This procurement is subject to the Canadian Free Trade Agreement.
New Brunswick Manufacturer Preference
By stating YES in the input box,
I confirm that I am a Manufacturer of goods
with a place of business in New Brunswick as defined below and am therefore eligible to be considered for the NB Manufacturer preference as defined in this solicitation document. If the input box is left incomplete the bid may be ineligible for the New Brunswick Manufacturer preference.
Place of business means an establishment where a manufacturer regularly conducts its activities on a permanent basis, is clearly identified by name and is accessible during normal business hours.
New Brunswick Vendor Preference
By stating YES in the input box,
I confirm that I am a Vendor of goods or services
with a place of business in New Brunswick as defined below and am therefore eligible to be considered for the NB Vendor preference as defined in this solicitation document. If the input box is left incomplete the bid may be ineligible for the New Brunswick Vendor preference.
Place of business means an establishment where a vendor regularly conducts its activities on a permanent basis, is clearly identified by name and is accessible during normal business hours.
BOOKS, MAPS AND OTHER PUBLICATIONS
AMNENDMENT #4
This invitation to Tender has been amended to answer the following potential bidder(s) question(s):
Q1. Bids that supply all available ISBNs but exclude out-of-print titles will still be considered compliant?
A1. Yes, as long as the author and title are the same, new editions will be accepted.
Q2. Partial fulfillment is acceptable, or whether bidders must source every ISBN listed to be eligible for award?
A2. Bidders may bid on one or multiple items as long as the quantities for the items bid are adhered to.
All other information remains the same.
***
AMNENDMENT #3
This invitation to Tender has been amended to answer the following potential bidder(s) question(s):
Q1. It appears that a number of titles requested are currently not available in the quantities asked for. How should this be handled?
A1.Bidders are asked to bid on the items in which quantities can be sourced. Bidders may bid on one or multiple items that can fulfill the quantities listed in the Tender document.
Q2. If there are titles out of print can another edition of the same title be substituted?
A2. Yes, as long as the author and title are the same, new editions will be accepted.
Q3. If there is a price change in any title between the tender close date and date of award will the change be allowed?
A3. No, the final bid submission prices after tender closing will be held for the evaluation and award purposes.
Q4. When do you expect that this tender will be awarded? Our concern is the tight timeline between when the tender is awarded and the expected deliver by date of September 30th, 2025.
A3. The intent is to award as soon as possible once the Invitation to Tender is closed.
All other information remains the same.
***
AMENDMENT #2
This invitation to tender has been extended from September 2nd, 2025, to September 8th 2025. All other information remains the same.
AMENDMENT #1
Be advised that this Invitation to tender has been amended to answer the following potential bidder(s) question(s):
Q1.In tender 9296010-26, for several items requested, the tender refers to titles in French, while the ISBNs provided refer to books in English.
Are the titles provided incorrect, or are the ISBNs provided incorrect?
A1. The ISBNs provided are for the English versions of the books.
All other information remains the same.
***
SCOPE
This Invitation to Tender (ITT) consists of the supply and delivery of 'Talking, Reading, & Singing Literacy' materials on behalf of the Department of Early Learning and Development (EECD).
SPECIFICATIONS
See attached documents and the Item Descriptions below for details.
CONTRACT AWARD CRITERIA
Where it is deemed practicable and in the best interest of the Province, a contract maybe awarded to more than one bidder for one item or a group of items.
This tender will be awarded based on a combination of the lowest compliant bids per item.
Each item will be evaluated individually.
HOW TO SUBMIT PRICING
Bidders are invited to submit their UNIT PRICE--the price for a single product within the Tender Item--under the 'Unit Price Including Discount' column. Bidders should then multiply their unit price by the 'Quantity/Unit' to calculate the 'Extended Price'. The 'Unit Price Including Discount' and 'Extended Price' column directly on this Invitation to Tender. The "Total including all charges" should NOT include taxes.
Bidders MUST include delivery and printing costs within their UNIT PRICE.
DELIVERY DATE AND PRICE
Bidders shall deliver the goods to the Shipping Address detailed above on or before September 30, 2025. Deliveries thereafter the requested date may be cancelled, and bids may not be accepted.
Bids MUST include pricing for delivery to the Shipping Address detailed above.
The successful bidder will be required to deliver the quantities listed in the attached 'Shipping Instructions' to each location.
BIDDER QUESTIONS
All inquiries should be received five (5) calendar days prior to the closing date; any inquiries received less than five (5) calendar days prior to the closing date cannot be guaranteed a response. Please reference the tender number and closing date within your communications to ensure a prompt and accurate reply.
REQUIREMENTS
BIDDERS ARE REQUIRED TO SIGN AND DATE THEIR BID IN THE SPACE PROVIDED BELOW.
This is a tender notice only. In order to submit a bid, you must obtain official tender documents from the New Brunswick Opportunities Network, another authorized tendering service or as indicated in the tender notice.
Instructions for Bid Submission
1. Bids will only be accepted by electronic transmission as follows:
a. By e-bidding through NBON (when e-bidding is possible); OR
b. By fax to: (506) 444-4200 (fax to dedicated mailbox).
Note: Proposals in response to a Request for Proposals (RFP) will not be accepted by fax; OR
c. By email to NBBids@snb.ca or SoumissionsNB@snb.ca (do not submit bids to any other email).
Click here
Instructions for Bid Submission by Email for important instructions on how to submit bids by email.
d. Please refrain from submitting your bid through multiple electronic channels to avoid duplicate bids.
2. All bids must be properly signed by an authorized person.
a. For bids submitted by email or fax: typed signatures (in any font) that are not on the bid itself (i.e. in the body of the email or on the fax cover sheet) will NOT be accepted.
3. All bids must be legible, properly completed and contain the proper solicitation number.
4. The proponent is solely responsible for ensuring that the bid submission in its entirety, including all attachments, is received before Closing Date and Time as indicated on the solicitation documents.
a. The proponent bears all risk associated with delivering its bid by electronic submission, including but not limited to delays in transmission between the Proponent's computer and the Province's Electronic Mail System, NBON or fax.
b. The date and time of official receipt of the bid will be the time of receipt recorded in the NBON system (for e-bids) or the time of receipt in the Province's Electronic Mail System (for fax and email bid submissions).
5. All bids must be stated in Canadian Funds. Sales taxes should not be included in the unit, extended or total prices.
6. All tenders must be DDP (delivery duty paid), per Incoterms 2020 DDP. The seller bears all costs and risks until the goods are delivered to the buyer at the named place of destination, ready for unloading, and cleared for import, including all duties and taxes.
7. This Invitation is being conducted under the provisions of the Procurement Act and Regulation 2014-93 as of the date of the issuance of the Invitation.
QUESTIONS:
Written questions relating to this opportunity may be submitted to the address provided below via email by clicking on Questions. Please be sure to include the solicitation/tender number in the subject line.
EMAIL ADDRESS: bidquestionssoumissions@snb.ca
NOTE:
This email account is strictly for the receipt of questions on open opportunities. This email is not for the submission of bids.
Excluded Jurisdictions
1. In accordance with section 162.1 of Regulation 2014-93 under the Procurement Act, US Bids for this solicitation may be refused at the sole discretion of the Government of New Brunswick. Refused bids will not be returned and there will be no further notification to refused bidders.
2. For the purpose of this section:
2.1 "US Bid" means a bid submission from:
a) a US Entity, or
b) a joint venture, syndicate, partnership or other business combination or cooperative arrangement in combination with a US Entity that is submitted from a Place of Business within the United States of America.
2.2 "US Entity" means
a) a business or professional organization, including without limitation a corporation, partnership, joint venture, professional corporation, limited liability company, sole proprietorship, trust or association or other commercial organization, that is created, established, formed or incorporated in any jurisdiction in the United States of America; and
b) any entity that is owned or controlled by an entity listed in paragraph 2.2(a); and
2.3 "Place of Business" means an establishment where a vendor or manufacturer conducts activities on a permanent basis, is clearly identified by name and is accessible during normal business hours.
Tariffs Price Adjustments
Suppliers should prepare bid submissions based on information and costs known at the time of submission. If the price of any goods included within this solicitation is affected by new, previously undisclosed tariffs or duties implemented after the bid submission period has closed, the awarded supplier(s) may request a price increase from the Government of New Brunswick (GNB) to offset the increased costs (a "Tariff Price Adjustment") as outlined in this section.
Before requesting a Tariff Price Adjustment from GNB, suppliers should first seek refund or relief from applicable federal and provincial/territorial government applicable tariff relief programs.
If the supplier is unable to obtain financial relief or support from federal and/or provincial/territorial governments, suppliers may request a Tariff Price Adjustment from GNB for the affected goods, after providing sufficient evidence that financial relief or support was denied.
Suppliers must substantiate any Tariff Price Adjustment request with supporting information and documentation satisfactory to GNB in its sole discretion, including but not limited to: 1) A detailed description of the goods on which a price increase is sought, the associated HS codes, and the applicable tariffs; 2) Detailed breakdown of how tariffs have impacted the supplier's operations and/or supply chain, including raw materials, production, and shipping; 3) A cost comparison before and after
the tariffs, showing how they directly impact the supplier's pricing, and the supplier's plans to mitigate cost pressures; 4) Evidence demonstrating the supplier's inability to source the goods or substitutes from non-US suppliers, or other factors preventing the sourcing of the goods or substitutes from non-US suppliers (e.g., contractual obligations); and 5) Any supportive or corroborative information, such as communications from the supplier's supply chain or logistics partners, which
confirms the impact of tariffs on the supplier's costs.
Requests for Tariff Price Adjustments should be sent to the contact person on the Purchase Order or Contract. Acceptance of any price increase is solely at the Government of New Brunswick's discretion, and subject to any conditions imposed at the time of approval.
All bids will be deemed to have been submitted in contemplation of the above noted potential adjustments to price. By submitting a bid, each supplier acknowledges that the other suppliers who have submitted bids may obtain a Tariff Price Adjustment in accordance with the requirements noted above, and waives any claim, action or proceeding against GNB relating to a Tariff Price Adjustment to any contract arising from this solicitation.
A bidder must obtain official solicitation documents from a distribution service, authorized by the Minister of Service New Brunswick, in order to submit a bid. The current authorized distribution services are the
New Brunswick Opportunities Network (NBON) (operated by Service New Brunswick, Province of NB),
BIDSAlert (operated by Tendering Publications Ltd.) and
MERX (operated by Mediagrif Interactive Technologies). Bids should be submitted on the official bid documents
obtained from these authorized distribution services.
The Atlantic Provinces
Standard Terms & Conditions for Goods and Services apply to this procurement and are considered to be incorporated into this document. By submitting a bid, you agree and accept these terms and conditions. Current "Atlantic Provinces Standard Terms and Conditions" are available on the New Brunswick Opportunities Network, the Council of Atlantic Premiers' Website or from an authorized service provider.
Solicitation documents will be provided in either of the Province of New Brunswick's two official languages; English or French upon request.
The province of New Brunswick reserves the right to negotiate pricing, value added and other savings opportunities with the successful proponent at time of award and throughout the contract.
All suppliers engaged to deliver services on behalf of the Government of New Brunswick must ensure compliance with the
Official Languages Act in the delivery of those services. For more information, please refer to the
Official Languages Act.
All discounts quoted will be considered to be without limitations.
Under Canadian law (and international agreements), your Bid must arrive separately and independently, without conspiracy, collusion or fraud; see http://www.competitionbureau.gc.ca/eic/site/cb-bc.nsf/eng/home for further information.
Award of contracts: no contract shall be awarded and no payment shall be made to a vendor unless authorized by the Minister or his delegates. The Minister may make an award to the preferred vendor conditional on the negotiation and acceptance of a detailed contract between the Province and the vendor. In such cases, should the detailed contract negotiations not be completed in a reasonable period of time, the Province reserves the right to discontinue negotiations with the vendor and
subsequently enter into negotiations with the second preferred vendor.
Pay Equity
Does your organization have 50 or more employees?
The Government of New Brunswick is committed to encouraging and incentivizing the adoption of pay equity by employers doing business with government.
Prior to the award of procurements for goods and services valued over $1,000,000, suppliers, with fifty (50) or more employees will be required to complete the Pay Equity Learning Module developed by the Women's Equality Branch. Suppliers should provide a copy of their certificate of completion with their bid submission.
To complete the online module and obtain your certificate, please visit www.gnb.ca/payequity. For questions, please contact the Pay Equity Bureau toll free: (877) 253-0266 or by Email: peb-bes@gnb.ca.
No right or duty, in whole or in part, of the vendor under a contract issued may be assigned or delegated without the prior consent of the Strategic Procurement Branch.
Unless indicated otherwise in this tender notice or attached documents, all prices must be extended and totalled.
All Suppliers engaged to deliver goods or services to the Government of New Brunswick must ensure compliance with the Designated Materials Regulation in the provision or delivery of those goods obligated under that Regulation. Please refer to
Recycle NB's website and the
Designated Materials Regulation for specifics.
Direct Deposit
The Province of New Brunswick uses Direct Deposit as the standard method of issuing payments. Suppliers are required to provide bank account information and an email address for the notice of remittance. Please send the completed Direct Deposit Form to Service New Brunswick (e-mail address and mailing address are indicated on the form).
Please click on the link below to view the Direct Deposit Form.
https://www2.snb.ca/content/dam/snb/Procurement/DirectDepositVirementDirect.pdf
PAYMENT OF INVOICES
Payment of invoices is the responsibility of the department or organization to whom the goods are shipped or services are supplied.
Where the estimated value of the goods or services to be procured is below the lowest applicable threshold value of any relevant trade agreement, Service New Brunswick reserves the right to give preferential treatment to a prospective supplier from New Brunswick. Should this right be exercised, the following order of priority will apply: a) firstly, New Brunswick manufacturers if the goods to be procured are manufactured in New Brunswick; and b) secondly, New Brunswick vendors.
When bid submissions are evaluated on price:
- Applicability of the preferences will be determined based on the price differential between the lowest-priced acceptable bid and the bid receiving the preferential treatment.
- The price differential under which a NB supplier preference may be applied will be limited to 10%. When the lowest-priced acceptable bid before preferential treatment is applied is a New Brunswick vendor, the price differential under which a NB manufacturer preference will be applied will be limited to 5%.
- The preferential treatment will be applied by making the award to the NB supplier.
When bid submissions are evaluated on a point system:
- Applicability of the preferences will be determined based on the price differential between the pricing component of the highest scoring acceptable bid submission and the pricing component of the bid(s) receiving the preferential treatment.
- The price differential under which a NB supplier preference may be applied will be limited to 10%. When the highest scoring acceptable bid submission before preferential treatment is applied is a New Brunswick vendor, the price differential under which a NB manufacturer preference will be applied will be limited to 5%.
- The preferential treatment will be applied by allotting a maximum of an additional 5% of the total possible points to New Brunswick manufacturers' total scores and 4% to NB vendors' total scores. If no bid from a New Brunswick manufacturer has been retained for preferential treatment, New Brunswick vendors may receive a maximum of an additional 5% of the total possible points rather than 4%.
The decision to apply a preference will be at the sole discretion of Service New Brunswick. To be eligible, suppliers must meet the definition of NB supplier as identified by the regulation under the
Procurement Act. NB manufacturers should indicate in their bid that they are a NB manufacturer to be considered for the NB manufacturer preference.
Where permissible under the applicable trade agreements and the regulation under the
Procurement Act, Service New Brunswick reserves the right to give preferential treatment to a prospective supplier from New Brunswick. Should this right be exercised, the following order of priority will apply: a) firstly, New Brunswick manufacturers if the goods to be procured are manufactured in New Brunswick; and b) secondly, New Brunswick vendors.
When bid submissions are evaluated on price:
- Applicability of the preferences will be determined based on the price differential between the lowest-priced acceptable bid and the bid receiving the preferential treatment.
- The price differential under which a NB supplier preference may be applied will vary between 2.5% and 10% depending on the total estimated value of the procurement, in accordance with the ranges set out in the regulation under the
Procurement Act.
- The preferential treatment will be applied by making the award to the NB supplier.
When bid submissions are evaluated on a point system:
- Applicability of the preferences will be determined based on the price differential between the pricing component of the highest scoring acceptable bid submission and the pricing component of the bid(s) receiving the preferential treatment.
- The price differential under which a NB supplier preference may be applied will vary between 2.5% and 10% depending on the total estimated value of the procurement, in accordance with the ranges set out in the regulation under the
Procurement Act.
- The preferential treatment will be applied by allotting a maximum of an additional 5% of the total possible points to New Brunswick manufacturers' total scores and 4% to NB vendors' total scores. If no bid from a New Brunswick manufacturer has been retained for preferential treatment, New Brunswick vendors may receive a maximum of an additional 5% of the total possible points rather than 4%.
The decision to apply a preference will be at the sole discretion of Service New Brunswick. To be eligible, suppliers must meet the definition of NB supplier as identified by the regulation under the
Procurement Act. NB manufacturers should indicate in their bid that they are a NB manufacturer to be considered for the NB manufacturer preference.
