Question Period Note: Filing of Human Rights Complaint on Indigenous Business Directory (IBD)

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• As this matter is before the Human Rights Tribunal, it would be inappropriate for Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) to comment during the process.
• ISC is committed to ensuring that each business registered on the IBD is properly assessed.
• My department continues to work with Indigenous partners on a Transformative Indigenous Procurement Strategy, including the devolution of the IBD to Indigenous peoples.

• The Indigenous Business Directory (IBD) is an evergreen, online, public directory of businesses owned and controlled by Indigenous peoples. The IBD increases opportunities for Indigenous businesses through procurement by helping all levels of government and the private sector identify Indigenous businesses that can fulfill procurement needs.
• To register on the IBD, a business must undergo an eligibility assessment and demonstrate that it is both 51% Indigenous owned and controlled. It is the responsibility of the IBD applicant to provide documentation (e.g., status cards, joint-venture agreements etc.) to complete this assessment. Once a business is actively registered, it is then eligible to bid on opportunities that have been set-aside under PSIB. For contracts awarded under PSIB, the successful Indigenous contractor must be listed on the IBD or a Modern Treaty business list and satisfy PSIB’s 33% Indigenous content requirement during the life of the contract. This means that the IBD contractor awarded the contract must, either by itself or in conjunction with IBD sub-contractors, deliver at least 33% of the total value of the work under the contract. Post-award audits are usually only undertaken by ISC upon request by the requisitioning department’s contracting authority.
• Evidence considered for registration on the Indigenous Businesses Directory of being an Indigenous person includes, but is not limited to:
o Indian registration in Canada
o citizenship with the Manitoba Métis Federation, the Northwest Territory Métis Nation, or a Governing Member of the Métis National Council, including: the Métis Nation Saskatchewan; the Métis Nation of Alberta; the Métis Nation British Columbia and the Métis Nation of Ontario
o membership in an affiliate of the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples, or other recognized Indigenous organization in Canada
o acceptance as an Indigenous person by an established Indigenous community in Canada
o enrolment or entitlement to be enrolled pursuant to a comprehensive land claim agreement, or membership or entitlement to membership in a group with an accepted comprehensive claim
• Businesses listed on a modern treaty beneficiary business list are confirmed to be Indigenous by the Indigenous group that Canada has signed the modern treaty with.
• Canada is in the process of transforming Indigenous procurement methods through the Transformative Indigenous Procurement Strategy (TIPS) directorate. Canada continues to work with Indigenous partners to co-develop a procurement process that will better support Indigenous business development and participation in federal contracting.

If pressed on what steps ISC has taken to ensure each business is properly assessed.
• ISC ensures the Directory’s integrity through multiple activities, including verifying that businesses meet the eligibility requirements and verifying on a regular basis, through audits and routine contacts, that businesses maintain their eligibility to be registered within the IBD.

If pressed on future steps.
• After listening to Indigenous partners, ISC is actively collaborating with those partners to co-develop a new transformative Indigenous procurement strategy and implement improvements to the Procurement Strategy for Indigenous Businesses’ current operations.