Good luck with that, but thanks.
Good morning. As mentioned, my name is Philip Ducharme. As vice-president of entrepreneurship and procurement at the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business, I want to thank you, Mr. Chair and all distinguished members of this committee, for the opportunity to provide you with my testimony and to answer your questions.
Speaking to you from my home office, I acknowledge the land as the traditional territory of many nations, including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinabe, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples, and now home to many other first nations, Inuit and Métis people.
Since CCAB's two previous appearances before this committee, in February and June 2021, it is heartening to see that one of our recommendations that was brought forward has been implemented. We were asking for measures that would mandate federal government departments and agencies to publicly report on their purchases from indigenous businesses within a shorter time frame. Currently, the most recent data we have been able to publicly identify for indigenous procurement was from fiscal year 2018.
On August 6, 2021, the Minister of PSPC announced new and immediate measures to increase federal procurement opportunities for indigenous businesses across Canada. Included in that announcement was the development of a reporting framework that would see spending publicly reported in a much more timely manner. My understanding is that the value of federal spending with indigenous businesses for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2023 will be published by the end of calendar year 2023.
By having a fulsome mechanism for measuring and reporting on indigenous procurement, we will be better situated to evaluate and improve on meeting the minimum mandated requirement of 5% indigenous procurement spend.
In 2022, CCAB conducted research on government contracting and heard from indigenous business owners about a wide range of challenges preventing them from taking full advantage of federal procurement opportunities. One of the most common themes that indigenous businesses expressed was a concern about the lack of knowledge among government staff regarding indigenous peoples and communities and the procurement process itself.
Business is best conducted between parties that understand and respect each other, so providing increased training and awareness for government employees will help facilitate lasting and mutually beneficial relationships, which are the cornerstone of a robust procurement strategy. True economic reconciliation is accommodating indigenous peoples to ensure their full participation in the Canadian economy, not forcing them to assimilate in order to obtain contracts.
A portion of this concern was addressed in the PSPC minister's August 21 update, when she announced that the federal government will be developing a mandatory training for the federal procurement community on modern treaty and self-government agreement implementation of procurement obligations, and ensuring that such training is integrated into the regular curriculum. Enhanced indigenous cultural awareness will also be explored, so that more responsive and culturally relevant procurement strategies may be developed. That is a start, but we will push to ensure that the enhanced indigenous cultural awareness will quickly move from exploratory to implemented.
Indigenous businesses also claim that the federal government has failed to make the necessary changes to promote access to the procurement process itself, given its many intricacies. Businesses consulted felt inferior and marginalized by the contract requirements, which excluded indigenous businesses in favour of larger mainstream companies. Some participants found the process difficult and time-consuming, and believed that the requirements were set up in a way that excluded indigenous businesses, despite having the capacity to execute a project. Bonds, payment holdbacks and, particularly, over-complex applications all contributed to these barriers.
If the federal government is truly committed to allocating 5% of its procurement spend to indigenous businesses, it should also be responsible for providing indigenous businesses with the tools and resources they need to participate meaningfully in that process.
Another challenge frequently cited by indigenous participants in our procurement research is that federal departments need to better collaborate to share best practices when engaging with indigenous businesses and communities. While collaboration among federal departments to share best practices will help, the way forward must include establishing a government-wide approach to indigenous procurement that ensures consistency by explicitly laying out the best path and penalizing those who break from it, while ensuring that the context and needs of indigenous businesses are substantively addressed.
If the federal government is truly committed to indigenous reconciliation, more must be done to mobilize the recommendations of national indigenous economic organizations such as CCAB, and those that my fellow witnesses are representing, and apply the learning and the takeaways we gather directly from indigenous business leaders.
We at CCAB are very fortunate to have the opportunity to connect with our indigenous businesses on a daily basis, and we will continue to be the voice for indigenous businesses as we engage with the federal government to ensure that our indigenous businesses reach the minimum of 5% of the dollar value of federal procurement. Even though there are still many barriers and challenges to overcome, we look forward to the future with hope and excitement as we rebuild and strengthen the path towards reconciliation and a healthy and prosperous Canada.
Thank you. I look forward to answering any questions you may have.