The federal government repeatedly ignored key safeguards meant to ensure that legitimate Indigenous businesses would benefit from a multi-billion-dollar procurement program, a watchdog’s investigation has shown.
In a report made public Thursday, the Office of the Procurement Ombud said Indigenous Services Canada showed a “systemic disregard” for the principles behind the Procurement Strategy for Indigenous Business (PSIB), repeatedly failed to verify companies awarded work were Indigenous-owned, and failed to keep track of how the decades-old program actually benefitted Indigenous businesses.
