The Cities of Warman and Martensville will be reviewing their civic procurement policies to ensure fair opportunities exist for Indigenous-owned and operated businesses to compete for contracts and supplies.
The commitments were made following separate submissions by the Saskatoon Regional Economic Authority (SREDA) to each city council meeting earlier this month. SREDA representatives appeared before the Warman City Council meeting on Monday, November 8 and the Martensville City Council meeting on Tuesday, November 16.
SREDA President and CEO Alex Fallon told councillors there are “moral and economic” reasons for municipalities to ensure they create procurement policies that allow Indigenous-owned and operated businesses to compete on a “level playing field” with non-Indigenous suppliers and contractors.
He recommended the cities follow the City of Saskatoon’s lead in developing and implementing an ‘Indigenous Procurement Policy.’ This would foster increased participation by Indigenous people in the region’s economic growth, he noted.
“Indigenous businesses are responsible for one-quarter of Indigenous jobs,” stated Fallon. “This is particularly important in the Saskatoon region. There are 17 First Nations bands that own land in the Saskatoon area.”
According to the 2016 census, a total of 175,015 Indigenous people call the province home. There are a total of 70 First Nation bands in Saskatchewan. That’s a substantial, and growing, part of the population, said Fallon. “Creating a policy that ensures fairness is an investment, not a cost,” he added.
SREDA Director of Indigenous Economic Development Milton Tootoosis said implementing an Indigenous Procurement Policy would help fulfill the original intent of Treaty 6 signed at Fort Carlton in 1876.
“The treaties are based on sharing the land, and the promise of a good livelihood for Indigenous people,” said Tootoosis. “The current situation obviously falls far short of that vision.”
Tootoosis said implementing an Indigenous Procurement Policy would help foster reconciliation between Indigenous peoples and local governments.
City of Saskatoon Supply Chain Manager Scott Eaton said over the past three and a half years, Saskatoon has “modernized” its procurement policy to encourage greater inclusion of Indigenous-owned and operated businesses.
“The City of Saskatoon policy is the result of extensive public consultations,” said Eaton. “It’s important to create opportunities for Indigenous businesses, especially young entrepreneurs.”
Eaton said the evaluation criteria used by the City of Saskatoon for contracts and suppliers includes not only price, but also considers the role of Indigenous suppliers.
“The use of Indigenous participation evaluation criteria will reward vendors for actions that add social value, and encourage vendors to look for new ways to increase their social value to improve their ability to compete,” said Eaton.
Martensville Mayor Kent Muench agreed the SREDA request to review current municipal procurement policies is “reasonable,” and that municipal governments have a “moral obligation” to foster reconciliation efforts.