When a public body issues a call for tenders, it is generally free to establish the criteria that bidders must satisfy in order to be eligible to bid. A public body is also generally free to define situations in which a bidder will be disqualified from participating in the procurement process. In any event, the selection criteria must comply with the Trade Agreements and must accord with the public body's duty to run a fair competitive procurement process that does not unduly favour any particular bidder(s). Additional restrictions which are specific to certain levels of government may also apply.

Through the use of the RFQ pre-qualification process, a public body may require that entities pre-qualify for a competitive procurement based on a range of criteria, such as depth of expertise or financial strength. Where a pre-qualification process has been established, only those prospective bidders that meet the requirements may then subsequently submit a bid.

In Quebec, enterprises that are convicted of certain prescribed offences set out in the Act respecting contracting by public bodies, become listed on Quebec's Register of Enterprises Ineligible for Public Contracts ("RENA"). Enterprises listed on RENA are prohibited from bidding on public contracts for a prescribed period. Once an enterprise is listed on RENA, there are limited opportunities to be removed from RENA before the period of ineligibility has ended.

Where a conflict of interests exists between a public body and a bidder, the bidder may be disqualified from participating in the procurement. The specific circumstances that will constitute a conflict of interest in a given procurement procedure are generally set out by the procuring authority in the bid call document. Public bodies are subject to a duty to avoid any conflict of interest that could compromise the integrity of the tendering process. To that end, bidders may also be subject to a duty to declare any actual, potential or perceived conflict of interest upon discovery of the same. However, case law provides that establishing a conflict of interest at law requires something more than the mere appearance of a potential conflict.

There is no bar to submitting a joint bid, although in some circumstances bidders will need to be mindful of the requirements against bid rigging set out in the Competition Act. According to the Competition Bureau, bid rigging occurs where two or more persons agree that, in response to a call for bids or tenders, one or more of them will either not submit a bid, will withdraw a bid, or will submit a bid arrived at by agreement. The offence of bid rigging is committed only if the person requesting the bids is not informed beforehand about the agreement made between the parties.

Whether or not a bidder can change a member of a bidder consortium during a procurement procedure will depend on the terms outlined in the bid call documentation.

See 4(f), above.

Federal and provincial public bodies are free to allow foreign companies to participate in a procurement process. Foreign companies are not required to have a local branch, subsidiary or tax residence in order to participate in a Canadian procurement procedure.

Public bodies must ensure that the eligibility criteria which they establish for a particular procurement does not unjustifiably exclude foreign companies from participation. That is, public bodies must be conscious of their trade obligations and their broader duty to conduct a fair competitive procurement process.

Under certain circumstances, federal public bodies are required to allow foreign companies to participate in a procurement process pursuant to trade agreements such as the GPA and NAFTA. Exceptions nevertheless exist for procurements that involve national security or national defence.