Item - 2021.GL26.5

The General Government and Licensing Committee recommends that:

1. City Council authorize the Chief Technology Officer to negotiate and enter into a non-competitive contract with Esri Canada Limited to purchase proprietary geographic information system software licenses, for a one (1) year period commencing from the date of award, with the option to renew for two (2) additional separate one (1) year periods, at the sole discretion of the Chief Technology Officer and subject to budget approval(s), for the total amount of up to $619,749 net of Harmonized Sales Tax ($630,657 net of Harmonized Sales Tax Recoveries) on terms and conditions satisfactory to the Chief Technology Officer, Technology Services and in a form satisfactory to the City Solicitor.

The purpose of this report is to seek City Council authority for the Chief Technology Officer, Technology Services Division to negotiate and enter into a non-competitive contract with Esri Canada Limited for the provision of proprietary geographic information system software licenses for the City. The contract will commence from the date of award for a one (1) year period, with the option to renew for two (2) additional separate one (1) year periods, at the sole discretion of the City, and subject to budget approval(s) for the total amount of $619,749 net of all taxes and applicable charges ($630,657 net of Harmonized Sales Tax Recoveries).

Geographic information system is a critical enabler for the city, from map production to advanced business analysis. The city uses geographic information system in delivering its infrastructure and planning services. As an example, Toronto Water uses geographic information system data, maps and location analytics to track and manage 2,250,000 infrastructure assets.  These include water treatment plants, pumping stations, water mains, hydrants, maintenance holes, catch basins, sewers, valves, outfalls and reservoirs.

Another critical application of geographic information system tools is in the use by the Infrastructure Coordination Unit (ICU) to guide the multi-year coordination process for planned construction projects to be completed by City Divisions, utilities and third party groups. The Infrastructure Coordination Unit mandate is to reduce the impact and disruption of construction activities experienced by the public.  Geographic information system tools assist in consolidating and analyzing the planned projects for the different groups, identifying conflicts in projects locations, assets and timelines. This helps identify and manage potential impacts to the citizens and businesses in Toronto.

Geographic information system tools are also utilized in emergency management and response including the following:

- Tracking the location and supply levels of support and rescue teams following an emergency event.

- Creating computer-generated maps of infrastructure including pipes, sewers, power lines, neighborhoods and other aspects of an area so the map can be referenced in preparedness, emergency and recovery efforts.

- Designing databases for populations, businesses, structures, schools and more, which can be consulted in the case of an emergency.

- Assigning where emergency headquarters (i.e. police, fire, ambulance) should be located to be able to provide the quickest response time to the highest number of people.

- Identifying potentially vulnerable residents in case of a disaster, in terms of age, income and other insights.
 

During the COVID-19 pandemic, geographic information system technology emerged as an essential solution in tracking and visualizing disease movement and activity by enabling the ability to quickly develop and analyze maps portraying pandemic related data. Geographic information system tools were used by the City of Toronto to create Quick Maps and data analytics to support Public Health and other divisions in their various initiatives and in support of public facing service delivery.  Additional examples include:

- COVID-19 Response Maps and Vaccine Clinic Locations map

- Quick Maps in support of ActiveTO, CafeTO and CurbTO programs

- Emergency Operations Center Maps and ongoing geospatial support

- Police, Fire, Ambulance, 911 emergency dispatch

- Parks, Forestry and Recreation maps for online reservations for Skating, Fitness Programs and Pools which assisted in maintaining physical distancing

- Enabled the VaxTO campaign with a postal code locator which will text client, their three nearest Vaccine Clinics
 

In 2003, Esri Canada Limited was the sole respondent and successful proponent for Request for Proposal 9144-03-7067 for software solutions to facilitate access to the City's enterprise geographic information platform. A contract was awarded to Esri and since then, access and use of geographic information by City Divisions, contained within the enterprise geographic information platform, has been enabled primarily via Esri software.

In 2004 the City executed a Master License Agreement to provide for the terms governing the software, licensed by ESRI and purchased from Esri Canada Limited. In 2016, the City entered into a non-competitive contract with Esri Canada Limited, through authority by the City Council under GM12.5, to purchase proprietary geographic information system software licenses. The term of this contract expired in 2021.

ESRI is a global industry leader in GIS technology development. Esri Canada Limited is the sole distributor of Esri software licenses in Canada. Esri software is used extensively across the City for business support and service delivery.  Other vendors in the market do not have the same software service offerings that meet the scale and complexity of the City's use.  It is critical for those services to be able to continue to use the Esri software to avoid impacts to operations, additional costs, and to meet existing service growth needs.

Esri provides geospatial products and services to most municipal governments across the Greater Toronto Area such as Peel (including Brampton and Mississauga), York, Halton, Durham, and other municipalities like Ottawa, Waterloo and Niagara

Locally, in addition to the City of Toronto, Esri is the primary provider of Geospatial Services to the Provincial and Federal Government. Examples include the frequently-accessed Ontario Map Portal hosted by the Federal Land Information Ontario Map Program, called Land Information Ontario¹.  Additionally, with Esri's current roster of government clients, it also is the primary geospatial solution that operates the Community Map of Canada². This is a base map of Canada built from authoritative data, collected and updated daily.

Lastly, two of the local school boards in Toronto, in conjunction with the universities providing geospatial support, are all using ESRI products as their main tool to support their mapping programs operations.

Esri is used by our government partners, agencies, boards and commissions and it is beneficial for the City to continue using Esri for compatibility and business continuity purposes.

City Council approval is required in accordance with Municipal Code Chapter 195-
Purchasing, where the current request exceeds the Chief Purchasing Officer's authority
of the cumulative five year commitment for each supplier, under Article 7, Section 195-
7.3 (D) of the Purchasing By-Law or exceeds the threshold of $500,000 net of Harmonized Sales Tax allowed under staff authority as per the Toronto Municipal Code, Chapter 71- Financial Control, Section 71-11A.

1. Land Information of Ontario: https://www.ontario.ca/page/land-information-ontario

2. The Community Map of Canada: https://www.esri.ca/en-ca/products/data/the-community-map-of-canada