Owners’ Duties In The Tendering Process

The recent decision of the Supreme Court of Canada in the case of Double N Earthmovers Ltd v. Edmonton (City)¹ provides guidance from our highest court about the extent of owners’ duties in the tendering process. The court confirmed its earlier decisions holding that there was a duty to accept only compliant bids and a duty to treat all bidders equally and fairly. However, the court denied that these duties require an owner to investigate an apparently compliant bid, even when the owner has knowledge of suspected non-compliance.

The Double N case involved a bidder ("Sureway") who deceived an owner ("Edmonton") into accepting its bid as compliant with the tender specifications, when in fact it was not. The tender called for bidders to provide certain heavy equipment for use at a landfill site. According to the tender, the equipment had to be of 1980 manufacture, or newer. Sureway represented to Edmonton that its equipment met this requirement, when in fact one