Federal government contracts totaling more than $285 million for Indigenous businesses went to companies subsequently removed from the Indigenous Business Directory over a five-year span. This directory supports Indigenous-owned enterprises in securing opportunities, including federal work, with eligibility requiring at least 51 percent ownership and control by First Nations, Métis, or Inuit individuals.
Removals from the Directory
Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) reports that 1,881 businesses were removed from the directory between 2020 and 2025. Reasons include nonresponsiveness, ineligibility, voluntary requests, and duplicate listings for active businesses. These details emerged in a response to a written question from Conservative MP Billy Morin, representing the Algonquin Anishinabeg Nation Tribal Council (AANTC).
Calls for Accountability
AANTC Grand Chief Verna Polson criticizes the process, stating, “Obviously the government’s not doing their research or their due diligence on the people who are applying for these big contracts.” She demands repercussions, such as fund repayments, for ineligible recipients and questions the lack of accountability: “Why aren’t people being held accountable through this process? It’s very disturbing there’s nothing being done. And the big question is, will they be?”
Polson advocates restricting contracts to companies owned by Section 35 rights holders. She notes that Algonquin contractors often face barriers, excluding them from federal opportunities and harming community economic health. “We have many different contractors at the Algonquin Nation and sometimes they have to go through hoops to even get a little contract,” she adds.
Criticism of Eligibility Criteria
Amir Attaran, AANTC lawyer, argues the criteria remain too broad, including those with disputed Indigenous identity. “You dilute what it means to be Indigenous in Canada,” he says, adding that this squeezes genuine Indigenous firms out of competitions. “I see this as an effort to take away what rightly belongs to the real Indigenous people of this country, which is the ability to have better futures for their children.”
Attaran highlights AANTC’s exclusion from recent Ottawa contracts on their traditional territory and suggests some delisted firms could face charges. He questions whether the government will recover awarded funds.
Contract Details and Actions
Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) issued over $191 million of these contracts. One delisted company now faces a ban from future bids. PSPC has not confirmed if ineligible firms were asked to repay funds.
ISC awarded more than $39 million, primarily to Dalian Enterprises Inc., developers of the ArriveCAN app. ISC also referred one suspected fraudulent status card to law enforcement.
Inquiries to federal departments on repayments or penalties have received no response.
