One of the biggest differences between the COVID-19 pandemic and past crises is that this time, the kids are at home. With schools and childcare centres shut down to prevent the spread of the virus, parents and caregivers have had to find ways to keep their children supervised and educated while simultaneously trying to maintain their own livelihoods — and mental health. The effects of this have been profound for Canadian families of all kinds. After months of life under COVID-19, the consensus is clear: we can’t go on like this.

In its February 2004 Speech from the Throne, the Government of Canada identified the “social economy” as a new federal priority. Social Economy encompasses activities that are built on democratic values and are distinct from the public sector and the commercial economy. The social economy is ‘economic’ in that it involves the production of goods or services.

Women in Canada have been disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic to an extent that threatens to roll back equality gains. Economic losses have fallen heavily on women and most dramatically on women living on low incomes who experience intersecting inequalities based on race, class, disability, education, and migration and immigration status.