Thank you so much, Mr. Coteau.
You and I have chatted many times off-line, and I want to thank you for your leadership as we were building on this work. I know that we had been leading, but particularly your leadership as the previous chair of the Black caucus in our government has to lead this work.
I was talking about diversity existing in Canada—I think we all know this—but making sure that we include people in our economy and in our structures benefits all Canadians.
Particularly when you talk about supports for Black Canadians, you would remember in 2017 when Canada officially adopted the UN Decade for People of African Descent. Unfortunately, we adopted it late because a previous Conservative government didn't think that it was relevant to the community.
What that UN Decade for People of African Descent, when we adopted that as a Canadian government, allowed us to do is have a road map. It's the road map for how we remove those systemic barriers for Black Canadians in this country.
That led us to have an anti-racism secretariat internally so that the federal government could look at the different ways we address systemic racism within our institutions. That led us to have tangible investments into Black communities that weren't just handouts, as some members from the Conservative Party would like to say. It was doing the work, the partnership work, within the community.
I talk about the program called supporting Black Canadian communities initiative. This is a Black-led, Black-serving program that is working alongside four national funders to be able to give grassroots organizations on the ground the supports that they need to build capacity.
You and I would remember when the conversation was being had with many different stakeholders from the community. They said, “We just need to build capacity so we can help people,” because at the grassroots is where people know best. They have the best solutions, but sometimes they need a little support. That has been a wonderful way we have been leading this work alongside Black communities.
I want to go back to the Black entrepreneurship program, because the success story of that program is incredible. There are 16,000 businesses that have now been able to go through this program. It wasn't just getting a little access to capital or getting some loans; it was also about mentorship and about partnerships.
I met a single mom in Montreal who had started her business in Montreal. It's a pickle business that she started from her home. Because of this program and the knowledge hub that this program has, she has her product in almost every grocery store in Canada. She's a success story in terms of the work that's been happening because of the mentorship of this work.
To your point earlier around it not just being for our own benefit, it's about creating good, well-paying jobs for the community at large, and this is how you actively work with communities.
I think we all know that, when you include people, we all win. That's fundamentally the way we have been working, and we're going to continue to do this work together.
Thank you.