Post-pandemic recovery plan must include national Indigenous entrepreneurship strategy

The pandemic has severely impacted Indigenous businesses and requires an whole-of-government to prevent further loss, and to support the prosperity and well-being of Indigenous people. In collaboration with leading national Indigenous organizations, Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business (CCAB) undertook two COVID-19 Indigenous business surveys to understand its impact. The first, conducted in spring 2020, suggested that 91 per cent of Indigenous business suffered a negative impact from COVID-19. That survey garnered 838 responses, in both French and English. What was especially concerning was the outsized impact on Indigenous women-owned businesses that reported a “very negative” impact (61 per cent of women-owned, compared to 53 per cent of men-owned). The second survey, conducted in fall and winter 2020, suggested that, of those surveyed, 57 per cent of Indigenous businesses remained open throughout the pandemic, though 30 per cent indicated that they would survive fewer than six months without additional financial support. It must be noted that, although the data indicates 43 per cent of Indigenous businesses closed during the pandemic, the figure could be higher than reported as many of the businesses are no longer in operation, would likely not be available or refrain from participating in the survey. In short, meaningful action needs to be taken to prevent the loss of nearly a third of Indigenous businesses in Canada. From the beginning of the pandemic, the Government of Canada introduced efforts to provide support for businesses. However, these measures in the spring and fall required changes to include Indigenous businesses, because their unique circumstances were twice not considered when these interventions were designed. A better way would have been to engage Indigenous organizations during the design process to ensure that Indigenous concerns were not an afterthought, but rather a first priority. Additionally, to enhance Indigenous access to these emergency, mainstream funding programs, CCAB has repeatedly highlighted the need for a navigator function specific to Indigenous business to assist with the understanding and uptake of the various programs. Indigenous businesses have found navigating the bureaucracy—which often does not consider their unique legal and place-based circumstances—a significant barrier to accessing the support necessary to keep their businesses alive and maintain the well-being of their communities. Accomplishing this objective will require a well-coordinated government response as economic reconciliation is not the responsibility of a single department, but of every federal organization. This is why CCAB, through its pre-budget submission and appearances at parliamentary committees, proposed the development of a federal Indigenous entrepreneurship strategy. This strategy would be Indigenous led, build Indigenous capacity, and would ensure that Indigenous prosperity and well-being is understood as a priority of every federal official, in every federal organization. Key components of this strategy would include: Increasing federal procurement from Indigenous businesses. National Indigenous organizations have continued to express support for the government’s target of having at least five per cent of its procurement spend from Indigenous businesses, as outlined in Procurement Minister Anita Anand’s mandate letter. However, unlike in Australia, it is not publicly reported how close the government is to achieving their procurement target. This can be easily rectified by mandating that federal organizations report on their purchases from Indigenous businesses as a part of their submissions to the main estimates and the supplementary estimates. Simply put, we cannot evaluate and improve upon what we do not measure and report. Improving the relationships that every federal organization has with Indigenous communities, businesses, and federal Indigenous employees. The government can make progress through utilizing existing Indigenous-owned mechanisms, such as CCAB’s Progressive Aboriginal Relations (PAR) program. Utilizing the PAR program would support the government to measure its current impact and to set intentions and metrics to improve their relationships with Indigenous communities, businesses, and federal Indigenous employees. Supporting the growth of Indigenous exporters. Every department and agency that has a program that supports export growth should ensure that Indigenous exporters have enhanced access markets across Turtle Island and beyond. This work includes building the capacity of Indigenous organizations to deliver enhanced, impactful export-development services. Increasing the representation of Indigenous peoples on corporate boards. CAB continues to support the Government of Canada’s 50-30 Challenge of increasing the representation of Indigenous peoples on corporate boards, and would like to extend that challenge to the federal public service. Indigenous leadership on corporate boards and senior management in government, is necessary to ensure implementation of commitments that support Indigenous businesses and peoples. Overall, the development of such a strategy would drive Indigenous business recovery and underline that supporting Indigenous entrepreneurs is the responsibility of every federal organization. Each organization must consider if their policies and business-support programs fit the needs of Indigenous entrepreneurs, and if they do not, they must adapt. Tabatha Bull is president and CEO of the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business. The Hill Times