TORONTO, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday announced a program of 221 million Canadian dollars to aid Black-owned businesses in the country amid the COVID-19 crisis.
Trudeau said that the COVID-19 pandemic has put a spotlight on the systemic gaps and economic barriers Black Canadians face every day, and that his government wants a pandemic recovery that is "inclusive and equitable for all Canadians."
"The pandemic has shone a light on the inequalities that disproportionately hurt Black Canadians, and has underscored the need to restart our economy in a way that allows all Canadians an equal chance to succeed," Trudeau said. "It's justice against a system that has locked out far too many Black entrepreneurs and denied them the same opportunities as other Canadians."
It is the first of its kind in Canada to help Black businesses on a national scale, responding to one of the requests made in June by an open letter from the Parliamentary Black Caucus that was signed by more than 100 MPs and senators.
Of the 221 million Canadian dollars, about 93 million will come from the Canadian government over the next four years, and 128 million will come from eight Canadian financial institutions.
"As we move forward, this program will help support Black entrepreneurs and create new opportunities for Black-owned businesses, so they are well-positioned for our economic recovery," he added.
Under the program, 53 million is designed to support Black business owners to access funding, mentorship, financial planning and business training, and up to 33.3 million will go towards the new Black Entrepreneurship Loan fund that will provide loans between 20,000 Canadian dollars and 250,000 Canadian dollars for Black business owners.
The program also includes up to 6.5 million Canadian dollars to create a Black entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub to collect data on Black entrepreneurship in Canada and help identify barriers of success and opportunities for growth for Black entrepreneurs.
Details on the process to apply for the fund and eligibility will be released in the coming weeks, according to a press release.
Trudeau made the announcement at a Toronto organization called HXOUSE, which describes itself as a "think center" to help foster innovation and opportunities for young talents in Toronto.
HXOUSE founder Ahmed Ismail said the program is a welcome sign of a government acknowledging systemic racism exists, addressing the fact opportunities are not equally available and taking "the uncomfortable step of doing something about it."
One Canadian dollar is about 0.76 U.S. dollar. Enditem
