On Wednesday, September 18th, the Halifax Chamber of Commerce hosted a luncheon as part of our SURGE series on Diversifying your Supply Chain at the Halifax Marriott Harbourfront Hotel. The event welcomed Cindy O’Driscoll, Regional Manager at Procurement Assistance Canada, and Majid Charania, Director of Compliance with the Competition Bureau of Canada for presentations on how Nova Scotian businesses can benefit from both organizations.
Cindy O’Driscoll highlighted how the Government of Canada is leveraging its procurement spending to diversify its supply chain. Attendees learned about what the government buys, how diverse businesses can navigate the procurement process, and the available support as they move through their bidding journey.
Cindy noted opportunities for buyers through government spending, “Many businesses tend to overlook the Government of Canada as a potential buyer, not realizing the substantial opportunities it offers. Last year alone, the federal government spent approximately $37 billion on a wide range of goods, services, and construction projects”, she explained. “There are numerous opportunities for smaller and diverse businesses, ranging from low-dollar value procurements to larger tenders and Procurement Assistance Canada is available to support these businesses in navigating the federal procurement process.”
Majid Charania addressed the importance of fostering a competitive and fair marketplace that supports diverse suppliers: “The Competition Bureau is a federal agency that protects and promotes competition, so we have a public interest mandate to try to build awareness around competition law in Canada,” Majid highlighted. He also explained, “Events like the SURGE Luncheon are great ways to connect directly with the business community and achieve our goals.”
Prataya Chakraborty, TD Insurance representative and the event sponsor, spoke to the success of the event and the engaging words of Cindy and Majid: “Both speakers shared their unique experiences and showcased to the audience how they can incorporate their knowledge into their own business no matter the size of their organization.”
As the presenting partners of this luncheon, Prataya explained why they chose to support the event, stating “TD Insurance has always been an avid supporter of D&I initiatives, in fact it’s one of TD’s core pillars. When the opportunity to partner with the Chamber on this series came up, it was a no brainer.” He added, “In speaking with fellow chamber members, we connected about how important sessions like these are, and spoke about the impact they would have as we share our new knowledge with our respective organizations.”
Majid Charania additionally commented on the engagement of all attendees at the event: “I found that there was a thirst for knowledge from the attendees about all manners of supports and resources for businesses. People were very receptive to ideas and engaged with the content from all the speakers.”
Cindy added in agreement that, “the attendees showed great interest in the topics presented on at the SURGE event. We had engaging discussions with businesses and various stakeholders, and talked about the opportunities for smaller businesses, as well as some of the challenges they encounter.”
As we continue our SURGE Series in the future, Prataya reflected on this past luncheon by saying, “A big highlight for us were the interactions we had post-SURGE luncheons. In speaking with fellow chamber members, we connected about how important sessions like these are and spoke about the impact they would have as we share our new knowledge with our respective organizations.”
For more resources on procurement and supply chains, check out:
canada.ca/en/services/business/doing-business/how-to-sell.html
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