(August 29, 2024 – Unceded Algonquin Territory, Ottawa, Ontario) – In response to a joint investigative report by Global News and the First Nations University of Canada on the Procurement Strategy for Indigenous Business (PSIB), the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) is calling for urgent reforms to the federal procurement processes to ensure they effectively benefit and support First Nations.
“For generations, First Nations have faced many challenges, from the impacts of Residential Schools and the Indian Act to systemic barriers and limited access to economic opportunities. Considering this history, it is disturbing that non-Indigenous individuals and businesses continue to claim First Nations identity, infringing on the rights and recognition that First Nations have fought to secure,” said AFN National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak. “This report has revealed significant failures in the current federal procurement processes, including a lack of verification and cases where non-Indigenous businesses exploit the system to secure significant government contracts by falsely claiming Indigenous identity. This situation is further exacerbated by government practices that fail to adequately verify Indigenous identity–an issue occurring too often across the country that undermines the integrity of Indigenous identities and limits economic opportunities for legitimate First Nation peoples, businesses, and organizations.”
“The process of recognizing First Nations identity—whether by individuals, businesses, or organizations claiming or seeking to assert First Nations identity—must be led by First Nations to ensure legitimacy and validity,” said AFN National Chief Woodhouse Nepinak. “Fair, transparent, and open access to procurement opportunities from the Government of Canada, provincial governments, and the private sector is a key priority for First Nations and critical to our economic growth, self-determination, and community well-being. We must take concrete steps towards economic reconciliation. This begins by respecting and supporting the self-determined rights of First Nations across Canada. This must be led by First Nations.”
“I call on the Government of Canada to not only increase First Nations procurement opportunities, but to work in partnership with First Nations to ensure that the policies and practices surrounding First Nations identity and Indigenous business procurement are both respectful and reflective of First Nations rights and interests, thereby fulfilling the obligations under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.”
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The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) is a national advocacy organization that works to advance the collective aspirations of First Nations individuals and communities across Canada on matters of national or international nature and concern.
Contact Information:
Genna Benson
Director, Communications
Assembly of First Nations
604-340-3117 (mobile)
[email protected]
Jamie Monastyrski
Press Secretary
Office of the National Chief
[email protected]
(613) 612-7229 (mobile)