Reintegration Services and Indigenous Community Support

An advanced contract award notice (ACAN) is a public notice indicating to the supplier community that a department or agency intends to award a contract for goods, services or construction to a pre-identified supplier, thereby allowing other suppliers to signal their interest in bidding, by submitting a statement of capabilities. If no supplier submits a statement of capabilities that meets the requirements set out in the ACAN, on or before the closing date and time stated in the ACAN, the contracting officer may then proceed with the award to the pre-identified supplier. 1. Definition of the requirement: Policy on Reciprocal Procurement: the Policy on Reciprocal Procurement does not apply to this procurement. The Correctional Service of Canada has a requirement for culturally appropriate intervention and services that will support Indigenous women offenders to address the impacts of intergenerational trauma and addictions and develop life skills to better prepare them to contribute positively to their families and communities upon release. These services are needed both within the institutions to support the transition to the urban community, as well as within urban communities to provide ongoing support to Indigenous offenders upon release. This will improve CSC’s ability to reintegrate Indigenous women offenders to urban areas. The intent is to increase CSC’s capacity to acquire the services of Community Organizations in the release planning process. The work will involve the following: 1.1 Objectives: The Contractor must identify and coordinate reintegration support for Indigenous women offenders in urban areas, as one of the greatest challenges for Indigenous women offenders returning to urban centres is identifying traditional Indigenous support and services. 1.2 Tasks: 1. The Contractor must provide reintegration support service, to a minimum of 50 Indigenous Women per year who are close to or already released (within in 90 days of their release) into the community. At a minimum, these services include meeting with each woman to assess her needs for release. 2. The Contractor must consult with members of the Case Management Team and provide reintegration support at the earliest stage of release to the women. This includes at a minimum, meeting and sharing relevant information required for the development of the release plan. These services must be provided to any woman offender requiring support services who is returning to the Edmonton area or other community identified in the release plan. 3. The Contractor must begin release planning with the woman offender a minimum 6 - 9 months prior to their release and ensure continuity of this plan after their transition to their community. 4. The Contractor must develop a release plan that is realistic and meets all the Indigenous women’s immediate basic needs (shelter, food, finances); identify natural supports (such as, family reunification, addiction support, counseling, cultural engagement, advocate for financial assistance, referrals for assessments, housing referrals, programming, recreational activities) and professional support, identify short and long term personal goals for the offender such as trauma and addictions support, family reunification; and develop short and long term goals for independence such as employment and education. 5. The Contractor must provide reintegration support services in institutions, and the Women’s Okimaw Ohci Healing Lodge, to support transition within the urban communities to provide ongoing support to Indigenous Women Offenders upon release. The Contractor must facilitate connection and supports to communities outside the Edmonton Area. 6. The Contractor must take a collective approach in the development of a release plan to assist in fostering public safety and broadening the support the Indigenous woman offender has in the community. The Contractor must develop and coordinate a plan for providing continuity of services to the offender upon their release to an Urban community, even if the community is located a significant distance from the institution where the offender is incarcerated. 7. The Contractor must identify resources and community contacts that may be used by CSC personnel when preparing a release plan for the women offenders. 8. The Contractor must provide communication and report monthly activity as requested by the Project Authority, to show the development and implementation of release plans for those they are working with. 9. The Contractor must assist women offenders in accessing culturally appropriate interventions for addictions, trauma or mental health issues. 10. The Contractor must also provide assistance to Indigenous Women Offenders in skill development that include, but are not limited to, employment and education, housing, family engagement, advocacy, and mediation, how to find transportation, how and where to obtain identification and budgeting and other kinds of life skills needed. 11. The Contractor must provide assistance in developing suspension and revocation mitigation plans for the women offenders in collaboration with their parole officers and reintegration support services providers. 12. The Contractor must provide all the necessary facilities, equipment, and tools to perform the work. When onsite at a CSC Institution, CSC will provide a workspace to the Contractor for direct service provision to the woman offenders. The Project Authority must authorize any additional support required by the Contractor. 1.3 Expected results: 1. Indigenous women offenders experience improved reintegration outcomes through increased access to culturally appropriate supports. 2. Release planning begins earlier and is more coordinated between the Contractor, Institutional Parole Officers, and community resources. 3. Indigenous women have strengthened support networks in urban communities, including access to trauma, addictions, mental health, and life skills resources. 4. Indigenous women receive coordinated continuity of service from institutions and healing lodges through their transition into the community. 5. CSC’s capacity to support Indigenous women returning to urban areas is enhanced through improved access to community contacts and Indigenous led support services. 6. Indigenous women have improved access to family support services that complement trauma, addictions, mental health and life skills resources 1.4 Deliverables: 1.4.1 The Contractor must collect information and prepare monthly reports on the following activities: 1. Communication and work completed with CSC personnel, which includes but is not limited to Parole Offices and any community agencies or services providing assistance to the offender. 2. Services provided to Indigenous offenders once they are released to a community. 3. Community contacts with name and reintegration support services such as addiction counselling, Elder services, education and employment. 4. An updated list of the woman offenders the Contractor is actively supporting during the defined service window (6-9 months in the institution and through the early reintegration period in the community.) 5. A yearly project evaluation of the Indigenous Women’s Offender Reintegration Program. The Contractor must submit all Reports in English. At a minimum, the evaluation must include the expected results, actual results, areas for improvement, and overall success. 1.4.2 Paper consumption: a. Should printed material be required, double sided printing in black and white format is the default unless otherwise specified by the Project Authority. b. The Contractor must ensure printed material is on paper with a minimum recycled content of 30% and/or certified as originating from a sustainably managed forest. c. The Contractor must recycle unneeded printed documents (in accordance with Security Requirements). 1.5 Constraints: 1.5.1 Location of work: a. The Contractor must perform the work at the following locations: • Edmonton Institution for Women, Edmonton, AB; • Okimaw Ohci Healing Lodge, Maple Creek, SK; • Other outside communities as requested by the Project Authority. b. Travel i. Travel may be required for performance of the work under this contract. All travel must be pre-authorized by The Project Authority and will be reimbursed at cost without any allowance for overhead or profit according to the National Joint Council Travel Directive. The Project Authority must pre-approve any travel outside 200 kilometers of the identified CSC Institutions must receive prior approval. 1.5.2 Language of Work: The contractor must perform all work in English unless prior approval is obtained from the Project Authority to deliver services in an offender’s Indigenous Language. 1.5.3 Institutional Access Requirements • The contractor/offeror and its personnel shall be always escorted when accessing government facilities or any restricted work site. • The contractor/offeror and its personnel shall not be granted access to any PROTECTED or CLASSIFIED information or assets. • In accordance with Commissioner’s Directives 566 8 Searching of Staff and Visitors and 566 1 Control of Entry to and Exit from Institutions, the contractor/offeror and its personnel requiring access to institutional settings must comply with all security requirements set out in these directives, including but not limited to being subject to searches prior to entry. Correctional Service Canada reserves the right, at any time, to deny contractor personnel access to any institution, site, or part thereof. 2. Criteria for assessment of the statement of capabilities (minimum essential requirements): Any interested supplier must demonstrate by way of a statement of capabilities that it meets the following requirements: The supplier must be an Indigenous-led organization. Eligible suppliers include: 1. Indigenous governing bodies 2. Indigenous not-for-profit organizations or an Indigenous community. Experience: 1. The Supplier must have 5 years of experience, within the last 8 years prior to the closing date of this ACAN, in the development or implementation, or both, of projects, programs, resources or services that assist in the successful rehabilitation and reintegration of Indigenous federal offenders. 2. The Supplier must have 5 years of experience, within the last 8 years prior to the closing date of this ACAN, in assisting Indigenous federal offenders gain access to community support services prior to being released to rural and urban areas and in planning the Indigenous federal offender’s reintegration in order to transition to continuity of services. 3. Applicability of the trade agreement(s) to the procurement This procurement is not subject to any trade agreement. 4. Set-aside under the Procurement Strategy for Indigenous Business This procurement is set-aside for an Indigenous Supplier in accordance with the government Procurement Strategy for Indigenous Business (PSIB). Therefore, only suppliers who meet the definition of an Indigenous business, as defined in the PSIB, may submit a statement of capabilities. 5. Comprehensive Land Claims Agreement(s) This procurement is not subject to a Comprehensive Land Claims Agreement. 6. Justification for the Pre-Identified Supplier There is a limited number of suppliers available to provide reintegration planning and support services to meet the reintegration needs of CSC indigenous women offenders. 1. The pre-identified supplier possesses long standing, continuous experience providing reintegration services specifically to federally sentenced Indigenous women, having supported this population for over five years. 2. The pre-identified supplier delivers unique, culturally grounded, and community specific programming tailored to Indigenous women offenders being released into the Edmonton urban community, which is essential to meeting CSC’s operational and cultural requirements. 3. The pre-identified supplier maintains established relationships within the Indigenous community and has the necessary trust, connections, and service infrastructure to develop and implement effective, culturally appropriate release plans. 4. No other supplier offers the equivalent combination of expertise, cultural competency, continuity of care, and community based reintegration support, making the pre-identified supplier the only supplier capable of delivering the required services. The pre-identified supplier meets all of the minimum essential requirements described in this ACAN. 7. Government Contracts Regulations Exception(s) The following exception to the Government Contracts Regulations is invoked for this procurement under subsection: (d) only one person is capable of performing the contract. 8. Exclusions and/or Limited Tendering Reasons This procurement is not subject to any trade agreement. 9. Ownership of Intellectual Property There are no intellectual property terms in the contract. 10. Period of the proposed contract or delivery date The proposed contract is for a period of one (1) year, from the date of contract award to July 31, 2027 with the option to extend the contract for two (2) additional one (1) year periods. 11. Cost estimate of the proposed contract The estimated value of the contract, including option(s), is $599,997.00 (GST/HST extra). 12. Name and address of the pre-identified supplier Name: Bent Arrow Traditional Healing Society Address: 11648 85th Street NW, Edmonton AB T5B 3E5 13. Suppliers' right to submit a statement of capabilities Suppliers who consider themselves fully qualified and available to provide the goods, services or construction services described in the ACAN, may submit a statement of capabilities in writing to the contact person identified in this notice on or before the closing date and time of this notice. The statement of capabilities must clearly demonstrate how the supplier meets the advertised requirements. 14. Closing date and time for a submission of a statement of capabilities The closing date and time for accepting statements of capabilities is July 13, 2026 at 2:00 PM EST. 15. Inquiries and submission of statements of capabilities Inquiries and statement of capabilities are to be directed to: Aimée Legault Senior Contracting Officer Telephone:343-496-3793 E-mail: aimee.legault@csc-scc.gc.ca