Listening to Contractors: Development of the Aboriginal Set-Aside Initiative

Over the past year the Manitoba Floodway Authority has been working with the Aboriginal community to develop the Aboriginal Set-Aside Initiative. This process has including ongoing dialogue with Aboriginal contractors, the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, the Manitoba Metis Federation, the Aboriginal Chamber of Commerce, First Nation communities and Metis people within the construction industry.

On June 29, 2005, the MFA hosted a Construction Business Networking Session to bring Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal companies together to identify potential partnership opportunities. More than 20 companies and organizations attended the event. The objective was to provide general information on the Aboriginal Set-Aside Initiative as well as to provide lead time to encourage construction companies to consider partnering to work on the initiative. As follow-up to the meeting, the MFA initiated direct meetings with contractors and compiled a director of companies, which was distributed to all of the participants.

In February, 2006 MFA issued a survey to the Aboriginal construction industry to identify potential bidders and their capacity to work on West Dike component of the project. To coincide with the distribution of the survey, MFA hosted four open houses in Thompson, Selkirk, Brandon and Winnipeg to discuss the survey with interested contractors. The information received through the meetings and survey has assisted the MFA in making decisions regarding potential size, number, and scheduling for contracts tendered under the Aboriginal Set-Aside Initiative.

In May, 2006, MFA will be hosting an additional round of public meetings for Aboriginal contractors interested in bidding on work on the Aboriginal Set-Aside. These meetings will be held at various locations throughout the province and are designed to provide information on the tenders being advertised for the set-aside. For more information on these meetings, please click here.

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