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It would have been necessary for this matter Up can It exploded in his face until the government admitted – painfully – that the performance of the Atomic Energy Authority was bad, very bad. In fact, if he doesn't rectify the situation quickly, scandals are likely to pile up on his doorstep.

In 2021, Ottawa did what it loves to do above all else: make a great announcement. The goals were ambitious: Starting in 2025, all federal departments and agencies must award at least 5% of their contracts to indigenous companies.

The government did not listen to First Nations representatives who pointed out the flaws in SAEA – a program that had been around, in a more modest form, since the era of Jean Chretien. He ignored a federal report that, from 2007, indicated that there was no adequate mechanism to verify whether Indigenous people actually did this work.

Justin Trudeau's government turned a blind eye, covered its ears, and rushed forward with its virtuous announcement.

As a result, the number of registrations in the directory of original works jumped by 40%, according to Globe and Mail. The value of contracts awarded under the PSAB has increased five-fold, to $862 million in 2022-2023.

This astonishing growth would not be a problem, but would be excellent news, if the program was robust and truly worked to improve the social and economic conditions of Indigenous communities in Canada.

Unfortunately, as we well know, hell is paved with good intentions.

the case Up can He highlighted a trick that we believe is widespread: small local businesses, with two or three employees, act as fronts for contracts reserved for Indigenous entrepreneurs.

These small projects play an intermediary role. They win contracts, only to pass them on to non-original companies. In the process, they give themselves a huge kickback, thanking heaven (and taxpayers) for their good fortune.

David Yu, the businessman at the center of the scandal Up can Who acted as an intermediary for non-native colleagues, He qualifies for the program as the great-grandson of a chief of the Alderville First Nation in Ontario.

Although he had no status and grew up outside the reserves, David Yeo met the criteria in Ottawa's eyes. The program also allowed her to partner with a non-local company.

In short, he ticked the right boxes. good. But… how did awarding this contract help the community it advocates for?

The Southeast Asian Association requires that one-third of the work be done by indigenous employees, but the government never checks that its rules are being respected. Only four audits have been conducted since 2016, according to the World Bank Globe and Mail.

In other words, Ottawa does not give itself the means to verify whether its generous program benefits the people it is supposed to help. How do these entrepreneurs give back to their communities? Are they really part of it?

On Friday, my colleagues Joel Dennis Bellavance and Mylène Crete revealed that another company had been caught in the hack: Advanced Chippewa Technologies Inc., with its four employees and its own residence serving as its main office in Ottawa, has won $134 million in federal contracts since 2004. ..

Essentially, the company resells computer hardware and software to government departments on behalf of major players such as Apple, IBM, and Microsoft.

Again: How does this help Indigenous people across the country?

Aren't we instead depriving them of opportunity by allowing a handful of businessmen to seize the millions of dollars meant for them?

Many are convinced of this. Last year, more than 50 Indigenous financial institutions warned Ottawa that the SACA was encouraging the use of “shell companies” to obtain contracts, at the expense of legitimate Indigenous businesses.

Add to this the fact that the government allows almost anyone to register with the Indigenous Business Directory (eg Guillaume Karl) and thus access contracts reserved for Inuit, Métis and First Nations in this country…

Canada's Minister of Indigenous Services, Patty Hajdu, announced a major review of the PSAB. It's not too early. It is time to plug the cracks in this benevolent strategy, to be sure, but it is grossly flawed.