Premier of Ontario meets with Black community about COVID-19 recovery efforts

The premier of Ontario, Doug Ford, met virtually with select members of the Black professional community, to discuss the socio-economic well-being of Black people living in the province and their inclusion in the COVID-19 pandemic economic support recovery planning.

“You know, at the best of times, the Black community is not doing well. At the worst of times, they tend to do worse,” said Deputy Mayor Michael Thompson, who hosted the virtual meeting, in partnership with the Canadian Black Chamber of Commerce (CBCC).

Some topics discussed were the collection of race-based data, the inferior state of Black businesses, entrepreneurship and economic development and the creation of the Black Economic and Leadership Network.

DATA COLLECTION

The premier spoke about his announcement on May 7 to collect race-based, socio-economic status data on the impacts of COVID-19 on Black people in Ontario. “We brought in Dr Smith because, with any medical decision that we make, we have to ensure that we get the best medical advice. He brought that to the table, and now we’re going to do testing. We are going to be collecting race-based data,” said Premier Ford. Dr Kevin Smith is the president and chief executive officer of the University Health Network (UHN).

The premier said billions of dollars are being put towards businesses, helping to reduce Workplace Safety and Insurance Board claims, and lowering business tax by 8.75 per cent. He also said that they are allowing restaurants to deliver beer, alcohol and wine stores to remain open and that the federal Government has pitched in with a $900-million relief for small businesses.

Andria Barrett, president of the CBCC, asked the premier to establish a social procurement strategy for Black business that will increase capacity and remove systemic barriers. Barrett asked for a minimum five per cent of Black businesses to be included in the COVID-19 pandemic recovery procurement plan and incorporated into any and all procurement plans the province has.

The premier urged the Black community to take advantage of the $50-million personal protective equipment (PPE) fund for companies. PPEs are gowns, sewing machines, masks, face shields and hand sanitiser. “One of the key areas I think everyone should be focusing on is the $50 million Ontario Together Fund giving entrepreneurs and existing business owners the opportunity to supply PPE. This can definitely help any Black businesses starting up, or even existing businesses. Go on our website and take a look,” said Ford.