Services of verbatim court reporters, on an "as-required" basis, to provide bilingual verbatim court reporting services at public hearings various locations across Canada.

The Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) is seeking qualified suppliers to provide bilingual verbatim court reporting services on an as-required basis for public hearings and selected meetings held across Canada. Contractors must supply experienced court reporters with at least three years of courtroom or regulatory tribunal reporting experience within the past seven years, using approved techniques such as stenotyping, stenomask, shorthand, digital recording, or real-time methods to produce accurate, verbatim transcripts in both English and French. The contract period runs from October 1, 2026, to September 30, 2029, with an option for Canada to extend the contract by up to two additional one-year periods under the same terms. Deliverables include daily and next-day transcripts in multiple formats—paper, Microsoft Word, Adobe Acrobat, and two HTML5 versions—with strict adherence to CRTC’s layout and style requirements. HTML5 files must be validated as error-free via W3C standards, and all accessible formats must comply with WCAG 2.0 AA guidelines. Transcripts and electronic files must be securely packaged: confidential paper transcripts must be bound in red cardboard, sealed in envelopes marked “PROTECTED,” and placed inside a second envelope; USB drives delivering transcripts must follow the same protocol. All personnel must hold a valid reliability status under the Contract Security Program, and the contractor must maintain a designated organization screening at the Protected B level. Information technology systems must be pre-approved by the Contract Security Program before processing protected information, and hardware containing such data may only be removed from inspected sites at the CRTC’s request. The contract mandates full compliance with the Security Requirements Check List and the Contract Security Manual, with audits permitted at any time by the CRTC’s Cybersecurity Team or PWGSC. Offers must be submitted electronically via email to approvisionnements-procurements@crtc.gc.ca before July 8, 2026, with no submissions exceeding 20MB and limited to PDF, Word, or Excel formats. Evaluation is based on mandatory technical compliance followed by lowest price among compliant offers, with no weighted factors applied. Invoicing requires itemized details per delivery, including expenditure breakdowns, financial codes, and tax registration numbers, accompanied by supporting documentation such as receipts and release forms. Payments will be processed via direct deposit within 30 days of receiving a compliant invoice, subject to government audit rights, record retention for seven years after final payment, and the contractor’s obligation to maintain accurate cost records