Indigenous contracting program went years with no ‘after-the-fact’ audits despite calls for more oversight

To the surprise of no one.

This is the best summary I could come up with:

According to information provided to The Globe and Mail by Indigenous Services Canada, the department has approved four such audits under the program since 2016, and all of those were launched within the past two years amid heightened scrutiny of federal procurement practices.

The Procurement Strategy for Indigenous Business (PSIB) has become a focal point of broader parliamentary hearings into how Ottawa spends billions of dollars each year on outsourcing.

Frost said the original idea for the program came from a line in the 1993 Liberal campaign platform, known as the party’s Red Book, during the election that saw Jean Chrétien become prime minister.

Karine Vetvutanapibul, a spokesperson for Indigenous Services Canada, said ISC generally only audits a company upon request by a department that is responsible for the contract awarded under the program.

In addition to Dalian and Coradix, the department said audits have also been approved for Neptune Security Services Inc., in joint venture with numbered company 13024105 Canada Inc., and a partnership between Coalta Starr Consulting and Jasper Concrete Ltd.

Coalta owner Bill Pambrun said the audit involving his company is related to delays on a construction project with Parks Canada to build a Jasper Indigenous Exhibit in Alberta.

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