Canada Ends Accord with Congress of Aboriginal Peoples Following Fraud Investigation
The federal government has unilaterally terminated its 2018 political accord with the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples (CAP), a move prompted by a Global News investigation revealing significant oversight failures and fraud within the Indigenous Procurement Program.
The federal government of Canada has unilaterally ended its political accord with the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples (CAP), an organization representing off-reserve Indigenous peoples. The agreement, originally signed in 2018 under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, was terminated on Wednesday following revelations of systemic issues within federal contracting programs.
CAP, founded in the 1970s to represent Métis and non-status Indigenous peoples living off-reserve, had provided its members access to billions of dollars in federal contracting opportunities through the Indigenous Procurement Program. However, a 2024 investigation by Global News exposed that the federal government lacked the necessary control or oversight to ensure that businesses qualifying for the program were majority owned and operated by Indigenous people.
The investigation detailed "rent-a-feathers" schemes, where non-Indigenous companies hired Indigenous businesses as fronts to secure contracts and shared the proceeds. This lack of verification allowed for potential diversion of resources away from legitimate First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities.
Alexander Jeglic, the Procurement Ombudsperson, described the Indigenous Procurement Program as the worst he had ever seen in terms of systemic review. A report from his office found that Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) showed a "systemic disregard" for the program’s principles and failed to verify company ownership.
In response to the termination of the accord, CAP National Chief Brendan Moore stated that the organization would challenge the federal government's decision. The end of the accord marks a loss of political recognition for CAP, while highlighting broader concerns about the government's ability to meet economic reconciliation targets amidst these oversight failures.