A significant event has just happened! Our name has just been changed to “Canadian Institute for Procurement and Materiel Management”. Why? Because contracting, or the broader term “procurement”, is a better reflection of our community’s interest.

In our 20 years of existence, the procurement policies of government have become more intrusive to the act of buying a good or service. Today we have trade agreements, Comprehensive Land Claim Treaties, the Procurement Strategy for Aboriginal Business, Employment Equity, concerns about intellectual property, risk management and so on. All of these subjects impact the purchasing or front end of the act of buying within government. For these reasons, the Board of Directors decided it was appropriate to change our name to be more inclusive and to recognize the thousands of public servants, including managers and program specialists, who are involved in the procurement process. We exist to help all of them.

The official launch of the new name will take place at the MMNW 2009 in Montreal, May 11-15 at the Centre Sheraton Montreal Hotel. In the meantime, changes will be made to the website and an official announcement will be sent out in the near future from the MMI National Office. Please be patient if you experience any problems on our website as it will be under construction for a short period of time.