Accountability

The following policies are shared publicly for reference, helping to maintain an environment of transparency and accountability within the Lansdowne Children's Centre organization.

Table of Contents

• A 2-d-180 Expense Reimbursement for Mileage, Meals & Accommodations

• A 5-b-010 Expense Authorization

• A 5-b-110 Procurement Policy

• A 5-b-115 Capital Procurment Policy
  

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A 2-D-180 Reimbursement for Mileage, Meals & Accommodations  

As of January 2024

Policy: Lansdowne Children’s Centre reimburses employees for approved work-related and in-service mileage in excess of regular travel to and from work. Lansdowne may also consider reimbursement for mandatory training and professional development opportunities as applicable.

As part of the budgeting process, the rates of reimbursement shall be reviewed each year based on budget dollar availability and the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services guidelines.

Unionised employees shall be governed under the collective agreement.

Procedure:

Mileage

All employees who are required to travel for Lansdowne Children's Centre as part of their position are eligible to claim mileage expenditures at the rate established subject to the following guidelines:

Employees must complete a Mileage and Personal Expense Claim Form in order to receive compensation for mileage.

The Destination or Purpose column must be completed indicating specific location information. To receive reimbursement, the Form must be submitted by the end of each month.

All submitted Mileage and Personal Expense Claim Forms shall be approved and initialled by the Manager or designate. The approved Form shall then be forwarded to the Business Office for reimbursement. Reimbursement will be provided on employee pay cheques.

Where an employee goes directly from home to an alternate work location (e.g., School, Childcare Centre etc.) they shall be reimbursed mileage only for the additional distance travelled beyond the distance from home to the nearest Lansdowne site in proximity to the alternative work location.

When an employee is required to travel during their work hours (e.g., between Lansdowne Sites, Community Meetings etc.) they are eligible for mileage compensation.

Mileage expenses to and from home to Lansdowne sites are not eligible for reimbursement or included in the employee’s electronic health record submissions.

Mandatory Trainings

Employees who attend mandatory trainings outside of Lansdowne Children’s Centre are eligible to claim mileage and one meal expense per day.

Employees must complete a Mileage and Personal Expense Claim Form in order to receive compensation for expenses.

Rates of reimbursement shall be reviewed each year based on budget dollar availability and the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services guidelines.

Alcoholic beverages are not eligible for reimbursement. Snacks and beverages that do not accompany a meal will not be reimbursed.

Tip amounts for meals are not eligible for reimbursement.

To receive reimbursement, the Form must be submitted by the end of each month along with any applicable receipts.

Professional Development

Depending on the cost of the professional development opportunity and available funds, employees who have been approved to take professional development, may be entitled to claim a portion of their mileage, meal and accommodation costs.

Employees must obtain pre-approval from their manager or designate prior to completing the Mileage and Personal Expense Claim Form in order to receive compensation for expenses.

The highest rate allowable for reimbursements shall be reviewed each year based on budget dollar availability and the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services guidelines.

Alcoholic beverages are not eligible for reimbursement. Snacks and beverages that do not accompany a meal will not be reimbursed.

Tip amounts for meals are not eligible for reimbursement.

To receive reimbursement, the Form must be submitted by the end of each month along with any applicable receipts and location information.

A 5-B010 EXPENSE AUTHORIZATION

As of September 2022

Policy: 1 POLICY 1.01 No expenditure shall be authorized unless the Board of Directors has approved the purchase, either through the budgeting process or through specific requests that have received the approval of the Board. 1.02 All employees shall obtain appropriate authorization for any expenditure of Lansdowne Children’s Centre funds. 2 PURPOSE 2.01 The purpose of this Statement of Policy and Procedure is to establish internal controls over the authorization of expenses. 3 SCOPE 3.01 This policy applies to all individuals making purchases on behalf of the Centre. 4 RESPONSIBILITY 4.01 All Operating Departments are responsible for ensuring that expenditures made on behalf of Lansdowne Children’s Centre represent good value and represent a benefit to the Centre. 4.02 The Business Department is responsible for ensuring that no payments are made without appropriate authorization. See also A 5-d-30 – Cheque Issuance. 5 DEFINITIONS 5.01 “Petty Cash” means a small amount of cash kept on hand at a work site to be used for necessary minor purchases. 5.02 “Cheque Requisition” means a form requesting a cheque be prepared for payment of a purchase invoice. 5.03 “Budget” means a financial plan outlining expected revenues, expenses and expenditures for fixed assets that is formally reviewed and approved by the Board of Directors. 5.04 “Service Cost” means the total dollars spent over the contract term.

Procedure: 7 PROCEDURES 7.01 Goods and Services less than $30 (a) Goods and services costing less than $30 required in the normal course of business may be paid for from Petty Cash (see SPP FN 2.02 — Petty Cash). (b) All expenditures using Petty Cash must be authorized by the Service Director. 7.02 Goods and Services greater than $30 and less than $2,000 (a) For individual goods and services costing more than $30 required in the normal course of business, the purchase order process must be used, except in the case of regular predictable expenses such as rent or utilities. (b) Purchase order authorizations are as follows: (i) Any purchase with a gross value under $2,000 shall be reviewed and authorized by a Service Director. (ii) Any replenishment of office supplies shall be reviewed and authorized by the Business Director. 7.03 Goods and Services greater than $2,000 and less than $10,000 (a) For individual goods and services costing more than $2,000 required in the normal course of business, the purchase order process must be used, except in the case of regular predictable expenses such as rent or utilities. (b) Purchase order authorizations are as follows: (i) Any purchase with a gross value under $10,000 shall be approved by the Service Director before it’s forwarded to the Business Director. (ii) The Business Director or person delegated thereof must obtain three (3) verbal quotes for the item(s) requested. (ii) If conditions exist that result in the inability to obtain three quotes, a record must be made of the effort to obtain quotes. (iv) The Business Director or person delegated thereof must analyze the quotes and make a recommendation. (v) Selection and final authorization of purchases under $10,000 must be made by the Business Director. 7.04 Goods and Services greater than $10,000 and less than $50,000 (a) For individual goods and services costing more than $10,000 required in the

normal course of business, the purchase order process must be used, except in the case of regular predictable expenses such as rent or utilities. (b) Purchase order authorizations are as follows: (i) Any purchase with a gross value under $50,000 shall be approved by the Service Director before it is forwarded to the Business Director. (ii) The Business Director or person delegated thereof must obtain three (3) written quotes for the item(s) requested. (ii) If conditions exist that result in the inability to obtain three quotes, a record must be made of the effort to obtain quotes. (iv) The Business Director or person delegated thereof must analyze the quotes and make a recommendation. (v) Selection and final authorization of purchases under $50,000 must be made by the Business Director. 7.05 Goods and Services greater than $50,000 (a) For individual goods and services costing more than $50,000 required in the normal course of business, the purchase order process must be used, except in the case of regular predictable expenses such as rent or utilities. (b) Purchase order authorizations are as follows: (i) Any purchase with a gross value over $50,000 shall be approved by the Service Director before it is forwarded to the Business Director. (ii) The Business Director must forward the purchase requisition to the Executive Director, who in turn will forward it to the Finance and Personnel Committee. (iii) The Finance and Personnel Committee or delegate thereof must formally obtain quotes through a competitive bidding process (as defined in SPP FN 2.06 – Purchase Orders) (iv) If conditions exist that result in the inability to obtain three quotes, a record must be made of the effort to obtain quotes. (v) The Finance and Personnel Committee must forward their recommendation to the Board of Directors for final approval. (vi) Once approved by the Board of Directors, the section of the minutes approving the purchase is attached to the Request for Materials by the secretary to the administration/ Executive Director, and then returned to the Business Director. (vii) The Business Director must prepare a formal Purchase Order. The purchase order must accompany the original purchase requisition when it is forwarded to the purchase support staff for order placement. 7.06 Purchases initiated by Management (a) All purchases made on behalf of the Centre must have an authorizing signature

other than that of the initiator of the purchase. Where a Service Director initiates a purchase, the authorization will be as per paragraph 7.03 above or the individual’s direct supervisor, whichever level is higher. 7.07 Authorization by Board of Directors (a) The Board of Directors authorizes the annual expenses of the Centre by approving the annual budget. (b) For major purchases not incorporated into the fiscal budget, the Board of Directors delegates authorization responsibility to the President. However, the Board of Directors shall be informed of major purchases that have the potential to affect the direction or financial results of the Centre. 8 Conflict of Interest (a) A member of the Board of Directors is considered to have a conflict of interest if the member: (i) is a shareholder in or a director or senior officer of a corporation that does not offer its securities to the public; (ii) has a controlling interest in or is a senior officer of a corporation that offers its securities to the public; (iii) is a member of a body that has a financial interest in a matter under discussion by the Board; or (iv) is a partner of a person or is in the employment of a person or body that has a financial interest in the matter. b) For the purposes of this policy, the financial interests of a parent, spouse, same-sex partner or any child of the member shall be deemed to be a financial interest of the member. 9 Acceptance of Favours and Gratuities The image and integrity of the employees and board of the Centre must be preserved at all times. Only the acceptance of infrequent and reasonable hospitality or business gifts of a small intrinsic value is allowed. The frequency and nature of gifts or hospitality should not be allowed whereby the recipient might be deemed by others to have been influenced in making a purchasing decision as a consequence of accepting such hospitality or gifts.

A 5-B-100 PROCUREMENT POLICY

As of June 2024

Policy: 1 POLICY 1.01 Lansdowne Children’s Centre (LCC) is committed to acquiring goods and services through an open fair and transparent process. The procurement process must use ethical, professional, standardized and accountable practices, provide equal access to vendors to procurement opportunities, processes and results and be in accordance with legislative requirements. Agency procurement will commit funds prudently and responsibly without prejudice and will obtain maximum value from vendors offering the best price consistent with the required specifications as to quality, availability and service. 2 PURPOSE 2.01 The purpose of this Statement of Policy and Procedure is to: § Ensure that goods and services, including construction, consulting services and information technology, are acquired through a process that is open, fair and transparent § Outline responsibilities throughout each stage of the procurement process § Ensure that purchase process are managed consistently 3 SCOPE 3.01 This policy applies to all individuals making purchases on behalf of the Centre. 4 PRINCIPLES 4.01 This Policy and Procedure is based on five key principles: § Accountability—LCC is accountable for the results of its procurement decisions and the appropriateness of the processes § Transparency – LCC aims to be transparent to all stakeholders. Wherever possible, stakeholders must have equal access to information on procurement opportunities, processes and results. § Value for Money—LCC shall maximize the value they receive from the use of public funds. A value-for-money approach aims to deliver goods and services at the optimum total lifecycle cost § Quality Service Delivery—Services provided by LCC must receive the right product, at the right time, in the right place. § Process Standardization—Standardized processes remove inefficiencies and create a level playing field. 4.02 SUPPLY CHAIN CODE OF ETHICS:

To ensure an ethical, professional and accountable supply chain, LCC shall follow the following Code of Ethics: § Personal Integrity and Professionalism: Individuals involved with Supply Chain Activities must act, and be seen to act, with integrity and professionalism. Honesty, care and due diligence must be integral to all Supply Chain Activities within and between LCC, suppliers and other stakeholders. Respect must be demonstrated for each other and for the environment. Confidential information must be safeguarded. Participants must not engage in any activity that may create, or appear to create, a conflict of interest, such as accepting gifts or favours, providing preferential treatment, or publicly endorsing suppliers or products. § Accountability and Transparency: Supply Chain Activities must be open and accountable. In particular, contracting and procurement activities must be fair, transparent and conducted with a view to obtaining the best value for public funding. All participants must ensure that public sector resources are used in a responsible, efficient and effective manner. § Compliance and Continuous Improvement: Individuals involved with procurement or other Supply Chain activities must comply with these code of Ethics and the laws of Canada and Ontario. Individuals should continuously work to improve supply chain policies and procedures, to improve their supply chain knowledge and skill levels, and to share leading practices. SEGREGATION OF DUTIES: 4.03 Segregation of Duties prevents any one person from controlling the entire procurement process. The five typical functional procurement roles that require approval are requisition, budgeting, commitment, receipt, and payment. At least three of the five procurement roles must be segregated. 5 APPROVAL AUTHORITY 5.01 Prior to commencement, any procurement of goods, non-consulting services, and consulting services must be approved by the appropriate authority level. Any noncompetitive procurement of goods, non-consulting services, or consulting services must be approved by an authority one level higher than the requirements for competitive procurement. The overall value of procurement must not be reduced by dividing it into multiple procurements in order to circumvent the approval requirements. 5.02 Goods and Non-Consulting Services:

Purchase Value (not including taxes) Means of Procurement Approval Authority $0 up to but not including $100 Petty cash Manager

$100 up to but not including $2,000 Procurement card (P-card) Manager $2,001 up to but not including $10,000 Purchase order Director $10,000 up to but not including $50,000 Invitational competitive procurement (minimum of three suppliers are invited to submit a bid) Director $50,000 or more Open competitive process Board of Directors 5.03 Consulting Services

Consulting Services Procurement Method Procurement Value Approval Authority Invitational Competitive $0 up to but not including $100,000 Centre’s approval authority for goods and non-consulting services Open Competitive Any value Centre’s approval authority for goods and non-consulting services Non-competitive $0 up to but not including $1,000,000 Approved by a Board motion and signed by the Executive Director and a Board member. $1,000,000 or more Approved by the Board and signed by all three: Business Director, Executive Director and Treasurer

Procedure:

6 COMPETITIVE PROCUREMENT PROCEDURES:

The following outlines the steps to be taken in the procurement of goods, non-consulting

services and consulting services:

6.01 Planning

· Determine what goods and services are necessary to meet business

requirements

· Look at opportunities to create efficiencies to maximize value for money

· Review potential supply sources

· Determine appropriate procurement method · Determine the necessary approval requirements and when these approvals will be needed · Determine the overall time necessary to complete the procurement process 6.02 Information Gathering: § Where results of informal supplier or product research are insufficient, formal processes such as a Request for Information (RFI) or Request for Expression of Interest (RFEI) may be used if warranted. A response to RFI or RFEI must not be used to pre-qualify a potential supplier and must not influence the chances of the participating suppliers from becoming the successful proponent in any subsequent procurement opportunity. 6.03 A Request for Supplier Qualification (RFSQ) may be conducted to gather information about supplier capabilities and qualifications in order to pre-qualify suppliers for an immediate product or service need or to identify qualified candidates in advance of expected future competitions. The terms and conditions of the RFSQ document must contain language that disclaims any obligation of LCC to call on any supplier to provide goods or services as a result of the pre-qualification. This process can be used to develop a Vendor of Record list. 6.04 Posting Competitive Procurement Documents—Calls for open competitive procurements will be made through an electronic tendering system that is readily accessible by all Canadian suppliers. 6.05 Timelines for Posting Competitive Procurements—LCC will provide suppliers a minimum response time of 15 calendar days for goods and services valued at $100,000 or more. This shall be increased to 30 calendar days for procurements of high complexity, risk, and/or dollar value. 6.06 Bid Receipt—The bid submission date and closing time (Monday to Friday, excluding holidays) must be clearly stated in competitive procurement documents. Submissions delivered after the closing time must be returned to the supplier unopened. 6. 07 Evaluation Criteria - Evaluation criteria must be developed, reviewed, and approved by the appropriate authority prior to commencement of the competitive procurement process. Competitive procurement documents must clearly outline mandatory, rated, and other criteria that will be used to evaluate submissions, including the weighting of each criterion. Mandatory criteria (i.e. technical standards) should be kept to a minimum to ensure that no bid is unnecessarily disqualified. Maximum justifiable weighting must be allocated to the price/cost component of the evaluation criteria.

The evaluation criteria can only be altered by means of an addendum to the competitive procurement documents. Suppliers may be requested to provide alternative strategies or solutions as part of their submission. Criteria must be established to evaluate alternative strategies or solutions prior to the commencement of the competitive procurement process. Alternative strategies or solutions can only be considered if they have been explicitly requested in the competitive procurement documents. 6.08 Evaluation Process Disclosure - Competitive procurement documents must fully disclose the evaluation methodology and process to be used in assessing submissions, including the method of resolving a tie score. Competitive procurement documents must state that submissions that do not meet the mandatory criteria will be disqualified. 6.09 Evaluation Team—An evaluation team shall be established who will be responsible for reviewing and rating the bids. The size and qualifications of the team shall be appropriate to the complexity and value of the procurement. Each team member must be made aware of the restrictions related to the utilization and distribution of confidential and commercially sensitive information collected through the competitive procurement process and refrain from engaging in activities that may create or appear to create a conflict of interest. Team members shall sign a conflict of interest declaration and nondisclosure of confidential information agreement. 6.10 Evaluation Matrix—Each evaluation team member must complete an evaluation matrix, rating each of the submissions. Records of the evaluation scores must be retained for audit purposes. Evaluators must ensure that everything they say or write about the submissions is fair, factual, and fully defensible. 6.11. Winning Bid—The submission that receives the highest evaluation score and meets all mandatory requirements set out in the competitive procurement documents must be declared the winning bid. 6.12. Non-Discrimination—LCC must not discriminate or exercise preferential treatment in awarding a contract to a supplier as a result of a competitive procurement process. 6.13 Executing and Establishing the Contract—The agreement between LCC and the successful supplier must be formally defined in a signed, written contract before the provision of supplying goods or services commences using the form that was released with the procurement documents (or developed subsequently if an alternative procurement strategy was used). Where an immediate need exists for goods or services, and the supplier are unable to finalize the contract, an interim purchase commitment may be used. The justification of such decision must be documented and approved by the appropriate authority. 6.14. Termination Clauses—All contracts must include appropriate cancellation or termination clauses. When conducting complex procurements, the use of contract clauses that permit cancellation or termination at critical project life-cycle stages should be considered. 6.15. Term of Agreement Modifications—The term of the agreement and any options to extend the agreement must be set out in the competitive procurement documents. An approval

by the appropriate authority must be obtained before executing any modifications to the term of the agreement. 6.16. Contract Award Notification—For procurements valued at $100,000 or more, LCC will post, in the same manner as the procurement documents were posted, contract award notification. The notification must be posted after the agreement between the successful supplier and LCC has been executed. Contract award notification must list the name of the successful supplier, the agreement start and end dates, and any extension options. 6.17. Supplier Debriefing—For procurements valued at $100,000 or more, LCC shall inform all unsuccessful suppliers about their entitlement to a debriefing. This notification shall be in the competitive procurement documents. Unsuccessful suppliers shall have 60 calendar days following the date of the contract award notification to request a debriefing. 6.18. Contract Management— · Payments must be made in accordance with the provisions of the contract. All invoices must contain detailed information sufficient to warrant payment. Any overpayments must be recovered in a timely manner. · Assignments must be properly documented. Supplier performance must be managed and documented, and any performance issues must be addressed. · For services, LCC shall: 1. Establish clear terms of reference for the assignment. The terms should include the objectives, background, scope, constraints, staff responsibilities, tangible deliverables, timing, progress reporting, approval requirements, and knowledge transfer requirements. 2. Establish expense claim and reimbursement rules compliant with Policy 4.8 (Expense Reimbursement) and ensure all expenses are claimed and reimbursed in accordance with that policy. 3. Ensure that expenses are claimed and reimbursed only where the contract explicitly provides for the reimbursement of expenses. 6.19. Procurement Records Retention—For reporting and auditing purposes, all procurement documentation must be retained for a period of seven years. 6.20. Conflict of Interest—LCC will monitor any conflict of interest that may arise as a result of employees, board of directors and volunteers/students, advisors, external consultants or supplier’s involvement with the procurement activities. All involved in the procurement activities must declare actual or potential conflicts of interest. Where a conflict of interest arises, it must be evaluated and an appropriate mitigating action must be taken. 6.21. Bid Dispute Resolution—Competitive procurement documents must outline bid dispute resolution procedures to ensure that any dispute is handled in an ethical, fair, reasonable, and timely fashion. 6.22. Non-Competitive Procurement—A competitive procurement process should be employed to ensure optimum value for money. However, special circumstances may arise that require the use of non-competitive procurement. Prior to the commencement of non-competitive procurement, supporting documentation must be completed and approved by the appropriate authority (one level higher that the requirement for competitive procurement).

7.0 Acceptance of Favours and Gratuities The image and integrity of the employees and board of the Centre must be preserved at all times. Only the acceptance of infrequent and reasonable hospitality or business gifts of a small intrinsic value is allowed. The frequency and nature of gifts or hospitality should not be allowed whereby the recipient might be deemed by others to have been influenced in making a purchasing decision as a consequence of accepting such hospitality or gifts. RESOURCES: The following resources may be used to assist in implementing the Competitive Procurement Procedures: 1. Broader Public Sector Procurement Directive 2. Broader Public Sector Procurement Implementation Guide

A 5-B115 CAPITAL PROCUREMENT POLICY

As of March 2024

Policy: 1 POLICY 1.01 No expenditure shall be authorized unless the Board of Directors has approved the purchase, either through the budgeting process or through committee designated authority. 1.02 All employees shall obtain appropriate authorization for any expenditure of Lansdowne Children’s Centre funds. 2 PURPOSE 2.01 The purpose of this Statement of Policy and Procedure is to establish internal controls over the authorization of expenses related to the capital project. 3 SCOPE 3.01 This policy applies to all individuals authorizing expenditures related to our capital project. 4 RESPONSIBILITY 4.01 The Capital Steering Committee of the Board is responsible for ensuring that expenditures related to the capital project made on behalf of Lansdowne Children’s Centre represent good value and represent a benefit to the Centre. When necessitated by time constraints, approvals for purchases related to the capital project may be approved by the special sub-committee (see section 6.01 (c). 4.02 The Business Department is responsible for ensuring that no payments are made without appropriate authorization. See also A 5-d-30 – Cheque Issuance. 5 DEFINITIONS 5.01 “Capital Project” means the new building, including planning (design, architectural and functional), costs relating to the purchase of land (survey, testing/sampling), construction and change orders . 5.02 “Cheque Requisition” means a form requesting a cheque be prepared for payment of a purchase invoice. 5.03 “Budget” means a financial plan outlining expected revenues, expenses and expenditures for fixed assets that is formally reviewed and approved by the Board of Directors. 5.04 “Service Cost” means the total dollars spent over the contract term.

Procedure:

6 PROCEDURES

6.01

(a) Goods and services purchases shall be approved in accordance with limits set

out in Policy A-5-b-10, section 7

(b) A Selection committee shall be established for the review of the Requests for

Proposal up to and including selection of the vendor.

(c) The Centre Board may delegate the approval of Capital and Consulting services

to a special sub-committee from time to time (for a limited period) due to the nature of

the projects. The sub-committee shall be the Committee Chair plus the Treasurer.

Should either of these two not be available, the alternate approver would be the Chair

of the Board.