Hello, everyone, and good afternoon. I'm happy to be here with all of you today, and I thank the committee for listening to our concerns.
MTY is a Canadian restaurant company operating some 7,000 franchise locations around the globe under many well-known banners, with over half operating here in Canada, and proudly employing over 45,000 Canadians. As a franchiser of multiple brands operating multiple styles of restaurants, from full-service dining rooms to quick-service take-outs and everything in between, we are uniquely positioned to fully understand first-hand the impact COVID-19 is having on all manner of restaurant businesses during this pandemic.
Of our 3,500 Canadian locations, nearly two-thirds are fully closed and have seen more than 20,000 employees lose—