Thanks.
I would say, first and foremost, that I believe this study is relevant because of the many ways we have witnessed COVID-19 exacerbate the inequities within our society and our economy.
I've been studying those statistics quite a bit and have been using them for some of my interventions at PROC. Basically, the statistics show pretty significant inequities for populations that have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. This includes immigrants, racialized Canadians, youth, seniors, women, low-wage workers, indigenous people, those living in poverty, those living with a disability or a mental illness, members of the LGBTQ2S+ community and many others.
The list is extensive, but I think the underlying realization is that, if you experience barriers to employment of any kind or are a member of an equity-seeking group, you've felt the impacts of COVID-19 more than others. The pandemic exacerbated the inequities that were already there, and if you are vulnerable, at risk or marginalized in any way, you've found yourself in a worsened predicament and life situation as a result of the pandemic.
We also know that small businesses have been hit hard. The number of new enterprises entering the market, such as new start-up businesses, was, on average, 16,500 per quarter in Canada, every quarter, from 2015 up until the pandemic. During the pandemic, that number has been very close to zero or very low—approaching zero. We know that many businesses, despite the many supports our government has offered and our best efforts, will potentially not survive COVID-19.
The reason I bring this up is that social enterprises are these unique business models that combine a social mission inside a business. They explicitly and intentionally embed a social mission—