Good morning.
First I'd like to acknowledge that we're on the traditional unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabeg people. Also, thank you, Mr. Chair and honourable members, for giving me the opportunity to testify today.
I'll begin my remarks by introducing myself and my company, FoxWise Technologies. I'll then briefly discuss my experience with PSAB and the set-aside program, and some changes that I would suggest be made to improve the policy.
FoxWise is also an SME, so I will provide some adjustments that I think could be made to enhance our access to procurement opportunities.
First nations are the fastest-growing population in Canada, and over 50% of our population is under 25 years old. We are the workforce of tomorrow.
My name is Sam Damm. I'm an Ojibway from the Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation, in southern Ontario. I'm the founder of FoxWise Technologies, which is a 100% first-nation-owned IT company that I started in 2000. I'm proud to say that in February we will be celebrating our 18th year in business.
From day one, FoxWise has actively sought to recruit, train, and hire an indigenous workforce, and over the years we have employed over 40 first nations people. We currently do business with all levels of government, and we compete through the set-aside program as well as through the open markets.
A couple of examples of project wins for FoxWise include our Shared Services Canada set-aside HP desktop procurement, which equalled about $1.5 million in revenue. Another contract worth mentioning is our ongoing project with the Child Development Institute, which has been about $1.2 million over the last two years.
I feel that set-asides are important because they can be great door-openers. They can provide quicker procurement process timelines. They give indigenous companies the opportunity to bid on larger procurements that we may not normally have exposure to. This encourages indigenous and non-indigenous companies to partner.
Capacity-building is also an obvious result of winning set-asides. The wins provide the opportunity for us to recruit, train, mentor, and hire first nations staff. The skills they acquire through FoxWise are transferable and create opportunity for them to work either within FoxWise, within corporate Canada, or within the first nation community, which is good for the Canadian economy.
Overall, set-asides are great for first nations, and we encourage the Government of Canada to consider increasing the number of set-asides. The City of Toronto recently launched their social procurement program, and they set a threshold under which set-asides must be considered first. The threshold is $50,000. They must get three bids, and one of them has to be from a certified diverse supplier. The program is working very well.
Some set-aside challenges include lack of education within the government departments. I think there should be more active outreach and education on the set-aside program. There are some misconceptions out there. Some groups think that the set-aside program is not a competitive process. I also think trade shows would give the indigenous companies the opportunity to engage with potential clients face to face.
A big one for me is reporting. I understand the federal government believes that there is more set-aside success now than ever before, but I wonder if the reporting is accurate. Is the reporting based on set-aside standing offers and supply arrangements that have been awarded, or is it based on the amount of revenue generated through those contracts? I think that's a very important point.
Another aspect is corporate reference requirements. While trying to meet mandatory RFP requirements, there should always be an alignment of references based on the scope of the procurement.
In conclusion, it's very timely for the Government of Canada to modernize its procurement practices, and given that INAC is currently deliberating the modernization of PSAB, I feel this is an excellent opportunity to make some simple adjustments to the set-aside policy that could radically improve the participation of indigenous businesses.
As I said earlier, it's my belief that the set-aside program can be specifically improved by, one, greater outreach to indigenous businesses by government; two, more accurate reporting on business completed; and three, by setting a threshold under which set-asides must be considered first. Also, SMEs can be given greater access to procurement opportunities through reforms to corporate reference requirements.
I just want to thank you again, Mr. Chair and honourable members, for your time today. I'd be pleased to answer any questions.
Thank you.