There are days I cannot participate in life – Unknown.
I took off for Ottawa the morning of Saturday the 28th January 1989. Somebody had mentioned Kanata to me and I thought why not go to Kanata. Kanata is a suburb and former city within Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is located about 22 km. (14 m.) west of the city’s downtown core.
I checked into a motel in Kanata on Highway 417. I told them that I wasn’t sure how many days I would be there. They had no problem with that. In addition to bringing enough clothes, I had also brought my computer and printer with me.
It took me a week to find and move into a 3-bedroom house, sharing with two other guys. I had my own bedroom but I had to share the kitchen as well as the bathroom.
It didn’t take too long for me to find an office to rent in a building at 300 March Road in Kanata.
I learned that the Department of Supply and Services was the purchasing and accounting arm of the federal government:
- The supply administration was responsible for purchasing, printing, publishing, traffic management, security, equipment maintenance and repair for the federal public service. It offered its services to customers on a cost-recovery basis; and
- The services administration provided payment or cheque-issuing services for all federal departments; and accounting, auditing and computer services for federal departments and agencies. The department was also responsible for the redistribution of tax dollars to the provinces.
I figured if the services department was responsible for providing computer services to federal departments and agencies, they must also be responsible for hiring computer consultants. Based on that assumption, I was trying to get in touch with somebody who could tell me what to do in order to get registered with them.
My problem was that I didn’t know anybody in Ottawa who was knowledgeable to help me. I ended up calling and leaving messages to make appointments but never heard back.
I was also trying to get familiarized with the City of Ottawa. I was thinking why should I focus only on the federal government. Why can’t I look into the possibilities of doing business with local companies?
Initially I had called Lynda and let her know that I managed to find a place to stay, and an office in a nice building. I gave her my telephone number and she appeared to be happy with my progress.
However, this was my third week in Ottawa and I never got around to thinking about going home until I heard from Lynda.
She said is everything okay there.
I said I am going through the process of finding ways to get hooked up with the right offices and people here in Ottawa. I also said I was so busy doing that I didn’t think about coming home. She said she understood how I must be dealing with things in Ottawa.
I said I need a break and I am coming home on Friday. I will try to get there around 6:00 PM and if Adam’s not working, we all will go out for supper.
I had a wonderful restful weekend with my family. I never stopped talking about what I had gone through the last three weeks in Ottawa. Lynda always had so much patience to listen to me.
Adam was busy with his school, part time job, and friends; but he made time to go out with us a couple of times.
Before I left for Ottawa on Sunday, Lynda asked me if I had been talking to David or Mike in Fredericton. I said yes and they were very happy with the progress that I made in a short period of time. I said I don’t know why they have so much confidence in me, which is scary.
She said they know you and they also know that you’re doing your best.
I also told Lynda that David was coming to Ottawa in the middle of the week; just to spend a couple of days and take a look at what’s going on there. It would be nice to see him.
Driving back to Ottawa wasn’t that bad. It provided me with an opportunity to review things in my mind that I wanted to accomplish the next week.
I was working on a paper to define what’s needed to be done to start a business in Ottawa. I never heard back from Supply and Services, but I knew that was the right department to get in touch with.
I mentioned to Lynda on the phone that I might not be able to come home this week as David’s going to be in Ottawa and he’s not going back until Saturday.
David arrived in the middle of the week and he was very impressed with the office. We spent time driving around Ottawa just to get to know where the departments were located. It wasn’t a very productive week but it was nice to see David. He never stopped talking about Fredericton and Edmonton where we used to go barhopping.
On Friday David said let’s go for a drink in downtown Ottawa before he goes back to Fredericton. Consequently we ended up somewhere in a dark pub where David had been before. It seemed like almost everybody popped in to talk about their day in the office after work, not to mention the politics of the day.
At the next table folks were discussing free trade.
I knew that the push for free trade had begun during then-Prime Minister Brian Mulroney’s first term in power. It had remained a major ballot-box issue when he and the Progressive Conservatives won a second majority government in November of 1988.
Everybody knew that the deal had been announced in 1987 and subsequently signed by Mulroney in January of 1988. But the Free Trade Agreement didn’t come into effect until January 1,1989.
At another table a bunch of civil servants were chatting away. The topic was the same –Free Trade. One of them was saying did you know that President Ronald Reagan called the Prime Minister on the last day of the year to congratulate him for getting the free trade bill passed through the Canadian Senate.
While we were chatting we kept hearing all kind of things. I said to David sarcastically thanks for bringing me here.
He said whenever he came to Ottawa he used to come here to have a drink or two just to pick up some hot topics.
We ordered some food to go with the drinks and we changed the topic to talk about my plan for the next week. We got really serious. I was in the process of explaining to David how I would handle the Supply and Services issues, when somebody called and said – Is it you Mir?
I turned around and stood up to look at the guy and found Gareth Hugh standing, shaking his head.
I said where the heck did you come from, Gareth?
He said I just cannot believe that I found you out of nowhere here in Ottawa in a pub, and you don’t even drink.
I said come here. I will introduce you to my friend.
I said meet David Niles, my friend from Fredericton; and here’s my friend Gareth Hugh from Calgary.
Gareth turned around and told the guys he was having drinks with that he would be back in a few minutes.
Gareth grabbed a chair and joined us.
David asked Gareth how we knew each other. Gareth said I used to work for a guy who reported to Mir at Alberta Treasury Branches.
David asked Gareth what area of expertise you represent.
Gareth said he was in charge of all networking for the branches and offices in the bank.
David said wow! That must be a huge responsibility.
Gareth said it was, alright.
I said what the heck are you doing in Ottawa, Gareth.
He said he works for a consulting company in town. He said he left ATB a couple of years back. Working there after I left wasn’t that interesting anymore.
I said I am flattered. He said he wasn’t kidding. They made a real mess and changed almost everything you had established as standards in the networking in ATB.
He said let’s talk about you.
The last thing I heard was that you landed a nice contract with Citibank to help them with their strategic plan.
I said it was indeed a nice contract, but I decided to go to Saudi Arabia.
He said wow! It must be a huge change even for you.
I said we can talk about that some other time.
I continued – David and I worked together for the Government of New Brunswick before I came to Calgary. We kept in touch with each other.
David is now vice-president for a consulting company in Fredericton and they are interested in expending their business in Ottawa. He got in touch with me when I was away and offered me a job to start a consulting practice here. I said this is only my fourth week in Ottawa.
Somebody from Gareth’s table shouted, are you coming back?
Gareth said how about having lunch on Monday, Mir.
I said here’s my card. Why don’t you come to Kanata? You will see our office and we can have lunch in a nice restaurant not too far from the office.
Before he left, he asked after Lynda and Adam. I said they are not in Ottawa yet but they are doing just fine.
I asked him about his girlfriend and he said he would talk to me about her on Monday.
When Gareth left, David said what a coincidence, Mir.
I said – who can imagine that in such a dark place somebody would recognize me.
David was curious about Gareth and kept asking questions. He said he didn’t know that I had all the networking people also reporting to me in Calgary.
I said Gareth reported to Chris Beard and Chris reported to me. They had a bunch of technicians with all kinds of expertise working for them. Gareth is very smart and a reliable manager. He was also a part of the team which was responsible for migrating banking applications from Toronto to our shop in Calgary.
David changed the topic and asked me what’s the plan, Mir?
Meeting Gareth unexpectedly seems like a gift from god to me. Now I can say that I know somebody in Ottawa. It makes me feel good. Even if Gareth doesn’t know anything about how to get registered with the Supply and Services Department, he must know somebody who has that knowledge.
David said please let me know how your lunch goes with Gareth on Monday.
We left the pub and I dropped David off at his motel and went back to the office. David was going back to Fredericton first thing in the morning.
It was getting late but nobody was waiting for me where I was living.
As soon as I got to the office, I called Lynda.
Lynda said are you still in the office?
I said I just came back from having a nice supper with David in a pub in downtown Ottawa.
She asked how David is.
I said he is doing fine. He just wanted to come to Ottawa to check it out, I guess. He was happy with the progress I am making.
I said to Lynda guess who I bumped into at the pub this evening.
She said Santa Claus.
I said don’t be cheeky. Do you want to know or not?
She said alright, who?
I said Gareth Hugh.
She said the same Gareth Hugh who used to work for you at ATB. Who came to our Christmas party and the next day showed up with truck full of firewood for our fireplace.
I said the same one and only.
She said what the heck is he doing in Ottawa?
I said he has been in Ottawa for a couple of years. He works for a consulting company.
She said what a nice surprise. Now you can say that you know somebody in Ottawa.
On Monday Gareth showed up at my office around 11:30 AM. We had coffee in my office and chatted about the good old days in Calgary. I told him that Chris got in touch with me when we came back to Ontario. I met Chris at his office and we had lunch downtown. Other than that I didn’t know about anybody else.
Gareth said he kept in touch with Chris and he knew that Chris was doing alright. Gareth also told me that some of the technicians who used to work for him at ATB are in Ottawa. They are working for the same company as Gareth.
I asked Gareth about his girlfriend and he said they are not together anymore. He said its long story and he will tell me some other time.
Around 12:00 PM we headed to the restaurant which wasn’t too far to walk.
I asked Gareth about what it takes to get a company going in Ottawa. He said he had no idea as he was hired when he was still working for ATB. However, he said what he does know is that Ottawa is a government town. Almost all business activities somehow somewhere are connected to government processes and procedures. He said that, anticipating I may ask those questions, he had brought a brief document which he was going to leave with me.
He also said that if I had any questions after reviewing that document, he could arrange a meeting with somebody in the Procurement Department of the company where he was working.
I said I cannot ask for more.
Gareth started asking me questions about David and his consulting company.
I said when I was in Fredericton it was a small company with a few consultants who had worked for the government. They knew how the procurement system worked in the government. The guy who was running the company was an English bloke who also had worked for the government before he started the company.
I said I met David when I was in Fredericton. David was working for the government as a programmer. He did his undergraduate degree from the University of New Brunswick and right away he had an opportunity to start working for the government.
I also explained to Gareth that David left Fredericton right after I did. He landed a job in Edmonton and we got connected again when I used to spend time in Edmonton.
Gareth asked how big the consulting practice in Fredericton was.
I said I don’t know exactly the size of the company but they seemed to be eager to expand their practice in Ottawa. I also said that for some reason they both trust me and they think that I have all the skills to get the business going.
Gareth said you have already proven that you are capable of starting new business based on what you accomplished in Toronto. He said you had no consulting experience when you liquidated your pension and decided to go to Toronto to find consulting contracts.
I said that I knew it was a very risky move but Lynda supported me whole-heartedly, which was the key for me. Somehow I got it going. But I don’t feel comfortable here in Ottawa as everybody says it’s a government town. There is a huge difference in marketing consulting services in Ottawa versus how I did it in Toronto.
Gareth said it’s just a matter of time, Mir. I know how you started working for ATB and how you expanded the concept of taking advantage of technologies, and you were successful there.
I said I wish I had the same confidence as you do Gareth. Thanks for that.
Gareth said how Lynda feels about it, Mir.
I said you know Lynda. She supports anything I undertake. She believes that I am going to make it here.
He said go with that, Mir.
Gareth said what happened in Saudi Arabia, Mir.
I said while it was an incredible challenge from a professional point of view, it was a nightmare. I was working for Saudi Electricity Company in Jeddah. Would you believe that they used to be a UNIVAC shop? When they were having all kinds of difficulties figuring out why their billing system had around 39 percent inaccuracy every month, IBM convinced them that it had to do with the system they were using. Consequently, they switched to IBM. Surprise, it didn’t help. They are still having the same problems.
I said I told my future boss when I was interviewed in San Francisco that it‘s not uncommon to blame technology or programming for everything that goes wrong, but in most cases the quality of data entered into the system could also be responsible for the inaccuracy. I said they have local folks to do the meter reading which I believe is in Arabic, and a couple of key punch girls at the computer room translate those numbers into English before they enter them into the system.
I continued – the other more important problem was Lynda’s religion. First of all a Muslim marrying a Jewish girl is not appreciated by Muslims. Then both of us living in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia could lead to some difficulties for us. I said my problem was that I was obsessed with the idea of working in Saudi Arabia and didn’t think it through before I decided to go there.
Gareth said thanks, Mir. I was just curious.
As far as registration with the federal government is concerned, Gareth said all he knew was that when Supply and Services purchases goods or services on behalf of a client department or agency, the client must submit a requisition. A completed requisition form ensures that the requisition will be assigned to one of the procurement officers in a timely manner.
He said the following are the steps the client will need to take to complete and submit their requisition to the Supply and Services Administration:
- Verify that the requisition is complete using the Requisition Checklist (accessible only on the Government of Canada network);
- Complete any required Security Requirements Checklist (SRCL) electronically using the Online Industrial Security Services (OLISS);
- Attach any relevant technical documentation or statement of work; and
- Send the completed requisition to PSPC’s Allocation Unit by email and to the appropriate Allocations Unit in their area.
We had a nice lunch while talking about all kinds of things.
When we were walking back to my office, Gareth said I was wondering if you should consider taking a consulting job. That would allow enough time for you to think about how best you can establish a business here in Ottawa.
I said that doesn’t sound like a bad idea but I don’t have any experience doing anything for the federal government.
Gareth said – Well, you never had any experience working for a provincial government either when you moved to Fredericton. And you had never done anything for a bank when you arrived in Calgary.
I said do you think I have a better chance of finding an assignment than of getting the business going.
Gareth said without any doubt.
He said the company I work for not only has employees who do all kinds of different projects for the government, they also place resources with the government. He said why don’t you give me your resumé and I will meet with the person who’s responsible for those kinds of services in my company. You need to understand they don’t provide this kind of service for nothing. They take a certain percentage of your daily rate.
I said that shouldn’t be a problem with me.
Gareth said your management skills for getting things done on time and within budget will play an important role here, Mir.
As soon as we got back to my office, I printed my resumé and gave it to Gareth.
I thanked Gareth for insisting on paying for the lunch.
While I was out, Lynda and David had called and left messages with the receptionist.
I grabbed a cup of coffee before I called Lynda back.
She wasn’t home. She must have called me when she was home for her lunch break. I didn’t like to disturb her at the store and it couldn’t be anything more important than wanting to find out about my meeting with Gareth.
I decided to call David and have a chat about my lunch with Gareth. David said Gareth seems to be very loyal to you, Mir.
I said he’s a good soul. As you know he never worked directly for me but we have always been respectful to each other. Whenever we bumped into each other, I used to make a point of thanking him for doing such a great job and keeping us in line.
I decided not to tell David anything about Gareth’s suggestion for me to take a consulting assignment while trying to get the company going. I thought it was premature to bother David or to give him false hope.
I was totally focused on figuring out a way to get connected with the federal government. Subsequently, I found out that registering is an important first step to doing business with the Government of Canada; but to be successful, you must also do research and build networks.
