Dave Gatensby is a Carcross/Tagish First Nation contractor in Whitehorse, Yukon.

Thanks to the territorial government’s new First Nations Procurement Policy (FNPP) which was unveiled late last year, contractors like him will have competitive advantages when bidding for government contracts.

“It’s a good gesture,” Gatensby told APTN News.

Under the policy, businesses will have advantages when obtaining government tender bids depending on how much of the business is owned by or employs First Nations people. A business will also have advantages if it’s located on First Nations territory outside Whitehorse or if it subcontracts to a First Nations’ business.

Richard Mostyn, the minister in charge of the FNPP, says it aims to award 15 per cent of all territorial government procurement contracts to Yukon First Nations’ businesses.

The FNPP stems from Chapter 22 of the Yukon First Nations Final Agreements which endeavors to draw more Yukon First Nations people into the economy and has been in development for over 25 years.

“We’re making good on a promise we made 27 years ago,” Mostyn says. “It gives a lot of dynamic room and tools in our arsenal to be able to help the local economy keep spending local. We want to improve the lives of all Yukoners, of all businesses, of all communities and this draws the whole thing together.”

Gatensby agrees.

“It’s good to see the government making that gesture and encouraging Indigenous people to become more self-employed. For those reasons I’m for it.”

Gatensby is particularly interested in “unbundling” under the FNPP, which entails dividing a larger contract into smaller projects so additional companies can participate.

“I think there will be more opportunities (for) smaller companies across the board, Indigenous or non-Indigenous, so that will allow more scalability or allow more businesses to grow,” he says.

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