Federal officials have admitted Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Buy Canadian policy still allows fully foreign-owned corporations operating in Canada to qualify for federal contracts, raising questions about what Ottawa actually considers “Canadian.”Blacklock's Reporter says senior Public Works officials told the Commons government operations committee the policy focuses on whether companies maintain operations and employees in Canada, not who owns them.“The goal of the Buy Canadian policy is not to exclude foreign suppliers,” said Dominic Laporte, senior assistant deputy minister for Public Works. “The goal is to make sure we prioritize our Canadian suppliers.”Carney unveiled the Buy Canadian initiative last September with promises to “build Canada strong,” but committee testimony revealed the federal definition of a Canadian supplier is broad enough to include subsidiaries of foreign corporations.According to Laporte, companies can qualify if they have a Canadian business address, a GST number and employees working in Canada.Conservative MP Tamara Jansen pressed officials repeatedly on whether foreign ownership disqualifies companies from receiving federal contracts under the policy.“Can a company that is 100% foreign owned still qualify as Canadian?” Jansen asked.“They could,” Laporte replied..Jansen also asked whether foreign firms from countries without trade agreements with Canada could simply establish subsidiaries here and qualify.Laporte confirmed they could, provided they maintain operations and employment in Canada.The department also acknowledged it does not distinguish between Canadian-owned companies and foreign-owned companies with Canadian offices.“We don’t,” Laporte said.Officials said creating employment in Canada is a key requirement for qualification, but were unable to clarify whether those jobs must go to Canadian citizens or permanent residents.When asked whether businesses hiring temporary foreign workers could still qualify as Canadian suppliers, Levent Ozmutlu, a director general with Public Works, admitted he could not provide a clear answer.“I wouldn’t get into that myself, personally, because I don’t know exactly the construct on that,” Ozmutlu testified.The committee also heard the government largely relies on self-reporting from contractors to verify where work is actually performed.“This is done through self-attestations and we do have the ability to audit,” Ozmutlu said.Federal contracting reached $37.5 billion last year, with MPs told combined government procurement spending across federal, provincial and territorial governments accounts for roughly 14% of Canada’s GDP annually.
