5 October 2020, Calgary – The Philippine Consulate General (PCG) in
Calgary co-hosted a virtual Business Webinar on Federal Procurement Program on 2
October 2020 with the Office of Hon.
Kelly McCauley, Member of Parliament (MP) for Edmonton West, and the Federal
Government Office of Small and Medium Enterprises (OSME).
The PCG co-organized the webinar to increase the awareness of Filipino-owned small
and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Alberta and Saskatchewan about the federal
procurement program for SMEs and the ways to sell goods and services to the
Government of Canada.
In his welcome remarks, Consul General Zaldy Patron noted the difficult time that the Filipino business community was experiencing due to the pandemic. He encouraged Filipino SMEs to look for business opportunities from the federal procurement program which might help them in their respective businesses. He also thanked MP McCauley and the OSME for reaching out to the Filipino business community.
MP
McCauley, on the other hand, shared his desire to see more SMEs from the Province
of Alberta successfully getting business contracts under the federal
procurement program.
Ms. Jenny
Yu, OSME’s Project Lead and Procurement Specialist, explained the federal
procurement program and OSME’s mandate to support SMEs so they could
participate in the program.
She noted
that the Government of Canada is one of the largest buyers of goods and
services in Canada. In 2017, the federal government spent over CAD 25 billion
on goods, services, construction and maintenance projects with over 300,000
contracts awarded, 92% of which were valued at under CAD 25,000 per contract.
Direct purchases from vendors valued under CAD 10,000 per contract amounted to
almost CAD 1 billion, indicating that SMEs are a considerable provider of goods
and services.
Ms. Yu
pointed out that while the Canadian Government procures the usual big ticket
projects like technology, military equipment, and construction services, it
also buys small ticket items like catering services, snow removal and
landscaping, shower curtains, clothes, and even dog grooming. She highlighted
the thrusts of the federal procurement program to be more inclusive and to
engage with women-owned businesses, under-represented groups, new Canadians,
and social enterprises.
Likewise,
Ms. Yu explained and dismissed the common myths that discourage SMEs from
participating in the federal procurement program.