Frequently Asked Questions

Canada’s 2SLGBTQI+ Chamber of Commerce (CGLCC) is the only chamber of commerce uniting and advocating for the over 100,000 2SLGBTQI+ owned and operated businesses in Canada.

CGLCC has several different member types available incuding Certified Supplier, Corporate Member, Rainbow Registerd Accreditation, and National Associate Membership. Each level of membership is provided a different level of service that is dependent on cost of membership and the undertaking involved.

Our Supplier Diversity Certification program Includes a robust certification process that provides diverse suppliers access to:
– professional development tools and resources.
– A network of supplier diversity and corporate procurement professionals with some of North America’s largest corporations.
– A network of fellow diverse owned businesses
– Certified suppliers are also invited to join CGLCC on global trade missions to places like the US, Europe, Brazil, and Columbia.

The best part about attending CGLCC events is networking with other 2SLGBTQI+ professionals, entrepreneurs and the corporations who support us. You’ll connect with dozens of corporate buyers in one place who have a commitment to sourcing from diverse enterprises. This is a great way to meet supplier diversity professionals and buyers. These connections and relationships could evolve into buy-sell opportunities.

If you are a business that’s at least 51% 2SLGBTQI+-owned, operated and controlled, and you meet the rest of our qualifications, we can certify your business and help you leverage your position as a diverse supplier.

As a certified supplier, you’ll be exposed to unique purchasing opportunities and contracts. You’ll also have the opportunity to network directly with procurement staff for large organizations with goals for diverse practices.

In order to access our network of supplier diversity professionals and to enjoy the benefits of their diverse procurement practices, you need to certify your business. CGLCC has a certification program that ensures corporations’ resources go to deserving suppliers like you.

An eligible company is an independent business that is at least 51% owned, operated, and controlled by one or more members of the 2SLGBTQI+ community, whose business formation and principal place of business are in Canada OR they are majority owned, managed and controlled by one or more member of the 2SLGBTQI+ community who are Canadian citizens or lawful permanent residents. Your taxes MUST be paid in order for your company to receive and retain your CGLCC certification.

This depends on whether your business is a sole proprietorship, partnership, or incorporated company. You need to upload ALL the required documentation which is reviewed by CGLCC and a third party certification consultant. This review process ensures that all businesses being certified by CGLCC meet the eligibility requirments for the program. Documentation that is required to be submitted is indicated in the document submission guidelines linked above. We ask that you upload your supporting documentation to a READ ONLY google drive or dropbox to be share with CGLCC’s supplier diversity manager and your assesor. Once your assessment is completed sharing permissions can be revoked and the drive deleted.

Thanks to some funding from the federal government the annual fee for new eligible certified suppliers is currently covered. The annual fee after the first free year, or upon the ending of the federal funding is $449, plus tax and is subject to change. This a non-refundable processing fee

Verification of your business compliance with CGLCC standards takes time and money. The fees covers the cost associated with the certification and helps us maintain our Supplier Diversity Program. CGLCC certification provides additional benefits and opportunities and is a very effective way to provide you with access to corporate and government buyers and growth opportunities for your business.

Upon receipt of your completed application and fee, you will be contacted to start the certification process by a member of the Supplier Diversity team. Generally the process can be completed within 6 weeks, however, the time frame is highly dependent upon the applicant’s ability to prepare documentation and be available for their certification call.

We review the information in order to verify that your business is at minimum 51% owned, operated and controlled by an 2SLGBTQI+Q individual. It is critical to our corporate members that our certification is of the highest standard to comply with international supplier diversity criteria.

We allow 90 days from the date of application to meet with the owners and conduct our review. If there are extenuating circumstances, an extension may be granted.

You will be asked to create a Google Drive or Dropbox shared folder and share it with our supplier diversity. You should set viewing privaleges of the drive to READ ONLY. There is never a reason why CGLCC staff or a certification consultant should have to download your documentation. Once your review is complete, sharing access should be revoked and the drive can be deleted.

We acknowledge that some of the documentation required for certification is of a sensitive nature. Alternative methods of document submission can be arranged on a case by case basis. Please email supplierdiversity@cglcc.ca for more details.

The only people who will be able to access your shared drive are Business Development Manager you are working with, and your assigned certification consultant. The Business Development Manager will review your shared documents to ensure that what has been submitted is sufficient for certification before your certification call takes place. Insufficient supporting documents may lead to your certification call being rescheduled. Additional fees may apply.

All levels of membership (National Associates, Certified Suppliers, and Corporate Members) have access and the ability to search the member directory. Corporate members and certified suppliers are also able to filter search results for certified suppliers specifically.

Like most large corporations, our corporate members will require some detailed information about your company before they will agree to do business with you. Therefore, the more information you are willing to share with them, the easier it will be for them to accept you as a supplier. Many of the corporations are interested in certain criteria such as revenues and number of employees in order to determine your ability to respond to an opportunity. Ultimately, the information you share is up to you.

Financial statements provide evidence that you are conducting business as described in the application. Governance document and financial information are used collectively to verify the ownership, management and control by members of the 2SLGBTQI+ community. Please note that the review process does not evaluate the company’s profitability, financial viability or ability to undertake contracts. This review is strictly from the purview of ownership, operation, and control of the appliying company. CGLCC is able to provide alternative submission options for sensitive supporting documents upon request. Please contact supplierdiversity@cglcc.ca for more information.

Once your documents have been submitted for review and your certification call has taken place, your application will be brought before our certification committee for a final review. The certification committee will review your application and either approve/reject/or deffer for additional information. Once a decision has been reached, a member of the supplier diversity team will be in touch to communicate the committee’s findings. If your appication has been approved our digital collateral as well as your certificate of certification are immediatley accessible through the members portal.

Please note that your supporting documentation is not shared with the certification committee. The comittee only sees the final report provided by the consultant.

The certification is valid for a year from the date of certification. Provided that your company continues to meet CGLCC criteria for certification, you may renew in years 2, 3 by updating your information in each of these years. In year 4, a documentation review will again be required. This review is typically not as in depth as the initial review. The document submitted for this review is dependent on the severity of changes to the company’s governance and ownership structure. If the company’s ownership and governance structure has changed drastically, another call with a certification consultant may be required.

The annual renewal fee, affidavidt, and/or documentation review is required before the company’s certification is renewed by CGLCC.

Yes, CGLCC certification is an internationally recognized designation.

The primary advantage of attending events like the CGLCC’s annual global business summit or other supplier diversity events is meeting a multiude of corporate buyers in one place who have a commitment to sourcing from 2SLGBTQI+ business enterprises (2SLGBTQI+BE’s). Our events are an excellent opportunity to meet supplier diversity professionals and buyers along with other 2SLGBTQI+BE’s.

For those 2SLGBTQI+BE’s that are interested in scaling up their global business operations, CGLCC does frequent trade missions all over the world.