Simultaneous Translation and Audio-Visual services for virtual meetings

The Contractor is engaged to deliver professional virtual bilingual simultaneous interpretation services in English and French, along with comprehensive audio-visual support, for Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Services are to be conducted remotely via Zoom, with the Contractor responsible for managing all technical aspects including the creation and distribution of meeting links, pre-meeting system checks, live technical assistance during sessions, and ensuring interpreter access and functionality through Zoom’s language channels. Interpreters must log in early to complete setup and testing, and the Contractor must maintain documented quality control practices aligned with institutional or governmental standards. The work supports a variety of virtual activities such as meetings, briefings, presentations, workshops, and consultations involving internal and external stakeholders across Canada. The initial contract period runs until March 31, 2027, with an option for up to three additional one-year extensions, each requiring written notice at least thirty days prior to expiry. The contract includes fixed-rate pricing for half-day (three-hour) and full-day (eight-hour) events, with full-day events accommodating a one-hour lunch break between noon and one p.m., and payment is structured on an all-inclusive fixed-price basis per event type and volume. The contract mandates strict compliance with Canadian procurement policies, including reciprocal procurement requirements that limit eligibility to Canadian suppliers only. All offers must be submitted in English or French, separated into three distinct sections—Technical, Financial, and Offeror Declaration—and must remain valid for at least sixty days after the deadline. Technical proposals are evaluated on a hundred-twenty-point scale under the factor of Technical Merit, weighted at 60%, with mandatory pass/fail criteria including compliance with solicitation requirements, adherence to all “must” or “mandatory” technical specifications, and achieving a minimum score of forty points. Price accounts for the remaining 40% of the evaluation, assessed in Canadian dollars inclusive of delivery, duties, and excise taxes but excluding applicable taxes. Invoicing is tightly regulated: payments are tied to completed deliverables, invoices must specify partial or final delivery, include detailed expenditure breakdowns by line item, and must be sent to DFO.invoicing-facturation.MPO@DFO-MPO.gc.ca with a copy to the assigned AP Coder. Contractors must certify that invoices accurately reflect delivered work. Non-resident contractors are subject to a fifteen percent withholding tax on payments unless a valid CRA waiver is presented; no use of Canadian tax exemptions is permitted. The Contractor is barred from accessing PROTECTED or CLASSIFIED information, must comply with