Winnipeg’s social procurement plan goes to EPC for further refinement
Concerns among community and industry organizations working
with Winnipeg on a social procurement policy has seen the project headed back
to Executive Policy Committee, with a request for the assistance of an external
consultant with expertise in the area to help guide the process.
“The MHCA is grateful the City administration has taken this
step, to give the process of creating a social procurement action plan more
breathing room to ensure that not just the City but also those of us the City
is relying upon to inform such an action plan have the support needed to make
sure it is a strong, reliable plan,” MHCA President Chris Lorenc said.
The MHCA was among about a dozen community and industry
organizations asked to sit on a working group by the City, to help create a
policy to use its procurement programs to ensure the benefits of that spending
are spread through under-represented groups and businesses, such as Indigenous,
under-employed, women and people of colour.
Among the items discussed are projects or service purchasing
set-asides for target-group businesses, hiring quotas in procurement contracts
and community benefits agreements.
The recommendation presented by the Administration, coming
from the Chief Financial Officer’s office, will go to EPC on January 19.
The report City Clerk’s Decision Making Information System (winnipeg.ca) recommends
the approval of the framework written for social procurement, and the hiring of
a consultant to:
- review a draft action plan with the stakeholder working group members and a sub-group those representatives name to develop specific items
- Facilitate future working group meetings
- Provide expertise related to social and sustainable procurement to complete the action plan
- Propose any necessary amendments to the framework
Further, Administration is recommending EPC approve that the
action plan reflect the resources required to support its implementation,
including internal resources that should be put toward the plan over the years.
Lorenc noted the referral back to EPC with the request of an
consultant with expertise in the development of social procurement policy was
the result of consensus among a number of working group members.
“We found good agreement and co-operation among working
group members, across the sectors – industry, social enterprise, building
trades and target-group representatives,” he noted. “I am encouraged by the
good will and agreement among the numerous groups.”
Administration is asking that EPC allow it to report back in
180 with an action plan.
