Employment Minister Says His Former Company Claimed to be Indigenous-Owned Without His Consent

Federal Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault says a company he once co-owned did not have his consent when it claimed to be indigenous-owned while bidding on federal contracts. His comments came after the National Post reported on Nov. 7 it has obtained documents showing that Boissonnaut’s former business partner, Stephen Anderson, described Global Health Imports Corporation as a “wholly-owned Indigenous and LGBTQ Company” when bidding for a contract to supply face masks in 2020. Boissonnault says he was adopted into an indigenous family but is not himself indigenous. Prospective suppliers can only identify themselves to the federal government as “Aboriginal” if they are on an official list of businesses eligible to benefit from procurement programs favouring indigenous-owned firms. Global Health Imports was not on the list....