Denis A. Chamberland

Denis Chamberland is widely regarded as a leader in public-private partnerships projects (PPP), public procurement and government contracts. He has been a pioneer in the development of public procurement law in Canada since the early 2000s, having imported and adapted to Canada leading procurement practices established elsewhere, for example, the Competitive Dialogue from the European Union and the Best and Final Offer from the United States.

He was retained by the Ontario Ministry of Finance to advise on the development of the Broader Public Sector Procurement Directive and to draft the key template documents (such as RFP and project agreement) which are now standard documents across the Broader Public Sector in Ontario. Over the years he has consistently been recognized as a leader in various law ranking organizations, such as Chambers Global: The World’s Leading Lawyers for Business; Who’s Who Legal – The International Who’s Who of Public Procurement Lawyers; Best Lawyers, and The Legal 500.

Much of his work in recent years has focused on Indigenous communities, including advising on some of the highest-profile Indigenous energy projects in Ontario, such as energy transmission, infrastructure and transportation projects. He also has extensive experience providing legal and commercial advice to Indigenous communities throughout all stages of the procurement lifecycle, from drafting procurement documents, organizing and coaching evaluation teams, and negotiating the commercial terms and agreement with the successful bidder.

Denis has worked with many Indigenous communities to develop entire suites of procurement documents adapted to select essential services, such as child and family well-being, health-related services, rights-impact assessments, construction services, and water and wastewater services. He has worked with many Indigenous communities to develop or review procurement policies and practices which has resulted in significant increases in value-for-money being achieved by communities.

Denis has also played a major role on large health sector projects in Canada, Ireland, Belgium and Saudi Arabia, primarily focusing on complex transactions involving high-end medical technology.