Massive fortress Ottawa in the works
Government seeks thousands of security devices for one 'campus'
By Ian MacLeod, The Ottawa CitizenMarch 25, 2010
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The federal government appears to be laying groundwork for what could be the most formidable fortress Ottawa has ever seen.
A notice posted on its MERX contracting website calls for expressions of interest from companies capable of installing an integrated security system supporting 3,000 video cameras, 4,000 card readers, 1,500 duress alarm buttons, 3,000 alarm sensors and motion detectors, plus the ability to support video analytics, biometrics and much more.
And all within a single complex of buildings.
"Our interest is in a commercial off-the-shelf system that provides integrated access control, intrusion detection and video surveillance for a large campus environment of 35 or more buildings where security is provided by two separate organizations that have jurisdiction over defined areas," says the Letter of Interest from Public Works and Government Services Canada, acting on behalf of another department.
The scope of the venture is evident when compared with the electronic eye watching greater London. The 3,000 proposed security cameras are equivalent to 40 per cent of the 7,400-strong network of public closed-circuit TV cameras scanning the British capital, considered the most monitored metropolis in the world.
No cost parameters are mentioned in the government notice, posted online March 9. Interested companies are asked to include a "description of one of your recent large (integrated security system) campus environment product installations."
The deadline for responses was Wednesday.
So what's going on?
Nothing, says Public Works.
"This requirement is not currently linked to a specific project but is posted on MERX in order to assess the market capability ... to obtain replies from as many potential suppliers as possible," Tricia Van Der Grient, a department spokeswoman, said in an e-mail Wednesday.
"A letter of interest is used when the government is interested in receiving feedback from suppliers on a potential requirement which it may re-open or re-issue an opportunity as an open tender at a later day," she explained. "Information gathered from the letter can be used to finalize requirements and develop a procurement strategy."
The department Wednesday was unable to explain why the letter specified the National Capital Region as the "region of delivery" for the non-existent project.
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Government seeks thousands of security devices for one 'campus'
By Ian MacLeod, The Ottawa CitizenMarch 25, 2010
Article Link
The federal government appears to be laying groundwork for what could be the most formidable fortress Ottawa has ever seen.
A notice posted on its MERX contracting website calls for expressions of interest from companies capable of installing an integrated security system supporting 3,000 video cameras, 4,000 card readers, 1,500 duress alarm buttons, 3,000 alarm sensors and motion detectors, plus the ability to support video analytics, biometrics and much more.
And all within a single complex of buildings.
"Our interest is in a commercial off-the-shelf system that provides integrated access control, intrusion detection and video surveillance for a large campus environment of 35 or more buildings where security is provided by two separate organizations that have jurisdiction over defined areas," says the Letter of Interest from Public Works and Government Services Canada, acting on behalf of another department.
The scope of the venture is evident when compared with the electronic eye watching greater London. The 3,000 proposed security cameras are equivalent to 40 per cent of the 7,400-strong network of public closed-circuit TV cameras scanning the British capital, considered the most monitored metropolis in the world.
No cost parameters are mentioned in the government notice, posted online March 9. Interested companies are asked to include a "description of one of your recent large (integrated security system) campus environment product installations."
The deadline for responses was Wednesday.
So what's going on?
Nothing, says Public Works.
"This requirement is not currently linked to a specific project but is posted on MERX in order to assess the market capability ... to obtain replies from as many potential suppliers as possible," Tricia Van Der Grient, a department spokeswoman, said in an e-mail Wednesday.
"A letter of interest is used when the government is interested in receiving feedback from suppliers on a potential requirement which it may re-open or re-issue an opportunity as an open tender at a later day," she explained. "Information gathered from the letter can be used to finalize requirements and develop a procurement strategy."
The department Wednesday was unable to explain why the letter specified the National Capital Region as the "region of delivery" for the non-existent project.
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