Diversity and inclusion in procurement: Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates—March 22, 2023
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Increasing Indigenous involvement in procurement
Context
Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) and Shared Services Canada (SSC) are actively working to increase the participation of Indigenous businesses in federal procurement.
Suggested response
- The Government of Canada is committed to economic reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples, and will enable socio-economic outcomes by increasing economic opportunities for First Nations, Inuit and Métis businesses through the federal procurement process while also strengthening and diversifying federal supply chains
- PSPC is collaboratively working with Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) and the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS) to implement the government-wide commitment for a minimum mandatory target of 5% of the total value of federal contracts awarded to Indigenous businesses
- SSC exceeded the 5% Indigenous procurement target in fiscal year 2021-22 with a total value of 6.3% and a volume of 7.8% of SSC-funded contracts awarded to Indigenous businesses
- Departments and agencies are required to submit fiscal year 2022 to 2023 performance reports by September 2023 to ISC, outlining their progress towards the minimum 5% target
If pressed on the 5% commitment:
- Since April 1, 2022, the groundwork has been laid to ensure that the governance, guidance and reporting structure is in place to implement the minimum 5% target government-wide
- For fiscal year 2022 to 2023, SSC expects to meet the 5% Indigenous procurement target
- To support implementation efforts, my department works in close collaboration with Indigenous partners and other government departments to develop tools and detailed guidance outlining parameters, obligations and available supports. These are distributed to procurement officers and disseminated through governance committees, from deputy heads to working levels as they are developed
- In support of achieving the 5% target, the Government of Canada has been consulting with Indigenous partners to identify barriers to participating in federal procurement
- PSPC continues to work closely with ISC and Indigenous partners to enhance opportunities via the minimum 5% target and help co-develop longer-term options for the Transformative Indigenous Procurement Strategy
If pressed on improving reporting:
- We continue to work on improving our data collection and supporting other government departments in making procurement decisions to help achieve the minimum 5% target
- Achieving the minimum 5% target across government is rolling out through a phased approach between 2022 and 2024, with the first annual report on government-wide performance to be published by spring 2024
The diversity and the inclusion in procurement
Context
PSPC and SSC is delivering on the Government of Canada’s commitments to increase the diversity of bidders on government contracts.
Suggested response
- PSPC and SSC are helping more businesses get involved in federal procurement to build a more inclusive economy
- In early 2022, the department launched the Supplier Diversity Action Plan, which outlines concrete steps to increase the participation of businesses from underrepresented groups in federal procurement
- The plan stems from continued engagement with suppliers from underrepresented groups to better understand the barriers they face and their needs
- It includes enhanced services, delivered through Procurement Assistance Canada, to help underrepresented groups successfully participate in federal procurement
- It also includes a Policy on Social Procurement to create dedicated opportunities to increase supplier diversity in procurement, and bring positive benefits to communities across Canada
If pressed on next steps:
- PSPC is continuing to engage with underrepresented groups to guide its efforts to advance supplier diversity, notably on how the policy will be implemented and applied
- Through these important discussions, a Supplier Diversity Program is being launched. This program will outline approaches to enhance supplier diversity in PSPC-led procurements
If pressed on supporting Black businesses:
- In January 2021, PSPC launched the Black business procurement pilot to open bidding opportunities for small Black-owned or led businesses, which consisted of 12 procurement opportunities across the country, conditionally limited to small Black-owned or led businesses
- Lessons learned from this pilot are being incorporated into the Supplier Diversity Program, which will include a Black Entrepreneurship Procurement Program
If pressed about data collection on supplier diversity in procurement:
- In May 2021, PSPC’s Policy on Social Procurement came into effect, enabling the department to collect data on the diversity of its suppliers to support supplier diversity initiatives
- Work is underway to start collecting data through CanadaBuys to inform decision-making on supplier diversity initiatives and monitor progress over time
If pressed about definition and certification of underrepresented suppliers:
- Definition and certification are important aspects of supplier diversity initiatives
- In the spring of 2022, PSPC engaged with stakeholders, most notably from equity-deserving groups, to identify approaches to definition and certification as part of developing the Supplier Diversity Program and the Black Entrepreneurship Procurement Program
- The Supplier Diversity Program is currently under development and PSPC will begin to launch concrete actions for program implementation in the near future
If pressed about small and medium enterprises:
- In 2021 to 2022, 66% of SSC funded contracts were awarded to small and medium enterprises for a value of $746 million
- In 2021 to 2022, SSC awarded contracts to 323 different small and medium enterprises. Of these small and medium enterprises, 307 were Canadian, representing 95% of all small and medium enterprises that received SSC contracts
- Of the contracts awarded by SSC to small and medium enterprises in 2021 to 2022, 99% of the total volume and 99% of the total value were awarded to Canadian small and medium enterprises
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