Before COVID-19, Rachel Dei-Amoah would typically be asleep by 10 PM. Now, she’s often awake past midnight, reading or online window shopping.
The hushed late-night hours are rare moments of peace for the mother of two, as she attempts to juggle childcare and a demanding professional career during a pandemic.
“Now I’ve got to parent, while I’m at my work day. I’ve got to be a teacher, during my work day. Now, there’s not a lot of time for mom anymore.”
Dei-Amoah, 47, counts herself fortunate. Her full-time job as a manager of executive pensions at TD Bank in Toronto has continued uninterrupted, shifting entirely to work-from-home.
But demands on her time have grown exponentially. With schools closed, she’s managing online learning for her kids, aged 6 and 10, mediating sibling quarrels, and serving up three meals a day for the family.
Her mental capacity is maxed out, she says, “because it’s like, I’ve got to think about all these things and still think about my work.”
Six-year-old Leo completes a homeschool activity as his mother Moira, an employee of a regional council, works from home in the village of Marsden, near Huddersfield, northern England on May 15. (Oli Scarff/AFP via Getty Images)
As the slow process of reopening non-essential businesses begins across Canada, Dei-Amoah is one of many female professionals and entrepreneurs struggling with work-life balance.
She’s unsure what to do with her kids this summer, with camps no longer an option, and anxious about returning to the workplace, because she’s immunocompromised.
“I don’t know how I’m gonna go back to the office. Even for the whole rest of the year. Like, I don’t know how it’s gonna be possible.”
Statistics Canada recently reported 1.5 million women lost jobs over March and April, a 17-per-cent drop in employment from February levels.
It’s a crisis some economists have dubbed a “she-cession.” But, as the pandemic wears on, women’s participation in the coronavirus economy may be heading for even rockier times.
With children at home, and families forced to take on more domestic labour, experts predict growing numbers of working women may reduce hours or opt out of the labour market entirely.
“As we think about a working-from-home environment, especially if schools and daycares are closed, guess what? That is going to affect women and their careers the most,” said Pedro Barata, head of the Future Skills Centre, an employment research institute at Ryerson University.
“This could actually be a step backwards rate in terms of the equality between men and women in the workplace and career paths.”
Workplaces will be dramatically different, if and when everyone returns to work, says one expert, but there could be some advantages. 5:49
The pandemic also forced Dei-Amoah’s husband to work from home, but the children see him as the “fun one.”
At first, Dei-Amoah attempted to tutor her six-year-old daughter with her reading difficulties and tackle her 10-year-old son’s math challenges. But, coupled with her banking job, it wasn’t sustainable.
“I was like, ‘You know what? Screw it. I’m concentrating on their weaknesses, not their strengths,'” said Dei-Amoah.
“We turn in some assignments. But I am not stressing over it because it’s just making my workday worse.”
‘The stress is what’s killing me’
In Lisa Iafrate’s case, the pandemic shattered her business ambitions, literally causing her to lose her hair.
“The stress is what’s killing me… because there’s so much out of my control,” said Iafrate.
Iafrate is a go-getting entrepreneur based in King City, Ont., who quit her job several years ago to launch a company called TaLii Towels that sells compact, antibacterial towels.
Lisa Iafrate, right, with King City Ont., Mayor Steve Pellegrini. (Submitted by Lisa Iafrate)
Iafrate found success in the trade show market, criss-crossing North America to sell her product. But when the pandemic hit, all the trade shows Iafrate booked this year were cancelled, and her online business dried up.
“Sales just completely stopped. Then I went into panic mode,” said Iafrate.
After weeks of depression, she hatched a plan to turn her towels into facemasks, generating enough revenue to employ her 21-year-old daughter and five local seamstresses.
Lisa Iafrate’s daughter Talia works on turning their antibacterial towels into facemasks. (Submitted by Lisa Iafrate)
However, as a 60-year-old single-mother hustling to rebuild her business, she’s exhausted by domestic chores around her house, which now doubles as her home office.
“I’m working three times harder because I have to look after the household as well as my business. And the business is already taking up 50 to 60 hours a week,” said Iafrate.
Investment in childcare needed
Barata says efforts to jumpstart the coronavirus economy have focused on investment in male-dominated industries such as manufacturing and construction, but politicians need to recognize this economic crisis is different than past downturns.
“Infrastructure investments are going to be key in terms of getting the economy back to work. But so is childcare. So are opportunities for women in terms of training and retraining,” said Barata.
Dei-Amoah says she’s fortunate her bosses have become more understanding of how and when employees work. Her inbox often gets busy in the evening, between 7-10 PM, because many of her colleagues are pulled into childcare in the afternoon.
“It’s increased people’s understanding of what flexibility is in the workplace,” said Dei-Amoah.
TORONTO – Canada Goose Holdings Inc. says it has signed a deal that will result in the creation of its first eyewear collection.
The deal announced on Thursday by the Toronto-based luxury apparel company comes in the form of an exclusive, long-term global licensing agreement with Marchon Eyewear Inc.
The terms and value of the agreement were not disclosed, but Marchon produces eyewear for brands including Lacoste, Nike, Calvin Klein, Ferragamo, Longchamp and Zeiss.
Marchon plans to roll out both sunglasses and optical wear under the Canada Goose name next spring, starting in North America.
Canada Goose says the eyewear will be sold through optical retailers, department stores, Canada Goose shops and its website.
Canada Goose CEO Dani Reiss told The Canadian Press in August that he envisioned his company eventually expanding into eyewear and luggage.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
Almost seven years since news broke of an alleged conspiracy to fix the price of packaged bread across Canada, the saga isn’t over: the Competition Bureau continues to investigate the companies that may have been involved, and two class-action lawsuits continue to work their way through the courts.
Here’s a timeline of key events in the bread price-fixing case.
Oct. 31, 2017: The Competition Bureau says it’s investigating allegations of bread price-fixing and that it was granted search warrants in the case. Several grocers confirm they are co-operating in the probe.
Dec. 19, 2017: Loblaw and George Weston say they participated in an “industry-wide price-fixing arrangement” to raise the price of packaged bread. The companies say they have been co-operating in the Competition Bureau’s investigation since March 2015, when they self-reported to the bureau upon discovering anti-competitive behaviour, and are receiving immunity from prosecution. They announce they are offering $25 gift cards to customers amid the ongoing investigation into alleged bread price-fixing.
Jan. 31, 2018: In court documents, the Competition Bureau says at least $1.50 was added to the price of a loaf of bread between about 2001 and 2016.
Dec. 20, 2019: A class-action lawsuit in a Quebec court against multiple grocers and food companies is certified against a number of companies allegedly involved in bread price-fixing, including Loblaw, George Weston, Metro, Sobeys, Walmart Canada, Canada Bread and Giant Tiger (which have all denied involvement, except for Loblaw and George Weston, which later settled with the plaintiffs).
Dec. 31, 2021: A class-action lawsuit in an Ontario court covering all Canadian residents except those in Quebec who bought packaged bread from a company named in the suit is certified against roughly the same group of companies.
June 21, 2023: Bakery giant Canada Bread Co. is fined $50 million after pleading guilty to four counts of price-fixing under the Competition Act as part of the Competition Bureau’s ongoing investigation.
Oct. 25 2023: Canada Bread files a statement of defence in the Ontario class action denying participating in the alleged conspiracy and saying any anti-competitive behaviour it participated in was at the direction and to the benefit of its then-majority owner Maple Leaf Foods, which is not a defendant in the case (neither is its current owner Grupo Bimbo). Maple Leaf calls Canada Bread’s accusations “baseless.”
Dec. 20, 2023: Metro files new documents in the Ontario class action accusing Loblaw and its parent company George Weston of conspiring to implicate it in the alleged scheme, denying involvement. Sobeys has made a similar claim. The two companies deny the allegations.
July 25, 2024: Loblaw and George Weston say they agreed to pay a combined $500 million to settle both the Ontario and Quebec class-action lawsuits. Loblaw’s share of the settlement includes a $96-million credit for the gift cards it gave out years earlier.
Sept. 12, 2024: Canada Bread files new documents in Ontario court as part of the class action, claiming Maple Leaf used it as a “shield” to avoid liability in the alleged scheme. Maple Leaf was a majority shareholder of Canada Bread until 2014, and the company claims it’s liable for any price-fixing activity. Maple Leaf refutes the claims.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
Companies in this story: (TSX:L, TSX:MFI, TSX:MRU, TSX:EMP.A, TSX:WN)
TORONTO – TD Bank Group, which is mired in a money laundering scandal in the U.S., says chief executive Bharat Masrani will retire next year.
Masrani, who will retire officially on April 10, 2025, says the bank’s, “anti-money laundering challenges,” took place on his watch and he takes full responsibility.
The bank named Raymond Chun, TD’s group head, Canadian personal banking, as his successor.
As part of a transition plan, Chun will become chief operating officer on Nov. 1 before taking over the top job when Masrani steps down at the bank’s annual meeting next year.
TD also announced that Riaz Ahmed, group head, wholesale banking and president and CEO of TD Securities, will retire at the end of January 2025.
TD has taken billions in charges related to ongoing U.S. investigations into the failure of its anti-money laundering program.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
