The City of Kelowna is reviewing its purchasing policy to ensure that it’s prioritizing Canadian suppliers whenever possible.
Councillor Ron Cannan brought the matter to council’s March 31 meeting.
“In January a business owner approached me with concerns about the policy,” he added. “I did some review and realized it was adopted in 2017.”
While staff have periodically reviewed the policy, there is no record of a city council reviewing the purchasing bylaw since 2017.
Cannan added he wants to look at modernizing the policy to reflect council’s priorities and promote local, provincial and Canadian manufacturers wherever possible.
“Getting the best value for our taxpayers,” he noted.
Earlier in the meeting, council approved adding $1.3 million to the budget to upgrade Prospera Place, including the purchase of a new scoreboard from American-based company, Daktronics, which has subsidiaries in Canada.
Coun. Mohini Singh asked if the city will be working with Daktronics’ Canadian partners.
Staff said the city works with Sourcewell, a non-profit group that helps governments, school districts and other organizations make purchasing choices.
“In March 2023, Sourcewell opened a general procurement opportunity for scoreboards, digital displays and video boards,” said Johannes Säufferer, director of real estate. “There were 18 submissions and Daktronics was the winning bid.”
While the price of the new scoreboard was not mentioned, Säufferer said there is a 10 per cent discount working through Sourcewell.
The budget to upgrade Prospera Place to host the 2026 Memorial Cup is now $5.1 million.
