Vicsoleil: Canada’s Black Most Affected by Covid-19, Other Factors

Toronto-based social entrepreneur and advocate of equity, inclusion and empowerment of African Canadians in the North American country, Beausoleil Victor Emmanuel Mervyn, believes the marginalisation of minorities in Canadian society is not easily obvious to other countries.

According to him, discourses related to inclusion, diversity, equity and access are not usually a priority in Canada. “The idea of multiculturalism further helps perpetuate the myth of a race-neutral society,” he explained, “and this is not completely accurate.”

Beausoleil, popularly known as Vicsoleil on Instagram, has a track record of fighting for equity, having co-founded Redemption Reintegration Services (RRS) and Social Economy Through Social Inclusion (SETSI), respectively youth justice and equity organisation and an impact group for the empowerments of societal minorities.

According to Beausoleil Victor Emmanuel Mervyn, the concept of diversity within the Canadian impact investment sector usually relates to the diversity of products across asset class, and not diversity of leadership and engagement.

“The lack of BIPOC—Black, Indigenous, (and) People of Color—representation is rarely discussed and there remains a significant gap in any form of diversity that is rooted in troubling historical narratives,” Vicsoleil noted.

He further argued: “The experiences of peoples of African descent in Canada conveys the clear inadequacy of how sectors engage African Canadians and the systemic barriers in public policy and regulatory environments.”

In his words, a range of factors, including the COVID-19 pandemic, community unrest, barriers to accessing capital and the tumultuous state of the economy “disproportionately impact the 1.2 million people that comprise Canada’s diverse Black communities.”

Vicsoleil also spoke about his passion to ensure Canadians of African descent are empowered. “SETSI was inspired by the importance of community economic development for African Canadians. My colleagues and I aim to ensure peoples of African descent in Canada are engaged as full citizens with political, and economic power and sovereignty,” he said.