Federal government faces human rights complaint over Indigenous procurement system
The federal government is facing a human rights complaint over a multi-billion dollar program meant to set aside government work for First Nations, Métis and Inuit companies, Global News has learned.
The Algonquin Anishinabeg Nation Tribal Council is appealing to the Canadian Human Rights Commission to weigh in on the Indigenous Business Directory (IBD), a list of purportedly Indigenous-owned and -operated companies.
The IBD is where federal departments and agencies go to find Indigenous companies from which to purchase products and services, with an eye to meeting Ottawa’s policy of at least five per cent of its procurement going to First Nations, Métis and Inuit companies.
Global News, in partnership with the First Nations University of Canada, revealed in August that Ottawa has awarded billions in federal work to companies without always requiring bidders to prove they First Nations, Inuit or Métis.
The tribal council’s complaint, obtained by Global News, alleges Indigenous Services Canada — which oversees what businesses are eligible to be listed on the IBD — has overseen a “systemically discriminatory” system that allows non-Indigenous companies to access those federal contracts.
“Indigenous identity fraud by ‘pretendians’ is not rare in Canada,” the complaint reads.
“Naturally pretendians are attracted to take advantage of the (program) and its lucrative contracts, and (the government) knows this.”
Global News requested comment from Indigenous Services Canada on Wednesday. The department could not answer Global’s questions as of deadline.
The effort to build up Indigenous business stretches back to the Jean Chretien era with the Procurement Strategy for Indigenous Businesses, a program that aimed to grant First Nations, Inuit and Métis companies access to federal contracting work.
The idea was to use taxpayer money the government planned to spend anyway to grant opportunities to Indigenous communities – and at the same time, boost those businesses’ access to the lucrative world of federal procurement.
It was kept in place by the Conservatives under Stephen Harper, and then boosted under Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government – requiring departments and agencies to procure at least five per cent of what they needed from Indigenous-led companies. The work is now worth roughly $1.6 billion annually.
But a months-long Global News investigation showed that Indigenous Services Canada relied on an honour system for companies to attest that they were at least 51 per cent Indigenous owned and controlled. The eligibility rules were tightened in 2022, but the investigation found multiple companies whose Indigenous roots were difficult to identify.
After Global News’ reporting, Canada’s Auditor General opened an investigation into the PSIB in December. Its office said to expect the results in the fall of 2026.
“What is clear is that (Public Services and Procurement Canada) depends on (Indigenous Services Canada) to verify Indigenous eligibility, but ISC does that job very negligently, and this is where the discrimination begins,” the complaint reads.
“Because when ISC fails to exercise due diligence over who is Indigenous and eligible for the IBD and who is not, then the central premise of the (IBD) – that ‘Indigenous persons have at least 51 per cent ownership and control’ in the contracting business – becomes meaningless.”
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