Government Operations Committee on June 11th, 2026

[Michelle Auger]

A lot of CFIB data show that SMEs currently feel forgotten by the federal government. They feel that programs are made for large-scale investments. We see a lot of investment in big projects and in certain sectors, but SMEs across Canada are feeling rather forgotten. Their operating costs keep rising. There's no respite. There's no investment program that truly targets SMEs, which have also been affected by the tariffs, regardless of the sector they're in.

[Marie-Hélène Gaudreau, Bloc, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

I understand that the measures have to be unbundled, then. That's what you were talking about, right?

[Michelle Auger]

Yes. I'm talking specifically about procurement.

I have a very good example from a group of members working in the audiovisual sector. A few years ago, the federal government awarded a contract to an American company. Combined with customs duties, this means—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[Marie-Hélène Gaudreau, Bloc, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

A point of order, Chair.

We're at the end of the session, we're tired, we're conducting our proceedings in French with special witnesses, and there's noise. If my colleagues wish to discuss matters among themselves, I would ask that they do so outside, out of respect for the witnesses.

I'm sorry, Ms. Auger. Please continue.

[Michelle Auger]

These members feel a bit neglected. They no longer have access to government services because the contract was so large that they were unable to submit a bid. Had contracts been awarded on a more regional or local basis, more small and medium-sized enterprises would have been able to bid. That would have helped SMEs in every region make investments in supply chains.

A lot can be done to ensure that contracts are the right size and factor in the regions where SMEs are located.

[Marie-Hélène Gaudreau, Bloc, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

In other words, what's needed isn't a one-size-fits-all approach; we need stability, which must be maintained.

[Michelle Auger]

Yes.

[Marie-Hélène Gaudreau, Bloc, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

I hadn't stopped my timer, Chair. May I ask Mr. Prévost a question?

[The Chair, Conservative, Kelly McCauley]

You have about 30 seconds.

[Marie-Hélène Gaudreau, Bloc, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

Mr. Prévost, I was very surprised when Ms. Auger said that 50% of businesses weren't even notified when there were tenders they could bid on.

What do you think of the idea of decentralizing or unbundling this?

[Francis Prévost]

That would certainly give businesses of all sizes the opportunity to bid on such contracts. I think it should also be more widely advertised. That would support all businesses, regardless of size, by giving them the chance to bid on contracts.

[Marie-Hélène Gaudreau, Bloc, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

Thank you very much, Chair.

[The Chair, Conservative, Kelly McCauley]

Thank you.

We have Mr. Patzer, please.

[Jeremy Patzer, Conservative, Swift Current—Grasslands—Kindersley, SK]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

Thank you to all the witnesses for being here today.

Ms. Auger, I want to start with you. We heard from a witness at our last meeting that it can sometimes cost up to $400,000 for a business to bid on a contract, only for them to find out that they didn't even get the contract. I'm wondering if your members are experiencing the same thing.

[Michelle Auger]

I can't give you a specific number, but what I can tell you is that the amount of time required for filling out and getting through the process increases costs for small businesses. You're being asked for documentation that is not OHS requirements. It's extra things that a business will not have in place. They don't have HR departments, and they don't have legal departments to help them go through all the paperwork and the requirements. They're spending so much extra time on making sure they've filled everything out.

There is this concept, too, from the SME world, where you're filling out everything but the federal government might prefer the best price over what is actually the best value overall: the solution that's needed for that procurement opportunity. That comment has come back to us several times when we look at qualitative data. They feel that the federal government is going to go with the cheapest option.

[Jeremy Patzer, Conservative, Swift Current—Grasslands—Kindersley, SK]

I think the question was asked earlier, but I wanted to build on it a bit. The spring of 2026 was the target for the small business procurement program. We're into June already, and there's still no movement on it, really. What signal does that send to the SMEs you represent that are maybe looking to get into this procurement game?

[Michelle Auger]

Yes, it's unfortunate that there are delays. I think it goes back to some of the federal government approaches currently being focused on large-scale investment and large businesses and, again, maybe not necessarily focusing on the small and medium-sized businesses, which are really struggling at a time when trade tensions and tariffs have been affecting them for the last year and a half.

We have been in discussion with that department and the bureaucrats, but it is still very much an initiating kind of idea of what's going to happen in terms of supports for SMEs. Even as it rolls out, I'm interested to see how it will all play out. We are well past the deadline. I mean, on June 21, summer starts, right?

[Jeremy Patzer, Conservative, Swift Current—Grasslands—Kindersley, SK]

Yes, exactly.

We saw a report recently, too, that business investment in Canada has actually gone down for five straight quarters. When you see a delay in implementation like this, what impact does that have for businesses that just aren't investing?

[Michelle Auger]

Yes, small businesses are not looking to invest right now. They don't have extra cash flow. They're really just staying afloat at this time.

There's no cost reprieve for small businesses. There are very few targeted measures for those that have been impacted by tariffs. There are certain sectors that have been focused on, but small businesses are also feeling left to fend for themselves at this time when every operational budget line has increased.

[Jeremy Patzer, Conservative, Swift Current—Grasslands—Kindersley, SK]

I've heard a concept. There's a very popular buzzword: a “shovel-ready” project. Rather than shovel-ready—because, again, that means hundreds of thousands of dollars and, in some cases, millions of dollars in permitting and engineering just to find out that you don't get approved—I've now heard the concept of a “shovel-worthy” project.

If a company already meets the criteria or they have capacity, that would mean they are “worthy”. It would be a lot easier to get the certainty they need to get the contract and then spend on the engineering and all the pieces that would be needed, because they have already proven that they have the capacity. Do you think that would be a better approach?

[Michelle Auger]

Yes, it could help, certainly, but there are still delays in getting clearances, like the security clearance, which takes so much time. It certainly is something worth looking at. Whether or not you can get a database of businesses that are shovel-ready or ready to provide, that would be great, but what that looks like and the extra paperwork that comes with that too, without even being guaranteed a procurement opportunity, would be something to think about.

[Jeremy Patzer, Conservative, Swift Current—Grasslands—Kindersley, SK]

Last, with the bundling issue—I know we're running out of time here—do you have any further comments on that? You touched on it earlier, but there's almost a reverse incentive if it's not fixed.

[Michelle Auger]

There is, a bit. You're right. I think there is opportunity where we don't create a monopoly whereby it's one business that owns one large contract.

What I was trying to say, on the EV side, is that it's now pushing a lot of EV companies in Canada to go out of business, because in B.C. they cannot participate in EV services for federally regulated buildings. They don't have access to those ones, even if they want to. If that contract had been debundled and localized, it would have given an opportunity to more businesses across the country to compete on those contracts.

It's not every circumstance that needs to be debundled, but it's looking at the ultimate goal with these contracts and seeing if there are several businesses that could fill those gaps. Does it have to be one? Could it be three?

[Jeremy Patzer, Conservative, Swift Current—Grasslands—Kindersley, SK]

Thank you.