QUESTION PERIOD — Ministry of Indigenous Services
Indigenous Businesses
May 7, 2026
Minister, I’m pleased to ask this question on behalf of our colleague the Honourable PJ Prosper.
On March 26, the Procurement Ombud called for a stronger Indigenous procurement policy. The report found that Indigenous Services Canada and other departments failed to implement a cohesive, centralized procurement policy; that Indigenous businesses had no recourse to challenge the award of set-aside contracts; that there was limited verification of Indigenous business status; and that “misleading . . . methodology related to the 5% Indigenous procurement target, overstating the actual economic benefit flowing to Indigenous businesses.”
The Council for the Advancement of Native Development Officers, known as CANDO, has partnered with other Indigenous-led organizations to propose a First Nations Procurement Authority. They are asking for support for a national economic development officer, or EDO, procurement hub, which seeks core funding to coordinate and scale Indigenous content.
Minister, will your department support the First Nations Procurement Authority and —
Thank you, Senator Black.
Thank you. I welcome the question. It gives me an opportunity to finish my response to the previous senator’s question.
The 5% procurement target was set, and it has resulted in billions of dollars of impacts in Indigenous communities. Indigenous businesses are a crucial part of what we’re doing in this country because they do contribute to the GDP. That is one thing I want to emphasize and stress. Not only are we ensuring that we’re doing the work to stand up this business directory in a way that is going to have enhanced integrity, but we’re also doing internal work at Indigenous Services Canada to offer additional staff training and more comprehensive intake requirements.
We are also doing a full review of the business directory. We want to ensure those who participate in this space are the rightful participants who have access to this opportunity. It’s critical. I’m here to ensure that my commitments are to work with any mechanism or tool that wants to offer support in this space, such as the Council for the Advancement of Native Development Officers, or Cando, as well as the National Aboriginal Capital Corporations Association, or NACCA. There are many strong Indigenous organizations in this country that can support in this space.
