I must say that poverty and income inequality do not exist in isolation. We also see, for example, race-based inequalities and how those contribute, for example, to income inequality.
Statistics Canada just released a report that found that, contrary to public opinion, African immigrants have one of the highest education rates in Canada. Also, consistent with popular opinion, African immigrants have one of the worst income rates in Canada. Access to professions and addressing those underlying inequalities will support and help in terms of addressing issues related to poverty and also the consequences of that: issues related to health.
Something that has also been talked about in some of the interviews they have done is access to professions for internationally educated health care professionals. We know, for example—and people have said this—that the health care workforce or the general workforce in Canada is like a cappuccino. It's white on top, and it's black underneath.
We need to stir it up, and that has consequences. In the case of the COVID-19 pandemic, it had consequences. We had a higher number of black people affected by COVID-19 because we had more black people on the front lines providing one-on-one care. We had more black people taking the bus. We had more black people with limited spaces, and that increased exposure to COVID-19, so the long-standing inequities that we experienced before COVID-19 had significant impact on the experiences during COVID-19. It is addressing those racialized health inequities that will help us to address some of the health inequities that we experience.