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House Hansard - 75

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 19, 2022 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 75 - May/19/22
Mr. Anthony Housefather (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Services and Procurement, Lib.)
  • May/19/22 7:13:18 p.m.
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Madam Chair, our government has been working to address inequities by modernizing its procurement practices and encouraging suppliers from diverse backgrounds to be part of the federal supply chain. Budget 2021 proposed $87.4 million over five years, and $18.6 million ongoing, to modernize federal procurement and to create opportunities for specific communities such as indigenous people, women, LGBTQ2+ Canadians, Black and other racialized Canadians. This included a two-year study from 2018 to 2020 that aimed to leverage the government's significant purchasing power to pursue socio-economic outcomes through procurement. As the minister mentioned, our government also undertook a Black business procurement pilot in 2021 to expand procurement opportunities for Black entrepreneurs. We also recently released two requests for information to better understand the procurement experience of businesses owned or led by persons with disabilities and the LGBTQ2+ community. As part of its efforts to diversify the federal supply chain, we have issued requests for information to gather input from Canadian Black businesses and businesses owned or operated by persons with disabilities, as well as businesses owned or led by members of the LGBTQ2+ community. The feedback gathered through the RFIs will be used to expand the use of targeted approaches to increase diversity in federal procurements. PSPC's Policy on Social Procurement came into effect in May 2021. It allows the department to create targeted approaches to increase diversity and inclusion in PSPC procurement and leverage trade agreements that permit socio-economic procurement. I know that the minister has been holding a number of round tables. Could the minister tell the House what she has been hearing first-hand from business leaders?
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