Auditor general considering probe into Indigenous procurement program – National [Video]

Canada’s auditor general is considering a probe into a multi-billion program meant to boost Indigenous business that has been open to abuse for decades.

Following complaints from Indigenous communities and a recent Global News investigation with First Nations University of Canada researchers, Auditor General Karen Hogan’s office confirmed that it is reviewing a request to investigate the Indigenous Business Directory (IBD).

The database is relied on by government departments to find First Nations, Métis and Inuit companies for roughly $1.6 billion in federal work annually under the Procurement Strategy for Indigenous Business (PSIB). Indigenous leaders have long warned Ottawa that non-Indigenous companies are being listed in the IBD and gaining access to billions of dollars worth of government contracts.

A months-long investigation by Global News and First Nations University of Canada delved into the PSIB, created in 1996 aimed at giving Indigenous businesses preferential access to a percentage of federal contracts, found loopholes …