Once, two of his clients, both of whom ran placement agencies, approached the same bank seeking funding.
Louis-Edgar Jean-François, CEO at Group 3737, knew something wasn’t right when his white client received $300,000 in funding but his Black client — with the same financial profile — did not.Jean-François accompanied his Black client to the bank and negotiated. Finally, the entrepreneur was given the financing. Prior to this, Jean-François had had suspicions about discrimination, but “that’s the first time I came across it directly,” he said.
Alongside Rachel Bendayan, member of Parliament for the Montreal neighbourhood Outrement, Jean-François, now executive director of Groupe 3737, spearheaded efforts to establish the federal Bendayan first decided to get involved in the fund based on what she was hearing from her Black constituents. They complained that they were unable to access government COVID-19 support because the funds flowed through the banks, which the Black entrepreneurs distrusted.“They didn’t necessarily have an account with a financial institution or want to be with a financial institution for a variety of reasons,” she said.
Here’s an idea - let’s import all of the U.S.’s culture wars like handgun problems and racism.
Anti-black racism in Canada is the lie of the century. Sure, it exists in small amounts, but the vast majority of black people in Canada are recent immigrants who came here 1970s and later. They are educated, responsible citizens, and don’t need affirmative action policies.