The federal government has clarified that no, a “picture of a bunny” is not sufficient documentation to access a multi-billion dollar procurement program intended for Indigenous businesses.
Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) has apologized to the Algonquin Anishinabeg Tribal Council after an official told the group that they could upload “any” document, including a snap of a rabbit, to qualify as an Indigenous supplier.
“Indigenous Services Canada does not consider a picture of a bunny to be sufficient documentation to prove Indigeneity,” department spokesperson Anispiragas Piragasanathar clarified in an email to Global News.
The April 2024 email chain, reviewed by Global News, called into question ISC’s insistence that they had tightened eligibility requirements around the Procurement Strategy for Indigenous Business (PSIB), a $1.6-billion annual program aimed at setting aside a percentage of federal work for Indigenous-owned and -operated businesses.
“Business registering for the (IBD) must provide proof that they are 51 …