I'm not suggesting that our response to COVID-19 has not been an appropriate one; it's quite the opposite. The professionals in this industry are highly tuned in to the safety and experience of the attendees at business events. This is their life, their living, their career. They understand the safety of delegates in ways that no other industries do. We track our guests before they arrive, while they are in our care, and post-event. These are not festivals, concerts or shopping malls. At business events, we are able to control where the guests go and where they do not go. We control how they interact. We control what they consume, and how they consume food and beverages. We are prepared and ready to conduct our business much like the NHL has done with their event bubbles for the playoffs.
This industry is well prepared to host events again. We can do it safely, and we can set a global standard for doing it right, doing it with care and doing it in a way that Canadians would be proud of. Many of these professionals who are sidelined by the protocols are struggling to get through this time. Many of them are new Canadians, many of them are parents with kids and many of them do not have the stability of a pension or financial supports. They are vulnerable. Canada needs our business events professionals to survive this crisis. Sadly, without direct support for the people and businesses within the business events industry, they will not survive this fall, let alone next year. Many will have to seek jobs outside of this vital industry.
Just as importantly, Canada's industries—health, technology, energy, finance, manufacturing, forestry and so on—all rely on event professionals to bring them together with their colleagues, their suppliers and their customers. This convening of our industry leaders is a backbone to Canada's economy, which allows them to exchange intellectual and financial capital as well as invite the world to explore Canada's innovation, resources and industry excellence. This fosters R and D, foreign direct investment and trade.
I am here today representing an industry of 229,000 Canadians who need help to survive. These are professionals who want desperately to be part of the solution as we restart our economy. They are passionate about what they do and what they contribute as a solution for Canada, but the clock is ticking. We have lost a significant portion of 2020, all but lost the lucrative fall season and now we are looking at a challenged first half of 2021. We are part of the solution to get Canada's economy restarted. We are a tool that the government can use to carefully and safely launch the recovery phase of the crisis that we have experienced in the last six months. We can create jobs quickly and efficiently.
Our asks are simple. Within appropriate safety protocols, empower this industry to convene again in safe and socially acceptable ways, in ways that bring our industries back together to once again move the economy forward. We have the protocols ready and waiting. Ensure that the financial safety nets, as we've heard already, stay in place and are accessible to a wide range of the self-employed, SMEs and corporations who serve this vital component of the economy. Make it easy to access these support programs. Finally, in the nomenclature around events, separate “business events” from “mass gatherings”. Leverage the business events industry as an opportunity to bring Canadians together. When the time is right, invite our international visitors back to Canada to experience how we care for our guests and our country. Do this by providing a federally funded business events and conventions attraction program for attracting and supporting the delivery of business events for Canada
Thank you for your kind attention.