Question Period Note: Indigenous procurement process

Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) is delivering on government commitments to increase the participation of Indigenous businesses in federal procurement.

• Increasing the participation of Indigenous businesses in federal procurement is an important part of the government’s agenda to generate economic opportunity for Indigenous people
  • We are working with Indigenous Services Canada and the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat to create more opportunities for Indigenous businesses to succeed and grow, by creating a new target to have at least 5% of federal contracts awarded to Indigenous businesses
  • As we move forward, we will continue to promote increased participation of Indigenous businesses in the federal procurement process
  • Over the last 3 fiscal years and in its role as a common service provider, PSPC awarded an annual average of $442 million through 1,422 documents to Indigenous suppliers. This represents 2% of the value of PSPC’s Acquisitions Program total awarded documents

If pressed on Indigenous participation in federal procurement for COVID-19:

• To date, our focus has been on putting personal protective equipment in the hands of front line health employees as quickly as possible
• As part of these efforts, we have awarded a number of contracts to Indigenous businesses worth millions of dollars
• On June 4, 2020, my department launched a Request for Proposal to solicit interest strictly from Indigenous businesses to provide disposable non-medical face coverings
• We continue to increase the use of Indigenous limited bidding in order to award more contracts to businesses managed and led by Indigenous People
• In August 2020, we signed contracts with 7 Indigenous firms that met the established criteria worth approximately $3 million for a total of 15 million non-medical disposable masks
• In October 2020, we amended one of the contracts to exercise the option to procure an additional 20 million non-medical disposable masks for an additional $2.94 million
• We have also completed another tender for non-surgical cloth face masks. The Request for Proposal was issued on June 26, 2020, and was open only to Indigenous businesses. We signed two contracts worth approximately $1.5 million with two Indigenous firms who will each provide 250,000 non-surgical cloth face masks
• As we move forward, my department will continue to work with other federal organizations and Indigenous businesses and organizations to increase the participation of Indigenous businesses in federal procurement

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, PSPC has awarded 38 contracts to 30 self-identified Indigenous businesses, collectively worth more than $126 million including for logistics and air charter services, accommodation and cleaning services, IT professional services, medical and laboratory supplies, masks, hand sanitizer and thermometers.

PSPC is working actively with Indigenous groups to increase their participation in federal procurement more broadly. This includes ongoing work with the Indigenous Business COVID-19 Taskforce, which brings together numerous Indigenous groups, including the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business (CCAB), National Aboriginal Capital Corporation Association (NACCA), Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK) and Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada. The taskforce seeks to identify and mobilize Indigenous businesses to provide medical equipment and supplies, including by creating a database of Indigenous businesses. Indigenous Services Canada is the lead department federally, with PSPC supporting the taskforce’s work. PSPC is leveraging the database to increase the participation of Indigenous businesses in federal procurement.

In addition, PSPC works in close collaboration with the Council for the Advancement of Native Development Officers (CANDO), a national Indigenous organization involved in community economic development. The partnership is focused on helping the Council and its economic development officers support Indigenous businesses across Canada by providing information, focused access, and services from the Office of Small and Medium Enterprises.

The Minister’s Supply Council includes the CCAB. This council provides the Minister with ideas for strengthening and streamlining the government’s efforts to support essential services organizations in accessing supplies in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition, the Minister’s Supplier Advisory Committee contributes to understanding and addressing barriers that smaller businesses face in federal procurement, including those faced by Indigenous-owned businesses. The Canadian Aboriginal and Minority Suppliers Council (CAMSC), represented by its President Cassandra Dorrington, has been an active and contributing member since the Supplier Advisory Committee’s first meeting in 2013.

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