Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada 'cash flow' issues hurting small businesses owed money

Carey Perkins's business organization was sanctioned in jan 2025 for a give of $25,000 to continue studio space, insurance and overhead expenses. But over a year later, she still hasn't received anything. 

Perkins, who is Kanienʼkehá:ka from Akwesasne, owns Niio Perkins Designs and is well-known for her raised beadwork jewelry. 

Perkins is among several small business owners that were counting on funding through the Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada (ITAC) they have not received. 

"Now it's just, everything is collapsing," she said.

"I became delinquent on my insurance for my studio space and then maintaining the space became difficult. I ended up having to leave in August 2025."

ITAC is aimed at supporting and growing authentic Indigenous tourism across Canada through development, marketing, leadership and partnerships, according to its 2023-24 annual report.

In early 2025, about $3.3 million in federal funding through the Indigenous Tourism Fund's Micro and Small Business Stream (MSBS), administered by ITAC, was awarded to 136 Indigenous tourism businesses.

A representative from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada said in an emailed statement the department "has heard the concerns and is following up directly with the organization to seek clarification to ensure that ultimate recipients have appropriately been reimbursed." 

"ISED is taking the issue very seriously and will be undertaking a review of the situation."

ITAC President and CEO Keith Henry, a member of the B.C. Métis Federation, said he's aware people are still owed from the MSBS program.

In a separate email Henry stated between 2023-2026 ITAC approved 322 development projects, including the MSBS-funded projects; 300 of them were projects supported by ISED.

He said ITAC has paid 274 project grants with 48 outstanding.

"ITAC has been pioneering revenue options and has been funding our own solutions as best we can," the email continued.

"ITAC continues to work towards that goal to ensure the payables, current cash flow needs, and ensure a predictable future."

For Perkins, she said her experience with ITAC has made her feel like she's "failed at one of the most exciting parts of her business," growing outside of her community.

"I signed the contract and then I was told that I needed to have the funds spent and the project completed by March 31, 2025," Perkins said.

She was told cheques were being issued March 31 but thought it was odd she had to spend the funds before receiving them, she added.

Prior to this, she said, hers was the only Mohawk business in the nearby city of Cornwall, Ont. — a studio space where she was teaching classes, with a storefront.

Perkins said she just wants to move on from this and will have to shift her focus from retail to art, doing one-of-a-kind pieces that won't allow her the flexibility to "serve the community anymore," something she enjoys doing.

"Now I'm serving a museum or a gallery and it's just really unfortunate," she said.

Similarly, Aïcha Smith-Belghaba, who is Kanienʼkehá:ka and Algerian from Six Nations of the Grand River, was also approved for an MSBS grant for $25,000 in January 2025 and has not received the funding. 

"This has impacted my business, other small businesses, also my mental health and my finances, obviously," she said.

Smith-Belghaba runs Esha's Eats, which provides catering and Indigenous culinary experiences. She said she'd planned to expand her business and was going to hire businesses within her community and other Indigenous businesses to help. 

After a lack of communication for months, Smith-Belghaba said she finally heard from someone at ITAC who assured her the funds would be disbursed in June 2025 pending necessary documentation which she provided. 

So she started some of the work outlined in her business plan on her ITAC application. But the funds never materialized.

"So then I had to pull money from other places to cover the cost of the things that I was paying for," she said.

"That was just a snowball effect that rolled throughout the rest of the year."

Smith-Belghaba said she's disappointed because this grant intended to help small Indigenous businesses alleviate barriers to success has done the opposite. 

She said she's had to scale her business back significantly. 

Other Indigenous-owned businesses reported late payments after an Indigenous tourism conference hosted by ITAC in Edmonton in February. 

Nathan Rainy Chief, a Blood Tribe member from Treaty 7 in southern Alberta, is executive director of 49 Dzine, a business that offered three of the 19 cultural tours available at the conference.

Rainy Chief said 49 Dzine submitted an invoice one month prior to the conference. Shortly after, he said they received confirmation from ITAC that all three tours had been sold out. 

By April, the business still hadn't been paid by ITAC, along with others who provided services for the conference.

Rainy Chief said he's concerned for the elders and knowledge keepers who have not been paid, saying "Indigenous protocols were ignored" because "that's the first people that you take care of."

Rainy Chief said his company was only paid after a whistleblower advocated on his behalf and after he'd asked ITAC for accountability on social media.

"We received no communication from them directly until we actually had to start using our own platform to finally get some response from somebody," he said.

"The community showed up for tourism, now tourism needs to show up for the community."

Henry said he proceeded with the conference despite knowing that the organization lacked the financial capacity to meet its obligations.

"We were supposed to have a payment at that time," he said.

"It just didn't arrive. That was the problem."

Henry said the conference cost $1.8-2 million to hold and generated similar revenue. Henry said although it was sold out, "It's not really that profitable."

"It basically breaks even, to be candid. But we do it that way because we feel it helps elevate bringing awareness to the importance of Indigenous tourism in Canada," he said.

He said he knows ITAC was "late paying some folks" but as of "about a week ago the final list of payments" had been made. 

He said ITAC's biggest challenge has been its "cash flow."

Henry said ITAC's federal funding was about $11 million three years ago, then $8 million, then $3.8 million, and has been $1.5 million this year.

"What is troubling to me, is that no one's talking about the lack of support for Indigenous tourism from a federal government perspective," he said.

Henry said the organization was expecting major funding from a U.K.-based charity, the Passion Project Foundation, in May 2025. 

Henry said he's been in regular communication with Passion Project Foundation founder Deborah White for two years, and said the charity had committed about $35 million a year for seven years to ITAC. 

"So we're almost a year later and we still haven't seen a dime from that yet," he said.

He said ITAC has "cut off all spending, we laid off all staff" and reduced office operations until that money comes through.

Journalist

Candace Maracle is Kanien'kehá:ka, Wolf Clan from Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory. She has a master’s degree in journalism from Toronto Metropolitan University. Her latest short film, "Tsi ní:yoht yonkwayentá:’on ne óhses" (How We Got Maple Syrup) is completely in the Kanien’kéha language.

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