QUESTION PERIOD — Finance
Support for Black-Owned Businesses
June 22, 2020
Honourable senators, my question is for the Government Representative in the Senate on behalf of my colleague Senator Bernard:
The Government of Canada named the theme for Black History Month as “Sankofa, Going forward, guided by the past.” In February of this year, the president of the Canadian Black Chamber of Commerce (CBCC), Andria Barrett, wrote an article featured in Toronto.com about this theme and how it can guide support for Black-owned businesses. She cites the unique challenges faced by Black business owners including inequities in accessing capital. Four months ago, the Government of Canada emphasized this theme of “Going forward, guided by the past,” and the CBCC has made a specific request to assist in moving forward.
On June 3, 2020, the CBCC requested $165 million from the federal government to support Black-owned businesses in Canada, and they have not heard back. This funding could allow for as many as 6,000 Black-owned businesses to keep afloat through the pandemic and beyond. The Parliamentary Black Caucus released a statement with a list of calls to the Canadian government including a recommendation to assist Black Canadians in economic prosperity through measures to support Black-owned and Black-run businesses. We heard many senators during the debate last Thursday support the Black Caucus’ calls to action.
On June 1, 2020, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau committed to taking meaningful action to make a difference. He promised young Black Canadians that “your government will always stand with you.” On January 30, 2018, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that the Government of Canada would officially recognize the UN’s Decade for People of African Descent (DPAD). Adopting DPAD includes committing to each pillar. The third pillar — development — states that the country should “adopt or strengthen national programmes for eradicating poverty and reducing social exclusion” and to work to eliminate barriers in employment. What concrete actions is the federal government taking to support Black-owned businesses at this time to ensure they are included in Canada’s post-COVID economic recovery plan?
Thank you for the question. The government and the Prime Minister personally, as we know, has acknowledged the systemic discrimination that black and Indigenous people face across many institutions. I have been advised that since May 2019, the government has invested $6.7 million for Statistics Canada to create and operate a Centre for Gender, Diversity and Inclusion, which will better support disaggregated data collection, including for black Canadians.
In April 2020, during the pandemic, the government established the Canadian Business Resilience Network, which partners with StatCan to launch surveys. A second wave of the Canadian Survey on Business Conditions includes a more expansive demographic question to capture the impact of COVID-19 on businesses owned by members of various communities across Canada, including LGBTQ2 and black-owned businesses.
Last week, in the other place, the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates unanimously — and this includes the Liberal committee members — passed a motion requiring Public Services and Procurement Canada to disclose by August 31 disaggregated data related to businesses owned by underrepresented groups: Black, Indigenous Canadians, women, persons with disabilities, which have engaged with the government with regard to the federal response to COVID-19.
With regard to post-COVID-19 relief, the government encourages all businesses, including black-owned businesses, to apply for relief programs that match their circumstances. Thanks to the advance notice of this question, we have already made specific inquiries with the government but have not yet received an answer back. I’ll report back to this chamber when we do receive the answer.
