Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Thank you so much, Chief, for being here. I know how busy you must be on a day-to-day basis, and I respect so much that you've come to be with us today to speak about this important topic.
I lament a few of the inefficiencies in this study, and I go to the government operations committee, where we'll also be looking into this issue. However, I think it's really important that we continue the discussion on economic development, so I very much welcome a return to studying that. I was chair of the committee when we commissioned the original study, and we heard from many voices on these important issues.
I come to this place as a former educator. I remember working with my students specifically on career development and skill building, for example, and many times students who were from certain communities were told not to put their home addresses on their résumés because it would indicate that they were from a reserve and they may not be hired based on that fact. Really, a barrier we saw in a big way was racism in society in general when it came to indigenous people looking for work or even starting businesses or becoming entrepreneurs. The 5% procurement strategy is meant, in a way, to deal with some of the barriers that existed or continue to exist today in Canada, unfortunately.
We also see, though, that integrity has to be there because we want real indigenous businesses and entrepreneurs to be the ones to benefit from these programs and set-asides. That's very much what we're discussing today.
Do you know of any companies in your area that are in the indigenous business directory?