OTTAWA, Ontario (LifeSiteNews) — Statistics Canada has revealed that more businesses closed as a result of the COVID-induced economic downturn than the 2008 financial crisis.
On October 25, Statistics Canada reported that the COVID-19 “pandemic” caused a record number of small businesses to shut down, with many owners never filing for bankruptcy but instead simply walking away from their companies, resulting in a large uptick in a phenomenon called “zombie businesses,” according to information obtained by Blacklock’s Reporter.
“This finding represents a larger increase than observed during the 2008 financial crisis when the exit rate increased by one percentage point,” wrote analysts.
The 2007- 2008 financial crisis, also called the Global Financial Crisis, is considered the most severe worldwide economic crisis since the Great Depression of 1929.
Business exits refer to the permanent closure of a business and can occur without a formal process, meaning owners can walk away from their businesses without declaring bankruptcy.
According to StatsCan, exits increased at the same time as bankruptcies fell, which is partly because courts were closed due to COVID lockdowns.
However, analysts noted that exits did not appear in bankruptcy court statistics, adding, “Formal insolvencies are not the whole story. Formal insolvency is but one path a business in distress may take.”
“The COVID-19 pandemic had a substantial impact on business dynamics leading to the temporary or permanent closure of many businesses,” analysts continued.
According to a Department of Industry estimate, Canada had 1,198,632 small businesses before COVID lockdowns. While the number has been revealed to have decreased drastically since then, federal agencies have failed to record comprehensive figures on the economic impact of COVID lockdowns and regulations.
“In my view there are hundreds of thousands of zombie businesses, businesses that are essentially dead but haven’t finalized the closure process altogether,” Dan Kelly, CEO of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, testified at 2020 hearings of the Senate national finance committee. “We are seeing greater numbers of business failures that actually haven’t been reported. We’re only at the tip of the iceberg.”
According to a 2022 Bank of Canada survey, only an estimated half of businesses reopened after being closed by COVID lockdowns. The research tracked 12,976 businesses throughout Vancouver, Toronto and Ottawa including bars, restaurants, shops, nightclubs and motels, which were locked down by COVID regulations in April and May 2021.
“Half of businesses recorded as temporarily closed in May had reopened by the end of September,” the Bank reported. “Forty percent were still hibernating. Ten percent were closed for good.”
Statistics Canada’s report comes as Liberals MPs recently opted for a closed-door review by Minister of Health advisers of how the Canadian government handled the COVID-19 “pandemic” instead of launching a public inquiry.
In recent months, numerous reports have emerged revealing the Trudeau government’s mismanagement during the COVID-19 “pandemic.”
In a 2021 report Pandemic Preparedness, the Auditor General revealed that the cabinet was “not adequately prepared.”
Furthermore, Lessons Learned From The Public Health Agency Of Canada’s COVID-19 Response, an internal audit, condemned managers for “confusion,” “limited public health expertise” and “no clear understanding” of how to compile critical data.
Additionally, former Finance Minister Bill Morneau declared that spending programs to tackle COVID were prolonged and led to inflation under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s leadership.
During the so-called COVID-19 pandemic, the Trudeau government issued billions to Canadians who claimed they needed Canadian Emergency Response Benefits (CERB) as they were not permitted to work under COVID regulations.
Recently, the Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA) has worked to take back the $3.2 billion from Canadians who filed for and were given CERB despite not being eligible to receive it. However, many are fighting in court to keep their government payments.