Many thanks for that question.
When we think about COVID, many people talk about it as being the great equalizer, that it touches everybody, but it touched certain populations, like our BIPOC populations, in particular, more so than others. There are a number of reasons, because it largely comes down to the social determinants of health.
When we look at the issues we have across Canada, we find that many of these communities are more likely to be economically disadvantaged, and they're more likely to represent essential worker populations, where they don't have the space or the ability to isolate in their own homes. They don't necessarily have access to jobs that have paid sick leave readily available to them.
We also know that, especially when you think about BIPOC seniors, for example, they're more likely to be living in intergenerational households and settings. This is why, especially in our indigenous communities in more rural and remote areas, there is a real concerted effort to say, “If COVID comes into our community, especially in homes where we have many people living in intergenerational situations, this can rip through an entire home very quickly.” We're seeing this in regions of Peel, Scarborough and Toronto, and many other urban settings.
The commonality here is poverty. The commonality is not having the mechanisms to allow people to isolate from each other when they need to, and to have access to paid sick leave.
We have to remember that the issues of racism and systemic poverty did not make COVID-19 the great equalizer, but really attacked these communities in particular.