Carney must prioritize fixing Indigenous procurement program, says AFN National Chief

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The National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations says the re-elected Liberal government must fix the federal Indigenous procurement program so that its benefits flow to genuinely Indigenous businesses.

National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak made the comments Wednesday in a speech to the National Aboriginal Capital Corporations Association (NACCA). She then expanded on her comments in an interview with The Globe and Mail.

“When we talk about problems with federal procurement, we have to start with Canada’s loose standards of First Nations and Indigenous identity,” she told The Globe. “Properly deployed, the federal government’s multibillion-dollar First Nations procurement program can have significant benefit to the economy.”

The Globe has published a series of reports over the past year chronicling the frustration of Indigenous business leaders who say the program is being taken advantage of by non-Indigenous companies.

Ottawa was warned about problems with Indigenous procurement – but grew it into a $1.6-billion program anyway

The goals of the nearly 30-year-old policy were dramatically expanded in recent years by the Liberal government. It brought in a target requiring federal departments to direct at least five per cent of all federal contracts to businesses listed on the federally run Indigenous Business Directory.

As a result, the number of companies that registered to be included in the directory jumped sharply.

However, the existing rules allow a non-Indigenous business to register provided that it forms a joint venture with an Indigenous business. The rules require the Indigenous business to maintain majority control of the joint venture and a third of the work must be conducted by the Indigenous partner or other Indigenous businesses.

The Globe’s reporting highlighted repeated warnings about weak enforcement of the rules that leave the program vulnerable to abuse.

Indigenous groups press for greater say in Ottawa’s contracting policy rules

Ms. Woodhouse Nepinak said these concerns are warranted.

“Pretendians are stealing opportunities for hard-working First Nations businesses. It’s a real thing,” she said, using a term to describe people who access programs for Indigenous people for which they are not entitled.

The AFN and the NACCA are part of a coalition of Indigenous organizations that have proposed a First Nations Procurement Organization that would take over responsibility for managing the Indigenous Business Directory and certifying who can be included.

The coalition advocates for criteria that is more narrowly defined than the current rules.

Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu has acknowledged concerns with the program and has said that consultations are under way about how to transfer management of the directory to Indigenous organizations.

However, she told MPs on the government operations committee in November that she is receiving conflicting advice on how to proceed.

“I think that sometimes the federal government looks for consensus in Indigenous places or Indigenous spaces in an unrealistic or maybe an unfair way,” she said.

The minister said she is working with a range of Indigenous organizations on how best to transfer the responsibility of defining and confirming Indigeneity.

“That may be part of the evolution of how this goes, simply because, as I’ve gotten to know the partners, it appears that consensus may not be feasible in this space. That is a reality with such a diverse group of Indigenous people across the country.”

Prime Minister Mark Carney has said that he plans to unveil his updated cabinet next week.

Ms. Woodhouse Nepinak said she hopes to meet with Ms. Hajdu or her successor shortly after and expects to see First Nations priorities reflected in the Carney government’s first budget.

Speaking more broadly, she said the AFN will also be urging the government to ensure that First Nations are consulted as part of any plans to speed up the approval of large infrastructure projects.

The AFN also said during the federal election campaign that the next government must focus on health, community safety and following through on previous government promises to act in response to public inquiries into residential schools and missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.