Greetings

The PSAB Team would like to wish a happy new year to one and all. We hope that this year can be one of memorable moments in which Aboriginal businesses will continue to do business with the federal government. Hopefully also, many new firms will get their opportunity to offer their services to Canadians through contracts awarded by various government departments. May the year be fruitful!

It may also be a good time to let everyone know that the PSAB team is now being managed by a new face. Well, not so new, Patrick Boucher was with the AWPI group before heading PSAB. Now that the two units have merged Pat has accepted to give his best and stir the procurement strategy always in the right direction. Welcome Patrick.

Alive and Well

After eight years of existence the Procurement Strategy for Aboriginal Business is still going strong. Year after year the strategy is more and more recognized as a possible “kick start” for many Aboriginal firms wanting to get their foot in the door and have their efforts rolling forward. Whether they excel in the private sector or with the federal government once they are up and running makes no difference to us.

Although the strategy has seen increasing numbers when it comes to the total number of standing offers being established, the total number of contracts awarded could still be improved. This year the PSAB team would like to focus on people who can make the difference. One of our team member will come to you with a short presentation to better illustrated some of the benefits in doing business with qualified Aboriginal firms. The target audience is the entire federal government procurement community. In that same presentation the history of the strategy will be made clear. It’s roots are very significant! Also, all facts and misconceptions will be set apart and explained, even our role at INAC will be made known to everyone.

We welcome anyone to invite us at each’s convenience. The length of the presentation is approximately 30 minutes followed by a half hour of Q’s &A’s (or more if needed). After that, attendees could be back doing what they do best with maybe a different view on the government wide Procurement Strategy for Aboriginal Business.

If you are interested in a worthwhile presentation, please contact Pierre Faucher in the Economic Development Branch at INAC. Pierre may be reached by e-mail at faucherp@inac.gc.ca or by telephone at (819) 934-1973.

Willing and Able

(The Reality of Aboriginal Capacity)

Sometimes people become too absorbed in their immediate environment. In doing so we loose site of the big picture. At Indian and Northern Affairs Canada we interact almost on a daily basis with Aboriginal people from across the country. Whether as employees within INAC or business people from the private sector, or canadian citizens in general, Aboriginal people deal with INAC public servants all the time. This is good ... but it can also be bad. INAC employees may become more aware of the facts concerning aboriginal capacity by simply seeing first hand the true value available to all Canadians. It then becomes easy to imagine everyone else to be as knowledgeable when it comes to what is out there and how good is it. We simply see it often enough to assume that everyone else knows. In other words good quality, competitive pricing and timely delivery are facts that we may have become really accustomed to.

The sad reality is that many Canadians still only witness the negative side of Aboriginal life in Canada. It is very rare that a business success story will make the headlines on the six o’clock news. Consequently, it could prove difficult for Canadians in general, including procurement officers in the Public Service, to realize that a strong Aboriginal work force exists beyond the problems brought to them through their livingroom television set.

One only needs to look into any Aboriginal Business Directory to find out that there is not much that is not covered in terms of goods and services. Recent statistics show that many Aboriginal company are successfully wining bids on the open market. This means against other non-aboriginal firms. This is a strong indication of the level of quality that does exist when looking at Aboriginal firms.

Upon your next purchasing or contracting requirement you may want to research possible Aboriginal companies to meet your needs.

Free MERX

As some of you may already know, on November 15, 2004, the Honourable Scott Brison, Minister of Public Works and Government Services Canada, announced the elimination of user fees for federal opportunities on the Government Electronic Tendering Service (GETS) by April 1, 2005.

Our Conference

The PSAB annual coordinators conference will be on February 14^th / 2005. It will be held at the Holiday Inn - Plaza La Chaudière at Les Terrasses de la Chaudière in Gatineau (Hull). The one day conference will be chaired by Rick Hansen, Director Advocacy & Partnerships. At that time, Rick will outline his view on the future of PSAB for which he is now responsible since the merger with AWPI (Aboriginal Workforce Participation Initiative).

We look forward to seeing all PSAB coordinators at the conference.

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