Nova Scotia Health has awarded over $3.7 billion in sole-sourced contracts since 2020 without competitive bidding, violating provincial procurement rules, according to Auditor General Kim Adair.
Her report found six contracts lacked essential terms and contained weak justifications for non-competitive awards. In one case, payments were made to a vendor before the contract was formally approved.
Adair emphasized that agencies must provide clear, documented reasons for bypassing competitive bids-and approvals must precede any disbursements.
Nova Scotia Health says it is implementing Adair’s recommendations but notes no conflicts of interest were found in the contracts.