Trudeau promises relief for Indigenous small business

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised up to $306.8 million in funding for small and medium-sized Indigenous businesses at his daily briefing on Saturday.

The new funding includes support for Indigenous businesses that can’t access current Covid-19 emergency funding. It is expected to benefit 6,000 Indigenous-owned businesses across Canada.

The announcement comes in the context of mounting pressure for a federal solution that would include Indigenous limited partnerships, many of which might not have qualified under the original legislation within the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy Program.

“I think the big thing is that this has an impact on many, many businesses operating across both my riding and across the country and I think we’re just asking for them to be included in the process here,” Gary Vidal, Conservative MP for the Indigenous-majority riding of Desnethé-Missinippi-Churchill River in northern Saskatchewan, told the National Observer in an interview before the announcement.

Vidal, who is also shadow minister for Indigenous services in Ottawa, had called for Minister of Finance Bill Morneau to redefine what constitutes an eligible entity or prescribed organization within the legislation and allow different organizations to qualify for emergency relief.

Vidal said he had confirmation from the finance minister’s office that limited partnerships didn’t qualify after he sent a letter to Morneau on April 15 and made it public.

He told the National Observer that Minister Morneau should have been aware of the gap in coverage for Indigenous limited partnerships before drafting the original legislation that didn’t include them.

“What we’re asking for or hoping for at this point is that the minister would actually take that step to enact the legislation that would include those entities,” Vidal said.

Some relief came this weekend. Additional funding will help Indigenous financial institutions cover expenses and increase operational capacity at the National Aboriginal Capital Corporations Association – a network of 59 institutions that offer financial services, loans, and grants to Indigenous entrepreneurs.

“We will always be there for Canadian businesses, and we are working hard to make sure that Indigenous business owners have the support they need during this period of uncertainty,” Trudeau said.

“Entrepreneurs are at the heart of communities right across the country, and we’re going to help them bridge to better times.”

A wage subsidy oversight?

The funding will operate through Indigenous financial institutions that offer financing and business support services to First Nations, Inuit, and Métis businesses.

“Businesses across Canada are being impacted by Covid-19 and the government is taking action,” Morneau said.

“This targeted support will help First Nations, Inuit, and Métis businesses have greater access to financing that will help them stay strong, so they can continue to grow and thrive when this crisis passes.”

Aid for Indigenous businesses will be administered by the National Aboriginal Capital Corporations Association and the Métis capital corporations in partnership with Indigenous Services Canada.

Across the country we’ve got to be talking thousands of jobs.GARY VIDAL, Desnethé-Missinippi-Churchill River MP

“Some Indigenous businesses who are already facing unique challenges, including being in rural or remote locations and having less access to capital, are disproportionately affected by this unprecedented situation,” Minister of Indigenous Services Marc Miller said.

“The support provided will allow for maximum flexibility in supporting local businesses, whether they be entrepreneurships, cooperative businesses, or any of the many industries across Canada to continue contributing to their communities.”

The issue of Indigenous limited partnerships qualifying for these types of programs has come up in the past. Limited partnerships vary in size and constitution but often include seasonal workers in industries such as tourism, that have been among the first to go when essential services are prioritized and travel restricted.

“If First Nations businesses through their limited partnership model are in fact excluded from the benefits of the emergency wage subsidies, it can only be because of an oversight in the creation of these important wage subsidy programs,” Al Balisky, president of Meadow Lake Tribal Council Industrial Investments, said in a statement before Saturday’s announcement.

“Quite frankly, very few people understand the complexities of a northern economy. There are a lot of people who are self-employed,” said Ken Coates, Canada Research Chair in regional innovation at the University of Saskatchewan’s Johnson-Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy.

“We always look after shipyards, and we always look after big industry and railway companies and airline companies, but when you start seeing these crises it’s often the smaller people who are hit the most.”

Coates thinks Canadians should give credit where it’s due to the federal government because of the unprecedented nature of the pandemic and the uncertainty of how long it will last.

“I think the government quite frankly must be caught between a rock and a hard place … I think we’ll know within the next two weeks whether what we’re doing is just putting in patches or whether we’re actually doing long-term structural changes.

“The top government priority would be making sure people have their basic needs met and the questions of categories and structures and processes should take second place to that.”

Vidal pointed out that the limited partnership phenomenon isn’t unique to his riding, or Saskatchewan. He said it’s a popular business model that implicates thousands of Indigenous livelihoods across Canada.

“I know we’re talking about hundreds of jobs at least in our riding alone. I think I’m being pretty conservative at hundreds of jobs to be honest. Across the country we’ve got to be talking thousands,” Vidal said.

“I would really like to think that it’s an inadvertent omission. I really hope that’s the case but I know there was some ongoing discussion and they were made aware of this.”