Government Operations committee  Again, I said national defence. I think if you look at the spending and all the work that's coming on through national defence and with the shipbuilding and all of those opportunities, there are great opportunities for indigenous businesses. My fellow presenter Victoria knows well about some of the opportunities that come in within the shipbuilding that was going out to Atlantic Canada.

Government Operations committee  Previously, we were focused on entrepreneurs regardless of whether they were young or seasoned. We are getting more input from young entrepreneurs who are coming. We work with JEDI, which is a joint economic development initiative based out of New Brunswick. We spoke last week to a forum of young entrepreneurs who are starting their businesses, and we work with them.

Government Operations committee  I think reconciliation is respect and having indigenous people as full partners in any type of development. Again, we've been on the outside looking in. We get bits and bobs handed to us. For true, meaningful reconciliation, we are sitting at the table. Look at all the different industries, as well.

Government Operations committee  Yes. Actually, as of August 2021, the requirement of a third of the workforce, if there are six or more, has been lifted. This helps our indigenous businesses as they grow, especially in certain sectors, where it's hard to keep up that resource of a third of the employees being indigenous.

Government Operations committee  Well, actually, it can be both. If you look at the construction industry, indigenous businesses have made a lot of strides in it, but there are also lots of requirements that sometimes indigenous businesses struggle to meet regarding insurance and regarding bonding that are a barrier to entry for them.

Government Operations committee  I think the natural resources sector has led the charge on indigenous procurement in Canada. The Wood Buffalo region, especially, has been doing it for many years. In 2021, Suncor and Syncrude did a combined spend of $2.4 billion with indigenous businesses, which equated to, I believe, 17% of Suncor's overall spend and 27% of Syncrude's.

Government Operations committee  There is. There's always room for improvement. Again, regarding that 5% in a previous question asked.... We were advocating for that 5% based on the indigenous population. However, in regions where the population is bigger, it should be higher. If you look at the Yukon government, their indigenous procurement target is 25%.

Government Operations committee  Again, it's what Ray and Shannin said. There is no data that's available. You can't get that information from the federal government. Within our team, we went into Buyandsell Canada to search contracts to see if we could do it that way. However, 2018 was the last time it was publicly reported.

Government Operations committee  I would like to respond to that question. Again, our research shows that indigenous businesses feel they are being excluded by the language of the RFPs that are coming through. The federal government has talked about unbundling contracts. Unless they start unbundling them and making it easier for our indigenous businesses to qualify, they're not going to meet the mandatory requirements.

Government Operations committee  I think that together we're stronger. At CCAB, Supply Change is, in essence, what an institute would be. We've been doing it on a very tight budget and with tight resources as well. Anyone who knows resources knows that HR resources right now are a big issue. We have been doing it, and I have to say that I'm quite proud of what we have accomplished with our work at CCAB.

Government Operations committee  Thanks, Ms. Thompson. In my role as the vice-president of entrepreneurship and procurement, I have a number of roles at CCAB. The one that's most relevant to today's hearing is “Supply Change”. Supply Change is CCAB's trademarked indigenous procurement strategy, which we started in 2018.

Government Operations committee  Well, I think that in the past indigenous people felt quite often that they were excluded, that there was a bias within the federal government, and even within the procurement practices with all the mandatory requirements. One little mistake and you were automatically wiped out from that.

Government Operations committee  Good luck with that, but thanks. Good morning. As mentioned, my name is Philip Ducharme. As vice-president of entrepreneurship and procurement at the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business, I want to thank you, Mr. Chair and all distinguished members of this committee, for the opportunity to provide you with my testimony and to answer your questions.