Government Operations committee  The one that is very obvious to me is that within many of those resource companies, there has been an indigenous inclusion evaluation criterion within all the RFP responses. It's not about a set-aside per se, but it's about anyone responding to an RFP being able to prove that the

Government Operations committee  That would be my wish or my suggestion. Why wouldn't we have indigenous inclusion throughout the country and throughout all of the procurement process? It could be scored somewhere in the criteria, with back-up documentation to prove it.

Government Operations committee  It was federal funding.

Government Operations committee  I want to say rural development, but I would have to look back through my files and provide that information to you.

Government Operations committee  I'd like to add a comment. I think it would be important to scale the requirements in that RFP to the nature of the opportunity. It would take some time to ensure that it's not a sort of blanket approach for large versus small. There are some nuances that could change within that

Government Operations committee  Thank you for that. I did want to share an example with you that I think will speak to capacity, programming and training, etc. Several years ago, I was asked to write a business plan and a feasibility study and then eventually manage a small business incubator for a first natio

Government Operations committee  I could add to that a little bit. A lot of our businesses, as has already been said, are owner-operated or smaller businesses. Not having the ability to pivot quickly or have the resources to help with a pivot strategy was definitely felt here. Then, of course, an unfortunate out

Government Operations committee  I'll give you a couple of real live examples. An RFP was completed. I think there were 55 to 60 hours put into this RFP. In the fine print within that RFP was a requirement to submit the technical response on one USB and the narrative on another. The entrepreneur overlooked that

Government Operations committee  I would add to that a couple of points that have come from my discussions with indigenous business owners and entrepreneurs. One thing is the uncertainty as to whether there is a mandate, or at the very least an expectation, that the set-asides will be considered and applied th

Government Operations committee  If I might add to those comments, I do believe that trust is a huge element. A lot of the historical past is going to enter into this. Things that might not necessarily relate to the business world definitely come forward if you're an entrepreneur. When we talk about quality, I

Government Operations committee  Thank you. I'm actually working at the civic level with the City of Edmonton on their procurement strategy, so some of the conversation that's come up so far is interesting. If we think about ownership at 51%, I've worked with indigenous businesses that are 100% indigenously own

Government Operations committee  My comments would be somewhat similar. I think it's important to scale the RFP to the work that's being required by actually taking a look within to understand the risk, the scope, the dollar value, and then adjust the RFP accordingly. Is the requirement to hold, let's say, $5 mi

Government Operations committee  Thank you, Rocky. I believe that's my cue to speak now. Good afternoon, and thank you very much for the invitation to be part of this session today. My name is Marnie Suitor, and I'm speaking to today from Amiskwaciy Waskahikan, which is Edmonton in Alberta, the heart of Treat