates a clear understanding of analysis and recommendations 25
Includes a detailed project plan to meet the requirements 15
Sets out an approach to engage Steering Committee members 10
Sets out an approach to prepare a final report to identify next steps 25
Price 10
Total 140

Proposal Format
The following format, sequence, and instructions should be followed in order to provide consistency in
Proponent response and ensure each proposal receives full consideration. All pages should be consecutively
numbered.

a) An unaltered and completed Request for Proposals cover page, including Proponent Section
as per instructions.
b) Table of contents including page numbers.
c) A short (one or two page) summary of the key features of the proposal.
d) The body of the proposal, including pricing, i.e. the “Proponent Response”.

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Appendix A Contract Form

Standard Contract Requirements


By submission of a proposal, the Proponent agrees that should its proposal be successful, the Proponent will
enter into a Contract with the Province in accordance with the terms of the following Ministry of
Transportation and Infrastructure Consulting Services Contract + Schedules:
• Consulting Services Contract
• Works/Services Schedule
• Payment Schedule
• Schedule of Reimbursable Travel Expenses (Management – Group II)
• Insurance Specifications INS -80
• Certificate of Insurance
• Confidentiality Agreement

Other Contract Requirements

WORKERS’ COMPENSATION BOARD


The contractor and any approved sub-contractors must be registered with the Workers’ Compensation Board
(WCB), in which case WCB coverage must be maintained for the duration of the Contract. Prior to
receiving any payment, the Contractor may be required to submit a WCB Clearance Letter indicating that all
WCB assessments have been paid.

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