Society

Toronto has 10,000 homeless people, making it the city in Canada with the largest homeless population. People can become homeless for a variety of reasons. Some prominent causes include poverty, abuse, lack of employment and housing, substance use and ,mental health issues. Although 44 per cent of all homeless shelters in Canada are based in Ontario, an average of 40 homeless individuals are turned away each night. While the government needs to address the root causes of homelessness, Ontario-based businesses could be part of the solution by supporting local homeless communities. In 2021, there were 437,891 small businesses operating in Ontario. Since this number continues to increase, Ontario businesses have the potential to impact the homeless population. Marissa Sheff, the founder of Sock Footage, saw an opportunity to help the homeless community once she learned more about a commonly overlooked item of clothing: socks. “Socks were one of the most needed and least donated items to homeless shelters,” said Sheff. The reason, explained Sheff, is that most homeless shelters do not accept used socks or underwear. This inspired Sheff to found Sock Footage, a brand dedicated to donating socks to homeless individuals and breaking the negative stigma associated with homelessness. The organization’s one-for-one model ensures that for every sock bought, a pair is donated to someone in need. Sheff said she believes that the fact that consumers can choose the donation method makes their business stand out. “I actually give the consumer the opportunity to decide if they themselves want to give the donation face to face to someone in need or if they want us to take care of the donation,” said Sheff. Kind Karma Company is another business with a unique model that directly helps the homeless community. They employ at-risk homeless youth to make custom jewelry to help them achieve financial independence. “I think a lot of the times marginalized individuals have limited choices because of either lack of education, mental health challenges, things like that,” said Laurinda Lee-Retter, the founder of Kind Karma. “So, by offering them employment that caters to those factors specifically, it allows for a greater chance of success.” Kind Karma Company not only supports the homeless community, but they also provide safe workplace environments for their employees. Lee-Retter said that they have a “come as you are” rule in the workplace. This rule means that if you are feeling emotional, you are still welcome to work without judgement. Because you get to see people at their worst, sometimes facing really challenging situations, it becomes just a natural support system, so everybody here supports each other,” said Lee-Retter. The compassion expressed within the workplace of Kind Karma, Sock Footage and other businesses supporting the homeless population is contagious, Sheff has found that when Socks Footage customers choose to give a pair of donated socks to a homeless individual face to face, they are often motivated to continue the cycle of compassion and create their own philanthropic initiatives. She shared that after one of her customers decided to hand out their donated socks to homeless individuals, they organized a donation drive. The drive focused on securing other essential items like deodorant, toothbrushes and, toothpaste for homeless communities. Additionally, the customer put together 120 care packages with their family to distribute to homeless individuals during Christmas. Similarly, Kind Karma aims to spark change in the community and challenge consumers to rethink their negative perceptions towards the homeless community. “As much as we sell jewelry, we are also selling change in our communities,” said Lee-Retter. “That message is what resonates with our customers, and I think that’s why we have such a high returning rate of consumers.” Ultimately, businesses that help the homeless community tend to have healthier workplaces. They also have a higher return rate of customers and a stronger impact on consumers and other community members. Sheff and Lee-Retter agree that getting there is easier than some think. Sheff stated that donating a portion of proceeds and, leftover stock is a step in the right direction. Another option is organizing volunteer days for employees in your company. Lee-Retter said that if it seems overwhelming to address several issues, start with a simple idea and allow it to transform over time. “As long as you have that passion and that desire to make a difference, start somewhere and don’t let all the issues bog you down,” said Lee-Retter.

Organized labour movements have been on the rise lately. Several high-profile cases have indicated that many employees want their workplaces to unionize. Starbucks stores across the United States chose to unionize throughout 2022, leading to more than 250 locations unionizing that year. Around the same time, Amazon workers at a New York warehouse made history by forming the company’s first union in the U.S. Most recently, Hollywood writers and actors have begun to strike as part of the American actors’ union Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) ongoing labour dispute with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). Similar attempts to unionize have been occurring across Canada. Healthcare workers, education employees, carpenters and Canadian National Railway workers are just a few of the industries trying to unionize. There have also been reports of strikes and labour disruptions as unions and employers battle it out during bargaining attempts, and these strikes are predicted to continue in the upcoming months. The number of unions across North America has been decreasing for decades, and despite reports of a union boom, union membership has continued to decline. An article published by NPR earlier this year reports that roughly one in 10 American workers belong to a union, a rate that has dropped since its peak in the 1950s when one in three belonged to a union. Despite the overall low union participation, there is a growing desire among certain workers to unionize. Even though union participation fell in the U S across 2022, unionized workers increased by 200,000. Why are workers trying to unionize, and what are they trying to achieve? Rising inflation, higher pay Although inflation in Canada fell to 2.8 per cent in June 2023, it has risen by 15.36 per cent since 2020. Groceries, in particular,  have seen a year-over-year increase of 8.3 per cent in prices and a two-year change of 17.9 per cent. Additionally, basic living expenses have been rising. Adam Murray, a Toronto-based cook and labour activist, has felt this dramatic jump. “I’m at a point where I think twice about buying butter now. It’s ridiculous,” he said. Murray aspires to create a union in his restaurant and has ambitions to spread organized labour to other kitchen workers. One of the primary motivators for these efforts is to keep up with the rising cost of living. Statistics Canada reported that wages increased an average of 3.1 per cent in 2022 while official inflation rates rose by 5.1 per cent. Canadians have especially felt the rising costs of critical and essential needs, such as housing, food and gasoline. Murray said this has led to a much lower standard of living for him and his coworkers. A report by TD Economics explains that the standard of living in Canada is among the lowest among wealthy nations and is not expected to fully regain its former position until 2060. Although the report blames poor nationwide business productivity and innovation for this change, the lower standard of living associated with higher basic living expenses is felt by many Canadians. Murray said he believes that workers wanting higher pay is not related to greed; they just want to keep up with the higher cost of living. A 2022 report from the U.S. House and Senate committees showed unionized workers earn 10.2 per cent higher wages than non-unionized workers in the same roles. As living expenses continue to rise, workers need increased pay to keep up with these demands, and one way to achieve this is through unionizing. Illegal labour practices Murray explained that illegal practices are commonplace in restaurants, and in his experience, employees are expected to work without breaks during shifts as long as 12 hours. This violates Ontario’s labour laws, which entitles workers to a 30-minute break within the first five hours of a shift. In addition to a lack of breaks, Murray said the restaurant industry commonly expects kitchen workers to work shifts longer than 12 hours without earning overtime pay. This also breaks Ontario labour laws, entitling workers to overtime pay after an eight-hour shift. Unions can help protect workers against unfair and illegal employment practices, including safeguarding workers from wage theft and wage disparity while promoting the enforcement of health and safety regulations. Who benefits from unions?    Unions are not without vocal opposition. Anti-union advocates argue unions actively harm businesses by decreasing companies’ profits, which could lead to layoffs, poor innovation or failure. According to the Economic Policy Institute, unions are better for workers, communities and the government. Over 3,700 employees of the grocery retailer Metro went on strike in July after their long-standing union failed to reach an agreement with company leaders over core concerns, including pay, health and sick leave benefits and stable work hours. This agreement would aim to improve employee satisfaction while decreasing the ongoing staffing crisis in the retail sector and increasing local communities’ access to groceries. Murray said he believes that most companies have extra money to cover the costs of higher wages, benefits and legal protections associated with joining a union. However, this may not be true in all cases. Small businesses, which comprise a majority of employer businesses in Canada, can be disadvantaged since they may be unable to cover the extra costs of being unionized. Despite these concerns, it’s important to remember that it is illegal for an employer to retaliate against employees wishing to unionize. Instead of working against employees, an employer can benefit from a union as well, as it offers a chance to engage in meaningful, ongoing dialogue to make employment practices more standardized and predictable. Contrary to fears, it is actually in the union’s best interest to ensure the ongoing survival of their employer. For Murray and other pro-union workers, a company’s profits are not more important than employees being able to afford their basic living expenses. It’s uncertain whether or not the new union movement will stick around, but for now, unions and unionized workers

Yearly, an average of 41 per cent of small businesses are reported to contribute to Canada’s gross domestic product. 12.8 per cent of medium businesses contribute to it.  However, women are less inclined to start a business, taking up only 16 per cent of entrepreneurs. Women from racialized and disabled groups are even less inclined to do so.  In fact, they have limited access to resources and funding to even start planning a business. The report also found that women tend to start businesses at twice the rate of men. Yet, they have higher chances of failing or not achieving the same growth. This was found to correlate with less access to capital. It also correlates with less likelihood to seek debt and equity financing and little promotion among Canada’s supplier chains. Women-owned small- and medium-sized enterprises make up less than five per cent of suppliers within all levels of Canadian public sector corporations. ELLA is a leading women’s-based research initiative from York University. They estimated that by closing the gender gap, Canada could see financial growth of as much as $150 billion. In 2018, the government followed through with a new initiative called the Women Entrepreneurship Strategy (WES). The plan is to invest more than $6 billion in women-owned businesses, federal innovation, community-based programs, research and mentorship.  The strategy is the first of its kind. It partners with Toronto Metropolitan University’s Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub (WEKH), which comprises over 300 organizations. Over 100,000 female entrepreneurs have already received access to these resources.  Redefining ‘entrepreneur’ Ayaa Mohamad is the project manager for Scadding Court Community’s Women Entrepreneur Hub (WE-Hub), an organization involved with WES. Since the first cohort of 2018, the program has built many female leaders through customized support, training and mentorship. Unique to WE-Hub is market testing, where participants get to try out their business ideas in risk-free controlled environments. Every year, it varies from collaboration with other market organizers or temporary access to a co-working space with other vendors. Participants get real interaction with customers and mentoring from experts. Beyond their goal of starting a business, Mohamad stressed the need for holistic approaches to building female leaders. Mohamad said unconditional social support for the journey is vital in building confident entrepreneurs. Rather than preparing women through a technical and competitive environment similar to a post-secondary program. “We focus more on the journey than the result. A failure is just as much as a success,” she said. “When you have that community of support, you are more likely to try and gain clarity of your life in general.” Despite lacking business education, through years of helping female entrepreneurs, Mohamad felt inspired to start her side hustle: Papaya Petals. Helping facilitate a safe space for women to learn, interact and grow their business ideas improved her confidence. In her journey with WE-Hub, Mohamad also saw the need for a new perception of entrepreneurship. Traditionally, the word has cemented a specific image of a white male in a fancy suit who leads a large corporation with an aggressive personality. “My goal is to help redefine the word ‘entrepreneur,’” said the project manager. “The young woman in her cheap Scarborough apartment trying to start up her candle business—that’s an entrepreneur as much as anyone else.”  A new future for business infrastructures In facing multi-faceted barriers, female leaders are more likely to innovate new policies for management, structure and problem-solving. Also helping create these innovators is My Start-Up, with the Elizabeth Fry organization in Toronto. The program engages participants in university-level classes and one-on-one training with experts from the industry they’re interested in. It also provides the ‘social work’ part of the training. Project and employment coordinators Meera Umasuthan and Halyna Vinnichenko use their experiences in the social services to help female entrepreneurs.  They use their knowledge to help women navigate their unique intersectional identities. They do so through wrap-around support, such as access to employment or child support.  “A lot of the women that come in face obstacles in receiving an education or simply do not have the time as single parents,” Umausuthan said. “We address those challenges for free to make their goals more accessible.” Umausuthan and Vinnichenko have already witnessed the benefits of supporting women interested in business. As they formed close relationships, the entrepreneurs were always passionate about giving back to the community. They did so either through donations or as mentors themselves.