Evidence of meeting #127 for International Trade in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was business.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Indigenous Women and Youth Program Manager, National Aboriginal Capital Corporations Association
My recommendation or advice would be to find their support systems, mentors, other entrepreneurs and indigenous women entrepreneurs who can support them and who are business like-minded individuals. Take advantage of opportunities, in terms of training, that come their way, and continue to build and to grow themselves personally. That will ultimately help them to be more successful in business.
Thank you.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Judy Sgro
Thank you very much.
Mr. Williams, you have three minutes.
Mr. Sheehan, you will then have three minutes to finish the round.
Conservative
Ryan Williams Conservative Bay of Quinte, ON
Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you to our witnesses. It's been great testimony today. I love that “strong and resilient” statement. I think it speaks truth to what entrepreneurs have to be.
Ms. Nepinak, you talked about how there are already massive barriers to aboriginal-led businesses and women. We've heard in the past that start-ups of women-led organizations in Canada, as a whole, receive less than 2% of funding for what we call venture capital. It's extremely difficult. What I've heard today is not just about the barriers. You talked about a lack of support and even sexism. Going further, 1,100 businesses were delisted because of the lack of verifiability. We heard about what that means for businesses.
I'd like to ask both of you, Ms. Perron and Ms. Nepinak, about access to capital. What has the government done to allow, first, more access to capital—not just funding, but from banks? We talk about something called open banking, which allows banks to be able to bank other businesses, including indigenous businesses.
How has the access to capital been for indigenous-led businesses, and how do we improve that as a whole?
Let's start with Ms. Perron.
Indigenous Women and Youth Program Manager, National Aboriginal Capital Corporations Association
Thank you for your question.
For us, this was the whole reason we developed a microloan fund. It was so we could reduce the barriers for indigenous women, particularly those who had smaller micro-businesses, as I mentioned, that are part-time or home-based, and reduce some of the requirements to make it more accessible.
In terms of other financial institutions, like mainstream banks, etc., what would be valuable is for those institutions to go through some kind of diversity and equity inclusion or cultural sensitivity and awareness training so that when they're working with indigenous women entrepreneurs, they can do it in a more respectful way.
Those first impressions are really important, and what makes our network so unique when we're working with indigenous entrepreneurs is that it's really about the relationship. As indigenous peoples, we're relational and we have to build trust. Particularly with non-indigenous financial institutions, the trust is not there. It really takes time to get to know the entrepreneurs and build that foundation of trust so that they can move forward.
That's some advice. Those are some things I would recommend.
Thank you very much.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Judy Sgro
Thank you very much.
We will move on to Mr. Sheehan for three minutes, please.
Liberal
Terry Sheehan Liberal Sault Ste. Marie, ON
Thank you very much for your testimony. It's very informative.
I'm from Sault Ste. Marie. It's right on the St. Marys River. It has been a traditional place for first nations to come to fish the whitefish, and they would smoke them there. This was before the settlers came. They came from all over Canada and the United States. Naturally, when people gathered in Sault Ste. Marie—the area they're in, which we call Turtle Island, or Bawating—it became a place of trade, and it's really grown exceptionally.
There are some things I want to ask about. In northern Ontario, for example, we have FedNor, which is a regional economic development agency. That has been combined with the department of Patty Hajdu, the Minister of Indigenous Services. The thought behind that was economic reconciliation.
To either one of you, have you had many dealings with various regional economic development agencies, or any other federal program, as you layer things for your clients for support?
Indigenous Women and Youth Program Manager, National Aboriginal Capital Corporations Association
For us, our indigenous women's entrepreneur program initiative was really a patchwork of accessing funds through different federal government departments, but primarily Indigenous Services Canada and Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada. We also worked with the regional development agency for Ontario.
Of course, for our indigenous financial institutions, we funnel funding out to them. They have relationships with their regional development agencies as well.
President, Native Women's Association of Canada
I'm sorry. I can't really add to that question, but I do believe those connections would very likely be required moving forward.
Liberal
Terry Sheehan Liberal Sault Ste. Marie, ON
The relationship with each individual first nation is absolutely important, as they're autonomous unto themselves with their chiefs and councils all having their own economic development officers and agencies. For instance, I just announced $747 million from Environment Canada for a variety of projects that will help save the Great Lakes and the flora and fauna around them. One in four people get their drinking water from the Great Lakes. As Chief Karen Bell said, they're the natural stewards.
Do you see a lot of work with indigenous female entrepreneurs as it relates to the environment in Canada?
President, Native Women's Association of Canada
I would say so. Certainly the work in the community, in terms of safe drinking water and in terms of the plants and fauna around us, is very critical to the air we breathe. Ensuring that the beauty of the landscape and our connection to the land are part of that development is critically important.
I believe indigenous women have played a strong role—for instance, through harvesting medicines through the land—in ensuring that the land is healthy. That was traditionally the role of the women. We want to ensure that this is sustained over generations and lifetimes. If those opportunities exist, that work absolutely should be promoted.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Judy Sgro
Thank you.
We have completed the first two rounds. Thank you so much for this very valuable information. I wish you both much success in the future as you move forward.
I will stop for a moment while we change witness panels.
Thank you very much.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Judy Sgro
I will bring this meeting to order.
Let me introduce those we have with us now. From Indigenous Tourism Alberta, we have Brenda Holder, Cree traditional knowledge-keeper, by video conference. From Startup Canada, we have Kayla Isabelle, chief executive officer.
Welcome to you both. We will start with opening remarks for up to five minutes from each of you. Then we will go into questions from the members.
Ms. Holder, go ahead, please. You have up to five minutes.
Brenda Holder Cree Traditional Knowledge-Keeper, and Chair, Indigenous Tourism Alberta
Great. Thank you.
[Witness spoke in Cree and provided the following text:]
Tansi, nitotoem, Brenda nitishinihkâson. Nia tanite oci asiniwacia.
[Witness provided the following translation:]
Hello, friends, my name is Brenda Holder. I am originally from the mountains.
[English]
I am coming to you from Treaty 6 territory originally, as one of the original people from Jasper National Park. I'm a Cree knowledge-holder. I run my own indigenous tourism company and am the sole owner of my company. I am also the chair for Indigenous Tourism Alberta, which I believe I am representing today. I am happy to be here.
Thank you.
Liberal
Kayla Isabelle Chief Executive Officer, Startup Canada
Thank you, Madam Chair and members of the committee. It's a privilege to bring the perspectives of the Startup Canada community to your important discussions here around Canada's inclusive international trade policies.
My name is Kayla Isabelle, and I'm the CEO of Startup Canada. I also sit on the Allied for Startups Continental Council, working on international start-up policy, and I'm a board member on the Ottawa Board of Trade, where we champion the needs of the local business community.
Startup Canada is a national non-profit that supports and advocates for early-stage Canadian entrepreneurs, start-ups and small businesses. Our mission is to help accelerate the growth of founders by providing access to the thousands of resources, programs and support organizations that exist locally, provincially, nationally and internationally. With over 250 annual partners, we play a vital role in driving the entrepreneurial spirit across the country through collaboration.
We have three programs that are relevant to today's conversation and that inform our perspective.
Our start-up women program engages over 4,900 women annually from over 278 cities across Canada. This program for early-stage women founders across all industries provides access to a diverse women's support ecosystem, including ecosystem players like The Forum and private sector partners like the Scotiabank women initiative. Top industries represented are arts, media, entertainment, digital technologies, health care, social assistance, bioscience, and professional scientific and technical services.
Our start-up global program also engages a number of founders—over 6,000 early-stage aspiring exporters from 164 cities across the country. We connect them with support organizations like Export Development Canada, private sector partners like UPS and Google, and export-focused non-profit organizations like the Forum for International Trade Training, also known as FITT. Notably, we have over 36% female representation in this program, which highlights the growing interest among women entrepreneurs to expand globally. Unfortunately, we've seen the number go down since 2020, when gender parity existed in the program. Top industries represented here are agriculture, forestry, agri-food, professional scientific and technical services, and clean technology.
Lastly, due to the demand for support specifically at the intersection of women's entrepreneurship and international expansion, Startup Canada, in partnership with UPS, developed a women exporters program. It was designed with a focus on consumer packaged goods—also known as CPGs—companies looking to expand globally. In year one, we engaged a cohort of 150 women founders and achieved a 9.2 net promoter score out of 10, which speaks to the success of and satisfaction with the program.
Against this backdrop of experience, I want to take this opportunity to highlight several key points that are central to the ongoing discussions in the context of Canada's international trade landscape, specifically through the lens of women entrepreneurs.
Number one is access to funding and allocation of funding. I know you've heard this message consistently from many of those testifying here today, and on previous days. The number one challenge reported by women founders when discussing international expansion is access to capital. According to a 2023 report from the Canadian Women's Foundation, and as many of you know, women-led businesses receive only 2% of venture capital funding in Canada. We've heard frustration, as well, from founders over the accessibility of things like the CanExport program, particularly as an early-stage entrepreneur without traction.
We at Startup Canada have also experienced difficulty accessing government funding to deliver our programs. This year, we saw cuts to our trade commissioner service funding due to budget constraints, despite six years of demonstrated results. Further, we continue to see a disproportionate amount of funding go to high-growth, male-led companies, which is an ongoing concern in the entrepreneurship space. We need to be deploying capital to women founders who are looking to scale up globally, and to trusted ecosystem players with existing established networks of women entrepreneurs. When government investments are made, we must ensure a firmer gender balance in terms of program participation, funding allocation and accountability, with specific metrics to measure progress.
Number two is streamlined access to resources, tools and community. We hear from founders, time and again, that they'd like to expand internationally, but they simply do not know where to start. For instance, a 2022 survey by our partners at the Forum for International Trade Training, or FITT, found that 55% of Canadian SMEs are unaware of government export programs and support. This lack of awareness can be a critical barrier to accessing resources, such as the trade accelerator program, also known as TAP. If women founders are unaware of these initiatives, or if they simply do not feel that these are spaces for them, we are perpetuating a cycle of exclusion.
We need to ensure that programming is tailored to industries more often dominated by women, such as CPG and retail, and that community is built in collaboration with trusted organizations with existing access to women founders. Women entrepreneurs want to scale. They need to be connected to the right organizations and resources that are the right fit at the right time of their development and with an industry-specific representation outside of just traditional tech.
Thirdly, on the potential of women-led companies, there is no shortage of women-led companies aspiring to go global. In fact, 33% of Canadian women entrepreneurs reported international expansion as one of their top business priorities, according to a 2023 study by the Business Development Bank of Canada, another one of our partners. These entrepreneurs need access to capital, a supportive network and a stronger platform to share their story and position Canada's leading businesses on the global stage. It's critical that we address these gaps and ensure women founders have equal opportunities to succeed in the international market.
In closing, I urge the committee to consider these barriers and take meaningful action to create a more inclusive, accessible environment for women entrepreneurs looking to expand globally.
I look forward to engaging with the committee, providing further insights and answering any questions you may have. Thank you.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Judy Sgro
Thank you very much. We'll move on to committee members.
We have Mr. Baldinelli for six minutes, please.
Conservative
Tony Baldinelli Conservative Niagara Falls, ON
Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you for the presentations by the witnesses today.
I'm going to begin with Ms. Holder.
My understanding is that in addition to your role as chair of Indigenous Tourism Alberta, you're also the vice-chair of the Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada. Is that correct?
Cree Traditional Knowledge-Keeper, and Chair, Indigenous Tourism Alberta
Yes, that is correct.
Conservative
Tony Baldinelli Conservative Niagara Falls, ON
I know that this past summer the president of ITAC publicly expressed concern that ITAC was facing major cuts that could set indigenous-led tourism—including women-led tourism businesses—back a decade. In July, at the height of the tourism season, he informed staff that around half the organization's staff could be laid off.
I'm wondering if you could update us on the status of that. They also talked about office closures. Did that indeed happen?
Cree Traditional Knowledge-Keeper, and Chair, Indigenous Tourism Alberta
Well, before I state that, one of the things I want to make very clear is that indigenous women entrepreneurs in the tourism industry are approximately 30% of that part of the industry, which I think really needs to be shouted from the rooftops.
Yes, we indeed have suffered very significant staff losses due to significant cutbacks to our industry, and specifically to ITAC. We have continued to maintain the office. For how long that will happen, I'm not sure, but we're certainly doing our best to continue to move forward despite these cutbacks.
Conservative
Tony Baldinelli Conservative Niagara Falls, ON
Thank you for that. People don't realize that before COVID, the fastest-growing tourism segment was the indigenous tourism experience and segment, at $1.9 billion. I believe that was in 2019 alone.
With COVID, that all but vanished, including all of the supports that went there too. I remember that during COVID and the government support programs there were a lot of concerns expressed, many associated with what we heard earlier on the procurement side and about funding and the concerns that ITAC was raising that tourism businesses were providing indigenous experiences yet these experiences were not led by indigenous organizations or businesses or women-led entrepreneurs.
I was wondering if you could comment on that and some of the concerns you have there.
Cree Traditional Knowledge-Keeper, and Chair, Indigenous Tourism Alberta
Yes, I certainly can.
I will give one specific case, to be quite honest: I'm not going to name the company, but it is a large well-known company that is really appropriating indigenous knowledge and indigenous experiences to promote their own business. They partnered very briefly with a community and got their stories to do with night skies and various other things. They paid this community a very small fee, in my opinion. I believe it was around $40,000.
This company continues to benefit from those stories even though they have essentially released this community from the partnership. This is gross appropriation and utilizing indigenous knowledge to further themselves but giving a one-time fee to a community. I think it's abysmal.
Conservative
Tony Baldinelli Conservative Niagara Falls, ON
Thank you, Ms. Holder. I guess that's why ITAC took the steps of working towards an accreditation program. It's called the Original Original Accreditation Program. Sadly, I think a minister missed that memo when this program was being created.
I was just wondering if you could talk about the Original Original mark of excellence, that accreditation program that's been established by ITAC.
November 20th, 2024 / 5:45 p.m.
Cree Traditional Knowledge-Keeper, and Chair, Indigenous Tourism Alberta
I can speak very briefly on that. The accreditation of Original Original is to ensure authenticity within the indigenous tourism industry, and not only to ensure authenticity but also to ensure that the recipients of that accreditation are export ready, that they have the community behind them. There are numerous hoops to jump through, so to speak, that, in my opinion, make an incredibly exceptional experience for our guests. It really sets up the operators, or the community, or the indigenous organization for success. And also it ensures that when our tourists show up in Canada, or if they're local tourists, they can be assured that the experience that they are going to be engaging in is authentic and it is an indigenous experience and not one led by somebody who's just doing an indigenous theme program.