I just want to touch on the federal contracting program for indigenous businesses.
One of the contractors on behalf of the CBSA—Dalian—was procured and hired non-indigenous suppliers to do the work despite the contract being issued under the TBIPS supply agreement and being open to qualified indigenous suppliers under the procurement strategy for indigenous business. I find it very disturbing that the CEO of Dalian noted in another committee meeting that they did not need to hire indigenous suppliers and that the rules were very bendable in this case, which is concerning. Is this supporting equity or not? Are indigenous people being used to get contracts? This to me seems very unethical, as a personal aside.
I know from your report that six bids were received from qualified indigenous suppliers. Five of them were highly qualified and received maximum points on the technical component. What were your key findings in this area? I want you to explain why indigenous businesses and contractors were ignored despite being compliant. What do you think can be done to fix this issue? Programs are put in place for a reason. Clearly people are finding loopholes. Could you respond to those three questions?