Item - 2022.EC31.26

The Economic and Community Development Committee received the report (June 21, 2022) from the Fire Chief and General Manager, Toronto Fire Services, and the Acting Chief Procurement Officer, Purchasing and Materials Management, for information.

This report responds to a request from City Council for the Fire Chief and General Manager, Toronto Fire Services and the Acting Chief Procurement Officer, Purchasing and Materials Management Division to report to the Economic and Community Development Committee at the end of 2022 with an update on the social procurement aspects of the contract with Innotex Inc. for the provision of firefighter structural bunker suits.  The report is being submitted at this time as it is the last reporting cycle of the Council term. 

The Social Procurement Program was approved by City Council in May 2016 and took effect on January 1, 2017. The Social Procurement Program was not in effect at the time the procurement for firefighter structural bunker suits was issued to the market, but it was at the time of award on January 31, 2017. At this time, City Council requested staff consider the inclusion of social procurement criteria into any option year renewals for the contract.

In advance of requesting City Council authority in October 2020 to exercise the option year renewals for the contract, Toronto Fire Services reached out to Innotex Inc. to determine if they would be willing to endorse and implement the City's Social Procurement Program initiative in their geographic area of operations. On August 4, 2020, Innotex Inc. sent a letter to Toronto Fire Services formally endorsing the City's Social Procurement Program along with a commitment to engage organizations or agencies in their region to develop, implement, and maintain a program to help people experiencing economic hardship, in the spirit of the Social Procurement Program. In particular, supply chain diversity was identified as an opportunity, through Innotex Inc.'s subcontractors based in the Greater Toronto Area.