Government Operations committee  Good morning. Thank you very much, distinguished members. My name is Mary Anderson. I am the president of Women Business Enterprises Canada Council, affectionately known as WBE Canada. I am here with Stephanie Fontaine, who is vice-president of business development. First of al

Government Operations committee  I'd like to give you some insights related to individual women's businesses that are currently doing public and federal procurement to let you get an insight into these people themselves. As Paula mentioned, we certify or verify a business 51% owned and managed and controlled by

Government Operations committee  We've looked at this, and we have decided to follow an international protocol. The reason we do this is really that our certification is also a door opener to other markets. By looking at the 51% owned, managed, and controlled, for many of our small and women-owned businesses tha

Government Operations committee  Can I start, and then—?

Government Operations committee  Thank you. The certification process is a process that we follow, as I mentioned.

Government Operations committee  It's been very valuable for us to look at, and to look at the rigour of it. What we look at is that when there is ownership, management control, and independence, we are creating a business that has the philosophy of the owner and the manager who is controlling it, so there is v

Government Operations committee  We have been fortunate to be supported by a number of corporations that have had a supplier diversity journey.

Government Operations committee  We've worked with financial institutions. BMO, for example, has a very established supplier diversity program with a focus on women. It is an intentional program internally and at the leadership level to be able to implement that and track it and look at it over time. The other

Government Operations committee  Absolutely. I'd be delighted.

Government Operations committee  We've been following the protocol where it began, in the United States. We were mentored by an organization called WBENC, Women's Business Enterprise National Council, and were provided the documents to begin. We've customized that to the Canadian marketplace. In our protocol,

Government Operations committee  Absolutely. More and more, when it becomes important to use the certificate, we're also finding that others are attempting to use it exactly as you've said. In the past, we've had assessors—now we call them site visitors—verify information and documentation and confirm that the w

Government Operations committee  I'm going to invite Stephanie to respond to that.

Government Operations committee  Some of them are to create innovative ways of tackling this. I would point out something like the City of Toronto and social procurement. They've just pushed ahead and done it. They've tried it, and they're working through the model. One of the things that you asked about was t

Government Operations committee  I think it's good to have a standard that you're working with that is consistent. The standard is already there, so why not use it? It has already been established.

Government Operations committee  No, but I think we're working on that.