Dr. Mohamad Fakih, Owner of Paramount Restaurants, Discusses Supporting Immigrants, Charities and Front-Line Workers Before & During the COVID-19 Pandemic

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[00:00] SPEAKER_00: It's Toronto's podcast on the Canada's podcast network.
[00:08] SPEAKER_00: I'm Andrea Sasso, Toronto's host for Canada's podcast,
[00:13] SPEAKER_00: nation's number one entrepreneur network.
[00:15] SPEAKER_00: Today I have a great pleasure to be joined by Muhammad Pakit.
[00:20] SPEAKER_00: He's an entrepreneur, he's a CEO of Paramount Foods,
[00:24] SPEAKER_00: and chairman of the King Foundation.
[00:27] SPEAKER_00: Muhammad, welcome.
[00:28] SPEAKER_02: Thank you very much for having me.
[00:30] SPEAKER_00: It's great to have you.
[00:32] SPEAKER_00: We know you're busy, especially because we're doing this interview
[00:35] SPEAKER_00: in the midst of Corona epidemic.
[00:40] SPEAKER_00: And I know your operations have been very busy.
[00:43] SPEAKER_00: So thank you for taking the time to speak to us.
[00:46] SPEAKER_02: No, it's very important to speak to you here,
[00:49] SPEAKER_02: and especially during this, because we need to send
[00:52] SPEAKER_02: a message of positivity, that nothing including a pandemic
[00:55] SPEAKER_02: like this will stop us from socializing yet.
[00:58] SPEAKER_02: We will keep physical distancing, but we're not divided
[01:03] SPEAKER_02: except physically, not in spirit at all.
[01:05] SPEAKER_02: So we need to continue doing things like this,
[01:07] SPEAKER_02: because people need more positivity and good stories out there.
[01:11] SPEAKER_00: I love it, and that's why I admire you so much.
[01:14] SPEAKER_00: I've been following you on social media.
[01:17] SPEAKER_00: You, unlike some of the other entrepreneurs
[01:20] SPEAKER_00: who have large businesses and are also busy at this time,
[01:24] SPEAKER_00: you actually engage with your audience,
[01:29] SPEAKER_00: which I admire a lot.
[01:30] SPEAKER_00: You take the time to respond, to keep the positive message going.
[01:35] SPEAKER_00: So it's really special for me to be able to interview you today,
[01:39] SPEAKER_00: especially at times like this.
[01:41] SPEAKER_00: So, Mohammed, would you mind telling a little bit about yourself?
[01:45] SPEAKER_00: I did a brief introduction, but a little bit about your journey
[01:49] SPEAKER_00: as an entrepreneur.
[01:51] SPEAKER_02: Well, I came to Canada 20 years ago,
[01:54] SPEAKER_02: with close to $1,200 in my pocket.
[01:57] SPEAKER_02: I came straight from Lebanon, but I had to spend,
[02:02] SPEAKER_02: I lived through the civil war.
[02:04] SPEAKER_02: That's why for me, what's happening now
[02:07] SPEAKER_02: is something that is less than what I went through,
[02:10] SPEAKER_02: and not under estimating what's going on,
[02:12] SPEAKER_02: but it makes me want to tell the world my story and tell people
[02:16] SPEAKER_02: that it's okay, we're gonna be coming out of this,
[02:18] SPEAKER_02: and we're gonna be rebuilding our country,
[02:20] SPEAKER_02: and hiring more people very soon.
[02:22] SPEAKER_02: And the light will, it's very difficult to see the light now,
[02:25] SPEAKER_02: but the light will come for sure, I promise you all.
[02:28] SPEAKER_02: So, yeah, I came here, went to Italy when I was 16.
[02:33] SPEAKER_02: I studied, I became a gemologist,
[02:35] SPEAKER_02: so I'm a gemologist, an expert on diamond that sells shawarma.
[02:39] SPEAKER_00: Oh, wow, I didn't know that.
[02:40] SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I am, and spent big time of my life,
[02:45] SPEAKER_02: like around nine years in Italy,
[02:46] SPEAKER_02: went back to Lebanon because my parents thought
[02:50] SPEAKER_02: that would be great if I can come back
[02:52] SPEAKER_02: and build a business back there,
[02:53] SPEAKER_02: and I believed that the war would end if I wasn't true.
[02:57] SPEAKER_02: As soon as I started my business in Lebanon,
[03:00] SPEAKER_02: the war started again, so I realized that I couldn't have
[03:03] SPEAKER_02: a plan for longer than six months there,
[03:05] SPEAKER_02: and I couldn't do that.
[03:07] SPEAKER_02: So I came to Toronto not to see a friend,
[03:09] SPEAKER_02: and I followed love, I followed love
[03:10] SPEAKER_02: with the way that people are.
[03:12] SPEAKER_02: For me, all my life is all about people.
[03:14] SPEAKER_02: It's not about walls, it's not about company.
[03:17] SPEAKER_02: I'm someone that truly believe people's purpose
[03:20] SPEAKER_02: and planet come before a prophet,
[03:22] SPEAKER_02: and the prophet will follow.
[03:24] SPEAKER_02: And if you look after your people,
[03:25] SPEAKER_02: if you look after the planet,
[03:27] SPEAKER_02: and if you run a company with a lot of purpose,
[03:29] SPEAKER_02: the prophet for sure will follow
[03:31] SPEAKER_02: because everyone wants to support you.
[03:33] SPEAKER_02: So when I came here and I saw the people,
[03:35] SPEAKER_02: how nice they are, how well-coming Canadian art,
[03:38] SPEAKER_02: I felt like this is the right place,
[03:41] SPEAKER_02: even if I came just to visit a friend.
[03:43] SPEAKER_02: I felt like I wanna be here for, yeah, much longer,
[03:46] SPEAKER_02: I wanted to stay, you're right, sorry,
[03:48] SPEAKER_02: I didn't hear you properly.
[03:50] SPEAKER_02: And then I applied through a lawyer
[03:53] SPEAKER_02: and through my paperwork,
[03:55] SPEAKER_02: as soon as I got the permit to work,
[03:58] SPEAKER_02: I went and I applied to the jewelry store
[03:59] SPEAKER_02: and people won't hire me
[04:00] SPEAKER_02: because they said I don't have Canadian experience.
[04:03] SPEAKER_02: Which is what I want.
[04:04] SPEAKER_00: A lot of immigrants are facing today, unfortunately.
[04:09] SPEAKER_02: Well, I hope it's less today we're trying,
[04:11] SPEAKER_02: but yes, they're still facing that.
[04:13] SPEAKER_02: And I don't understand why us, Canadian feel,
[04:15] SPEAKER_02: international experiences are less worthy.
[04:19] SPEAKER_02: And talking about the pandemic,
[04:20] SPEAKER_02: I saw the article that I posted a couple days ago
[04:23] SPEAKER_02: about the Syrian doctors and nurses
[04:26] SPEAKER_02: that jumped to help Germany.
[04:28] SPEAKER_02: They were refugees, immigrants,
[04:30] SPEAKER_02: that they were not licensed as the doctors and nurses,
[04:34] SPEAKER_02: but all of a sudden when there is a problem,
[04:35] SPEAKER_02: they allowed them to work
[04:36] SPEAKER_02: and they was their dream to serve the country
[04:39] SPEAKER_02: that long come them and help them.
[04:41] SPEAKER_02: And now they've become almost 40%
[04:43] SPEAKER_02: of the medical support for Germany.
[04:46] SPEAKER_02: So that shows us maybe we should ease a little bit the rules
[04:50] SPEAKER_02: and or maybe create a fast process for them,
[04:54] SPEAKER_02: for those doctors not to become
[04:56] SPEAKER_02: and not to put down taxi drivers.
[04:58] SPEAKER_02: Every job is important and every person
[05:01] SPEAKER_02: has the freedom to choose what they wanna become.
[05:04] SPEAKER_02: But instead of a doctor,
[05:06] SPEAKER_02: all their life wanting to be a doctor,
[05:08] SPEAKER_02: doing different jobs,
[05:09] SPEAKER_02: including working at PAMON,
[05:11] SPEAKER_02: we want those doctors to stay doctors
[05:12] SPEAKER_02: and we need to find a way to make it easier for them.
[05:15] SPEAKER_02: So I had to work in a coffee shop.
[05:18] SPEAKER_02: I worked at them for five days,
[05:19] SPEAKER_02: but it wasn't what I wanted.
[05:21] SPEAKER_02: I didn't think that's where the environment I wanted.
[05:25] SPEAKER_02: And then I worked at coffee time.
[05:29] SPEAKER_02: And meanwhile I walked to the 18th Center
[05:31] SPEAKER_02: and I walked to a jewelry store
[05:32] SPEAKER_02: that always told me that they won't hire me
[05:35] SPEAKER_02: and I offered them for hire me for free.
[05:37] SPEAKER_02: So I had to work for free and he agreed.
[05:40] SPEAKER_02: So he hired me for free
[05:41] SPEAKER_02: and I called and volunteered to make me feel better.
[05:44] SPEAKER_02: So I worked for free for around six months
[05:47] SPEAKER_02: until the jewelry store across the street saw my work
[05:52] SPEAKER_02: and came offer me a paid a job.
[05:53] SPEAKER_02: But at that time I was working for free.
[05:56] SPEAKER_02: I had to teach the landlord, daughter, French
[05:59] SPEAKER_02: to pay the rent in the basement apartment.
[06:01] SPEAKER_02: I lived in a shared basement apartment
[06:03] SPEAKER_02: and with the three people then it got better,
[06:05] SPEAKER_02: it became two people than one.
[06:07] SPEAKER_02: Then I was left alone, I guess I'm a bad roommate,
[06:10] SPEAKER_02: but that's what happened.
[06:12] SPEAKER_02: And I had to teach a French to the landlord,
[06:14] SPEAKER_02: the landlord, to pay the rent.
[06:16] SPEAKER_02: I had zero cash on my pocket.
[06:18] SPEAKER_02: And I was working at night shift in Danforce for coffee time
[06:23] SPEAKER_02: at one of the French Aisies of coffee time
[06:25] SPEAKER_02: that did me a favor and hired me for night shift
[06:27] SPEAKER_02: because during the day I wanted to prove myself in my,
[06:31] SPEAKER_02: in what I studied, which is being a gemologist
[06:33] SPEAKER_02: and a diamond expert.
[06:34] SPEAKER_00: Right.
[06:36] SPEAKER_02: And it went for long with very little sleeping.
[06:38] SPEAKER_02: So when I was in sleeping,
[06:39] SPEAKER_02: I was working very much, taking the TCC,
[06:43] SPEAKER_02: rushing always between jobs.
[06:46] SPEAKER_02: Until this jewelry place, watch place, last Swiss saw my work
[06:50] SPEAKER_02: and gave me a paid a job.
[06:53] SPEAKER_02: And stayed there for four, five months.
[06:56] SPEAKER_02: Then a lady walked in to buy a very expensive watch.
[06:59] SPEAKER_02: I told her it's not that I'd watch for her.
[07:01] SPEAKER_02: I gave her a watch cheaper.
[07:03] SPEAKER_02: Even if the commission of that watch
[07:05] SPEAKER_02: wouldn't bought me my first car or gave me a deposit for a car,
[07:09] SPEAKER_02: I prefer to be honest with her.
[07:11] SPEAKER_02: She left, she appreciated that.
[07:13] SPEAKER_02: She came back and she told me the story
[07:15] SPEAKER_02: that she owned two small jewelry shops
[07:17] SPEAKER_02: and she want me to manage them.
[07:19] SPEAKER_00: Wow.
[07:20] SPEAKER_02: So I said no because I was worried
[07:22] SPEAKER_02: that the shops were too small
[07:25] SPEAKER_02: and she wouldn't be able to afford my salary
[07:27] SPEAKER_02: and then she turned around and came back
[07:29] SPEAKER_02: and said, what if we open more?
[07:31] SPEAKER_02: Then I proposed to her to give me a,
[07:33] SPEAKER_02: what we call a SWAT equity,
[07:35] SPEAKER_02: basically partnership for my work instead of money.
[07:40] SPEAKER_02: And she said no in the beginning, then she said yes.
[07:43] SPEAKER_02: So that was the first time I ever owned anything in Canada.
[07:45] SPEAKER_02: I would no money.
[07:46] SPEAKER_02: She gave me a small piece of the business.
[07:48] SPEAKER_02: She did me a big, huge favor.
[07:50] SPEAKER_02: But for we grew the company from there,
[07:52] SPEAKER_02: she understood my worth.
[07:54] SPEAKER_02: And I didn't let her down.
[07:56] SPEAKER_02: We grew the company to four or five locations together.
[07:59] SPEAKER_02: And when she wanted to get out of the business
[08:01] SPEAKER_02: for health issues,
[08:02] SPEAKER_02: she helped me buy two out of the five locations.
[08:05] SPEAKER_02: And from there, I started growing my business.
[08:09] SPEAKER_02: I got involved with a SWATCH.
[08:10] SPEAKER_02: A lot of the SWATCH PEOPS,
[08:11] SPEAKER_02: you see around the city are mine.
[08:13] SPEAKER_02: We're mine at the time.
[08:15] SPEAKER_00: Wow.
[08:15] SPEAKER_00: I didn't know that.
[08:17] SPEAKER_02: And then after a while, I sold them
[08:22] SPEAKER_02: up the jewelry business because that's where I walked
[08:25] SPEAKER_02: into Perman.
[08:27] SPEAKER_02: And I started focusing more on Perman.
[08:30] SPEAKER_02: Me and I, one day, I was at the jewelry store
[08:33] SPEAKER_02: and somebody asked me to help them to build their house.
[08:36] SPEAKER_02: So I got involved with it in construction and building homes.
[08:39] SPEAKER_02: And we got some media.
[08:41] SPEAKER_02: And that's when I walked to Perman,
[08:42] SPEAKER_02: my wife called me and said we need some back flour.
[08:45] SPEAKER_02: So I walked to Perman to buy kiloback flour for my family
[08:49] SPEAKER_02: because we had some guests coming over.
[08:52] SPEAKER_02: And we had some media because of the house we built.
[08:57] SPEAKER_02: So as soon as I walked into Perman,
[08:58] SPEAKER_02: it was behind this police station industrial area,
[09:02] SPEAKER_02: was nothing paramount about the place,
[09:04] SPEAKER_02: like the walls were just orange and white.
[09:06] SPEAKER_02: And the washrooms handled what broke in,
[09:09] SPEAKER_02: like what was horrible experience.
[09:11] SPEAKER_02: So I walked to the counter, I ordered kiloback flour
[09:13] SPEAKER_02: and the man that owned it was an amazing human being,
[09:18] SPEAKER_02: very nice, very sweet.
[09:19] SPEAKER_02: He said, I've seen you on the media.
[09:22] SPEAKER_02: And would you help me?
[09:24] SPEAKER_02: I need a loan because otherwise,
[09:26] SPEAKER_02: by Thursday, we'll bankrupt the company.
[09:28] SPEAKER_02: And me and my 16 of my staff and their family
[09:31] SPEAKER_02: will be kicked out of the country.
[09:33] SPEAKER_02: So that's where I stopped.
[09:35] SPEAKER_02: You know one of those things that people will ask you
[09:37] SPEAKER_02: for, you were not expecting,
[09:39] SPEAKER_02: but you really didn't want to deal with the problem,
[09:42] SPEAKER_02: but you can't not deal with it anymore
[09:44] SPEAKER_02: because of who you are, what you stand for.
[09:46] SPEAKER_00: Yes.
[09:47] SPEAKER_02: I handed him my card in my heart.
[09:49] SPEAKER_02: I'm like, I hope he loses it because I don't know.
[09:51] SPEAKER_02: I just walked in for a bottle of wine.
[09:53] SPEAKER_02: I don't know what that means.
[09:55] SPEAKER_00: He had good baccala, that's all there was to it.
[09:58] SPEAKER_02: So basically, I left with my kiloback flour
[10:02] SPEAKER_02: and a request of $4 million loan.
[10:04] SPEAKER_02: And I said, I'll let you know, I'll think about it.
[10:07] SPEAKER_02: And then I got to the car and it did hit me.
[10:09] SPEAKER_02: I said, wasn't that me?
[10:11] SPEAKER_02: Like I came here, Canadian helped me, stood by me,
[10:14] SPEAKER_02: made me who I am today.
[10:15] SPEAKER_02: And now I need to decide who I want to be.
[10:18] SPEAKER_02: What is it going to come to my money
[10:20] SPEAKER_02: and hit my pocket?
[10:21] SPEAKER_02: I'm going to be different.
[10:22] SPEAKER_02: Am I a lip service person?
[10:24] SPEAKER_02: Or I'm going to be that person that stands up for people
[10:28] SPEAKER_02: with people, besides people like Canadians, stood up for me.
[10:31] SPEAKER_02: And in that day, I made it as soon as I wanted to be.
[10:34] SPEAKER_02: I wanted to be the guy that really struggled
[10:37] SPEAKER_02: during the civil war and never shied away
[10:40] SPEAKER_02: from helping people even if there were bullets flying around,
[10:44] SPEAKER_02: grew up in a family where Sadakau,
[10:47] SPEAKER_02: which is voluntarily giving was part of our life.
[10:50] SPEAKER_02: Every single day my mom had a box, shoe box,
[10:52] SPEAKER_02: in front of the door and she used to give us a $5.
[10:55] SPEAKER_02: Before we go to school to spend on sandwiches
[10:58] SPEAKER_02: and she used to ask us to put a 25 cents in that box.
[11:01] SPEAKER_02: So I lived and I grew up in a family where we believed
[11:05] SPEAKER_02: where it just will not make sense to probably KPMG
[11:10] SPEAKER_02: or to Ernst and Young, what I would say to you now.
[11:13] SPEAKER_02: But more you give, more you make.
[11:16] SPEAKER_00: I agree with that philosophy as well.
[11:18] SPEAKER_00: And that's how I have been living my life as well.
[11:23] SPEAKER_00: So I completely understand it may not be a philosophy
[11:26] SPEAKER_00: that everybody will agree with,
[11:28] SPEAKER_00: but those who do will understand what it's about.
[11:32] SPEAKER_02: So from there, I actually called it, called him
[11:34] SPEAKER_02: and I said, give me another hour with you.
[11:38] SPEAKER_02: I will understand more.
[11:40] SPEAKER_02: Invited him over and I end up lending him
[11:43] SPEAKER_02: the money.
[11:43] SPEAKER_02: I didn't have that money all of it.
[11:45] SPEAKER_02: So I had to carve it out of my other businesses
[11:48] SPEAKER_02: and take a small loan as well.
[11:50] SPEAKER_02: But I still wanted to help him because I thought
[11:53] SPEAKER_02: that was a call to action.
[11:56] SPEAKER_02: So basically what happened is, and it was very important
[12:01] SPEAKER_02: that I landed him the money three days after he caused me
[12:04] SPEAKER_02: and said the money's gone.
[12:05] SPEAKER_02: I said, how come he said, well, I didn't know
[12:08] SPEAKER_02: while Revin you Canada, she's my account
[12:12] SPEAKER_02: because I have a pay taxes or source deductions
[12:15] SPEAKER_02: for the staff and I didn't know that I need to.
[12:17] SPEAKER_02: This is why I always say we don't need only
[12:20] SPEAKER_02: to integrate people to come here to work.
[12:22] SPEAKER_02: We need to integrate entrepreneur
[12:24] SPEAKER_02: and don't let them spend their money
[12:26] SPEAKER_02: or invest their money in Canada before they learn
[12:28] SPEAKER_02: the rules of how to open a business.
[12:31] SPEAKER_02: What are the things that they need to do before they invest
[12:33] SPEAKER_02: their money and before they lose it?
[12:35] SPEAKER_02: Because when they lose their money, we lose an opportunity.
[12:39] SPEAKER_02: So that we all could actually turn that business
[12:41] SPEAKER_02: to an hiring business paying tax business and all.
[12:44] SPEAKER_00: I agree.
[12:45] SPEAKER_02: So I came back, met him here and he, I said to him, Lord.
[12:49] SPEAKER_02: On the way in, I saw his shop, some of them are crying.
[12:52] SPEAKER_02: They asked me if I was the guy coming to shut down
[12:54] SPEAKER_02: the business.
[12:55] SPEAKER_02: I said, no, I'm the guy was coming to see what happened
[12:57] SPEAKER_02: with his money that I lost.
[12:59] SPEAKER_01: Right.
[13:01] SPEAKER_02: So I walked in and I said, what if we turn this
[13:04] SPEAKER_02: to a only restaurant?
[13:05] SPEAKER_02: Like forget about everything we doing.
[13:08] SPEAKER_02: Forget about all the coffee beans thing.
[13:11] SPEAKER_02: We'll do baclava and food.
[13:13] SPEAKER_02: And the staff said, yeah, that's a great idea.
[13:16] SPEAKER_02: It's about luck.
[13:17] SPEAKER_02: I've never, I don't know how to fry an egg.
[13:20] SPEAKER_02: So unless you all buy into that.
[13:24] SPEAKER_02: And we need to understand that we could fail.
[13:26] SPEAKER_02: I'm not here to make a profit.
[13:28] SPEAKER_02: And you know, for me was that aha moment
[13:30] SPEAKER_02: because number one, I'm in different type of a CEO.
[13:34] SPEAKER_02: I always say I'm more a staffer at the rest of the CEO.
[13:38] SPEAKER_02: I like it because I think I'll never think as a CEO.
[13:42] SPEAKER_02: It's all about the bottom line profit.
[13:44] SPEAKER_02: The bottom line is for me, like I said, is people,
[13:47] SPEAKER_02: it's purpose, it's a planet, and the profits will follow.
[13:52] SPEAKER_02: So I call it a quadruple bottom line.
[13:55] SPEAKER_02: And I truly believe in it.
[13:57] SPEAKER_02: And now there's more people talking about it.
[13:59] SPEAKER_02: A lot of it, maybe some of them live service,
[14:02] SPEAKER_02: but that's great because things start like this.
[14:05] SPEAKER_02: People talk about something, but then they start thinking,
[14:07] SPEAKER_02: maybe I should actually do it because maybe it's true
[14:12] SPEAKER_02: is the profitable thing to do.
[14:13] SPEAKER_02: It's not only that I think today.
[14:15] SPEAKER_02: And from here, I tell you, it is the profitable thing to do.
[14:18] SPEAKER_02: It is that I think today.
[14:20] SPEAKER_02: In the world where talents are the biggest asset.
[14:24] SPEAKER_02: In the world where people actually interview their bosses,
[14:29] SPEAKER_02: interview their CEOs to see if they're that I fit
[14:32] SPEAKER_02: for the culture they want to live in.
[14:35] SPEAKER_02: I think purpose, people and planet will lead to profit
[14:41] SPEAKER_02: and will lead to the success of a company,
[14:44] SPEAKER_02: especially when people and purpose come first,
[14:46] SPEAKER_02: and definitely plan it.
[14:49] SPEAKER_02: So I told them, unless we all, and let's you buy in,
[14:53] SPEAKER_02: and let's you feel that this is your business,
[14:56] SPEAKER_02: that's why we're opening it.
[14:58] SPEAKER_02: But the aha moment was for me,
[15:00] SPEAKER_02: like I'm one of those business people that it has to fill
[15:03] SPEAKER_02: the spot of who I am, what I can for me
[15:07] SPEAKER_02: to enjoy a business I'm doing.
[15:08] SPEAKER_02: So a few times, there is a bunch of cell phone now
[15:11] SPEAKER_02: that I can tell and I'll make two million bothers.
[15:14] SPEAKER_02: It doesn't excite me.
[15:16] SPEAKER_00: Right, it has to be something that's close to your heart
[15:19] SPEAKER_00: that where you see your stuff in.
[15:21] SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it has to be something that makes us part
[15:24] SPEAKER_02: of something bigger than ourselves.
[15:26] SPEAKER_02: And that's why I always say, when we hire an executive,
[15:30] SPEAKER_02: I say, welcome to the Paramount movement.
[15:32] SPEAKER_02: I don't say to company, I don't say to a restaurant chain.
[15:35] SPEAKER_02: I think Paramount is a movement where we can start an example
[15:38] SPEAKER_02: that you could be successful in compassion.
[15:41] SPEAKER_02: You could be doing very well while you're looking
[15:44] SPEAKER_02: after the most vulnerable.
[15:46] SPEAKER_02: You could really believe that you will not be as successful
[15:51] SPEAKER_02: or happy, happy is measured differently
[15:55] SPEAKER_02: because people say, oh, yeah, he has more money
[15:57] SPEAKER_02: than he's more successful.
[15:59] SPEAKER_02: Or she has more money or she studied more
[16:02] SPEAKER_02: than you and she's more successful.
[16:05] SPEAKER_02: But happiness is measured by everyone,
[16:08] SPEAKER_02: what's winning for them?
[16:10] SPEAKER_02: And the definition of winning for everyone is different.
[16:13] SPEAKER_02: For people winning is you don't have to win.
[16:15] SPEAKER_02: For people winning, you don't have to win alone.
[16:18] SPEAKER_02: We win together.
[16:20] SPEAKER_02: And for some people, winning is only if I win alone
[16:23] SPEAKER_02: and I'm the only guy crossing the line
[16:26] SPEAKER_02: or let's cross it together.
[16:28] SPEAKER_02: So there are several ways of handling this
[16:32] SPEAKER_02: or a school of class to approach this.
[16:35] SPEAKER_02: And for me, Paramount, it was the aha moment is like a three way.
[16:41] SPEAKER_02: I did experience a lot of people looking at me
[16:44] SPEAKER_02: like I'm not as worthy as others.
[16:47] SPEAKER_02: Number two, a lot of people didn't believe
[16:49] SPEAKER_02: that migrants are a positive,
[16:50] SPEAKER_02: they bring a positive impact to this country.
[16:53] SPEAKER_02: Or at least some of them they thought
[16:56] SPEAKER_02: or they were putting out that three,
[17:00] SPEAKER_02: at least the Muslims had bad,
[17:02] SPEAKER_02: basically reputation in the media
[17:05] SPEAKER_02: at the time when I arrived.
[17:07] SPEAKER_02: So once all together and it was the food park
[17:10] SPEAKER_02: where the food has something special in every community
[17:14] SPEAKER_02: and every background and every religion,
[17:16] SPEAKER_02: the food bring people together.
[17:17] SPEAKER_00: I agree and I think you won the hearts of the Canadians
[17:23] SPEAKER_00: with the food.
[17:25] SPEAKER_00: I love eating and ordering in from Paramount
[17:29] SPEAKER_00: and sitting down in the locations itself,
[17:34] SPEAKER_00: before the epidemic.
[17:36] SPEAKER_00: So I think bringing people together with the food
[17:40] SPEAKER_00: you've done it so well and you call it a movement.
[17:45] SPEAKER_00: The movement has worked and today,
[17:50] SPEAKER_00: how many locations do you have, Mohammed?
[17:52] SPEAKER_02: We're around the world around 78.
[17:55] SPEAKER_00: So you're not only located in Canada,
[17:57] SPEAKER_00: which is what I read about you.
[17:59] SPEAKER_00: You actually expanded to have locations back home in Lebanon.
[18:05] SPEAKER_02: Yeah, and we are as well in UK.
[18:07] SPEAKER_02: We are in Africa and for the world,
[18:09] SPEAKER_02: I very close.
[18:10] SPEAKER_02: We are in the US.
[18:12] SPEAKER_00: That is an enormous success from an immigrant.
[18:17] SPEAKER_00: My background is very similar to you.
[18:20] SPEAKER_00: I was in a civil war as well.
[18:23] SPEAKER_00: From an immigrant coming to Canada,
[18:25] SPEAKER_00: wanting to contribute something positive
[18:27] SPEAKER_00: to the Canadian society and creating a movement
[18:30] SPEAKER_00: but actually giving back.
[18:32] SPEAKER_00: So yes, you are very successful and to pruneer.
[18:36] SPEAKER_00: You engage with people, you give back.
[18:39] SPEAKER_00: But I like to focus on the fact that you give back as well.
[18:44] SPEAKER_00: And I know you give back through the foundation.
[18:47] SPEAKER_00: You have Fuki Foundation.
[18:49] SPEAKER_00: Would you mind telling our listeners a little bit more
[18:52] SPEAKER_00: about some of the things that you do
[18:54] SPEAKER_00: through the foundation to give back and why you do it?
[18:58] SPEAKER_02: Well, I mean before the foundation,
[19:00] SPEAKER_02: we start giving back even when we didn't have money.
[19:03] SPEAKER_02: So we start giving back by actually, you know,
[19:05] SPEAKER_02: cooking some of our food to some of the shelters,
[19:09] SPEAKER_02: food banks.
[19:10] SPEAKER_02: And it started even based on one family health,
[19:14] SPEAKER_02: one person health, giving a job to someone
[19:17] SPEAKER_02: that is really in need of the job,
[19:19] SPEAKER_02: even if they were not the first people basically
[19:23] SPEAKER_02: to as a skill, but we decided to invest in them.
[19:27] SPEAKER_02: So the idea of giving back and more you give more you make
[19:30] SPEAKER_02: has been always around grandma's and part of our DNA.
[19:33] SPEAKER_02: And people actually come to work at the moment beside me
[19:38] SPEAKER_02: because of a culture of giving back to the community,
[19:42] SPEAKER_02: because they make them more proud to go back home
[19:44] SPEAKER_02: and justify why they put the extra hours or the effort.
[19:48] SPEAKER_02: And they make them proud to see that they are part of a movement
[19:52] SPEAKER_02: that actually does not only celebrate its own success,
[19:56] SPEAKER_02: but a bigger scale success that affects every single one
[20:00] SPEAKER_02: of us, especially the most vulnerable.
[20:03] SPEAKER_02: So it's been always on our mind is diversity,
[20:06] SPEAKER_02: diversifying our health.
[20:07] SPEAKER_02: It's been always top mind basically our company.
[20:11] SPEAKER_02: Yes, it's owned by Muslim immigrant Lebanese,
[20:14] SPEAKER_02: but we have churches, we have synagogue,
[20:18] SPEAKER_02: we have general Canadian like make a wish foundation,
[20:23] SPEAKER_02: walk a mile in their shoes, I walked with high heels
[20:26] SPEAKER_02: to defend women's right and abuse women.
[20:30] SPEAKER_02: We do seclusion hospital Islamic relief Canada,
[20:33] SPEAKER_02: T's of hope which is owned by church,
[20:36] SPEAKER_02: like we diversify our involvement
[20:40] SPEAKER_02: because this is a Canadian company.
[20:43] SPEAKER_02: And I always say diversity is a fact and inclusion
[20:47] SPEAKER_02: is a choice.
[20:48] SPEAKER_02: So including everyone on every table,
[20:51] SPEAKER_02: making like the folks that making our table longer
[20:54] SPEAKER_02: so we all can fit, including women
[20:56] SPEAKER_02: because it's the top of jobs in our country,
[20:59] SPEAKER_02: in our company.
[21:01] SPEAKER_02: It's our choice and PMOI has made the choice.
[21:04] SPEAKER_02: I'm the only Mohammed in my head office.
[21:06] SPEAKER_02: People at PMOI are from different backgrounds,
[21:09] SPEAKER_02: different religions, we hire for skill,
[21:12] SPEAKER_02: we hire and proud to hire as a Canadian company,
[21:14] SPEAKER_02: Canadians from all backgrounds.
[21:16] SPEAKER_02: And we welcome them all on the table
[21:19] SPEAKER_02: and all tables, executive tables, decision making tables.
[21:23] SPEAKER_02: And that's why the same way I will support to the community.
[21:28] SPEAKER_02: And from someone that started as a child
[21:30] SPEAKER_02: putting 25 cents in the shoe box called Sada Kamba
[21:33] SPEAKER_02: which is a voluntarily giving,
[21:36] SPEAKER_02: of course it's going to be part of our DNA
[21:38] SPEAKER_02: giving back to the community.
[21:39] SPEAKER_02: Look, you can't succeed alone.
[21:42] SPEAKER_02: There is no way whoever kinks
[21:45] SPEAKER_02: and even Corona virus has approved to all of us,
[21:50] SPEAKER_02: we're only as successful as the least fortunate
[21:53] SPEAKER_02: in our country and our communities.
[21:55] SPEAKER_02: We're only as healthy as the least healthy out of all of them.
[22:01] SPEAKER_02: Hopefully after all this,
[22:03] SPEAKER_02: we all realize that we will only win when we win together
[22:08] SPEAKER_02: and we only go back to our real life and be happy
[22:12] SPEAKER_02: when we are all happy and where we all have the necessity
[22:16] SPEAKER_02: that we enjoy ourselves,
[22:17] SPEAKER_02: make it available and work hard to make it available
[22:20] SPEAKER_02: to the least fortunate, the least blessed in our communities.
[22:25] SPEAKER_02: Help others because now today,
[22:28] SPEAKER_02: a young starting a restaurant,
[22:31] SPEAKER_02: worker cleaner or a hospital cleaner
[22:34] SPEAKER_02: could affect the riches,
[22:36] SPEAKER_02: the most successful person in our community.
[22:41] SPEAKER_02: And a homeless could in fact,
[22:43] SPEAKER_02: the most blessed successful rich smart
[22:47] SPEAKER_02: educated any pick one of those.
[22:51] SPEAKER_02: So, us for getting about the most vulnerable,
[22:55] SPEAKER_02: us for getting about the less lucky or less blessed
[23:00] SPEAKER_02: of our community or anybody that the need of anything
[23:03] SPEAKER_02: doesn't have to be money.
[23:05] SPEAKER_02: It just makes us blind.
[23:07] SPEAKER_02: And hopefully we couldn't have been punched in the face.
[23:11] SPEAKER_02: Like Tyson said, we all had a plan
[23:13] SPEAKER_02: and then we got punched in the face.
[23:16] SPEAKER_02: And when we did have a plan,
[23:18] SPEAKER_02: we totally had a plan and we got punched in the face.
[23:20] SPEAKER_02: So we better wake up and look after those people.
[23:24] SPEAKER_02: Hopefully we realize that our life will never be safe.
[23:27] SPEAKER_02: And if you feel like, oh, I'm secured,
[23:30] SPEAKER_02: I'm well off.
[23:31] SPEAKER_02: You're only well off if the least lucky
[23:35] SPEAKER_02: and least fortunate in our community is well off.
[23:39] SPEAKER_00: And you really are,
[23:42] SPEAKER_00: when you talk about we're all the same
[23:45] SPEAKER_00: and the effects of COVID-19 right now
[23:51] SPEAKER_00: that we're fighting on a global level,
[23:54] SPEAKER_00: you as the CEO of the care month foods
[23:57] SPEAKER_00: have been working hard to give back to those
[24:01] SPEAKER_00: that are on the front lines.
[24:02] SPEAKER_00: So doctors, nurses, can you tell me a little bit about,
[24:06] SPEAKER_00: I already know, but maybe the listeners are not aware
[24:08] SPEAKER_00: about some of the things that you have been doing
[24:11] SPEAKER_00: in terms of providing the food
[24:14] SPEAKER_00: and discounts available for people
[24:18] SPEAKER_00: that have to order in and also for people
[24:21] SPEAKER_00: that are on the front line.
[24:23] SPEAKER_02: Well, immediately as soon as it started,
[24:25] SPEAKER_02: we actually provided, well,
[24:27] SPEAKER_02: we've been for the last 12 years of providing 50%
[24:30] SPEAKER_02: to all the EMS and police services discount
[24:33] SPEAKER_02: because these people put their life at risk for our safety.
[24:37] SPEAKER_02: And for us to be able to work our children
[24:39] SPEAKER_02: to go to school.
[24:41] SPEAKER_02: So for the last 15 years of the reception,
[24:43] SPEAKER_02: that was implemented 50% to all EMS.
[24:46] SPEAKER_02: So all we did is expanded that to all the front
[24:49] SPEAKER_02: of line heroes that they're making our children
[24:51] SPEAKER_02: save our family, save our community, save
[24:53] SPEAKER_02: and our country, save.
[24:55] SPEAKER_02: They're doing us a favor to accept that.
[24:58] SPEAKER_02: I always say people honor you when they give you
[25:00] SPEAKER_02: the opportunity to do that, I think.
[25:02] SPEAKER_02: They honor you to give you the opportunity
[25:04] SPEAKER_02: to help others.
[25:05] SPEAKER_02: They honor you to pick you out of the rest of the world
[25:07] SPEAKER_02: and a lot of people in our community
[25:08] SPEAKER_02: wants to do that, I think.
[25:10] SPEAKER_02: You're honored when you're picked.
[25:11] SPEAKER_02: You're not doing anyone a favor.
[25:13] SPEAKER_02: So that's number one.
[25:14] SPEAKER_02: Number two, we are actually,
[25:16] SPEAKER_02: we put a shout out to a lot of the food banks and shelter
[25:19] SPEAKER_02: and we're cooking hundreds of meals daily.
[25:21] SPEAKER_02: We partnered with the Chef Jagger as well
[25:24] SPEAKER_02: and Amir Aramatullah and we did a cook of a thousand meal
[25:29] SPEAKER_02: as well for them, for the, again,
[25:31] SPEAKER_02: for the most vulnerable of the community.
[25:33] SPEAKER_02: So every day, every single day,
[25:34] SPEAKER_02: we are using our kitchen to cook hundreds of meals
[25:38] SPEAKER_02: since the pandemic has started.
[25:41] SPEAKER_02: And again, there is no favor that we're doing to anyone.
[25:44] SPEAKER_02: It's actually we're, I truly believe
[25:47] SPEAKER_02: and I spoke to my mom yesterday and she said,
[25:51] SPEAKER_02: look, why is everyone is worried?
[25:54] SPEAKER_02: If your ship had something to do to benefit others
[25:57] SPEAKER_02: will never sink.
[25:59] SPEAKER_02: Your business will never go under.
[26:01] SPEAKER_02: When your ship, when your business has benefited
[26:05] SPEAKER_02: and part of the DNA of your business
[26:07] SPEAKER_02: has to look after the people in need,
[26:11] SPEAKER_02: the most vulnerable, that ship,
[26:13] SPEAKER_02: that business will never shut down.
[26:15] SPEAKER_02: And I truly believe that.
[26:17] SPEAKER_02: I know it doesn't make sense
[26:18] SPEAKER_02: in business, bottom line and PNL
[26:20] SPEAKER_02: and cash flow summary and all the business rules
[26:24] SPEAKER_02: that everybody believes in,
[26:25] SPEAKER_02: the pen and papers and all that,
[26:27] SPEAKER_02: except she's that we learn and they have to ask,
[26:30] SPEAKER_02: it doesn't, but trust me it does.
[26:33] SPEAKER_02: The bottom line is people are doing me a favor
[26:36] SPEAKER_02: when they accept us to cook for them.
[26:39] SPEAKER_02: The medical doctor, the frontline heroes
[26:42] SPEAKER_02: are doing me a favor to accept my 50% discount to them
[26:45] SPEAKER_02: and allowing me to send meal to the hospital
[26:48] SPEAKER_02: someday that we actually dedicate some hospital
[26:50] SPEAKER_02: and send them meals, right?
[26:53] SPEAKER_02: So we're very honored and proud to show
[26:55] SPEAKER_02: and the most important move we just did,
[26:58] SPEAKER_02: like despite the fact some of the businesses
[27:00] SPEAKER_02: were hearing, you know, the scriptors
[27:02] SPEAKER_02: had increased the price, the other company
[27:04] SPEAKER_02: saying that they were, we asked it dropped our prices.
[27:07] SPEAKER_02: We actually made a crazy move on discounting our menu
[27:11] SPEAKER_02: and we launched something called there to care.
[27:15] SPEAKER_02: So you need to be daring to care about people.
[27:17] SPEAKER_02: And in the time where our sales went down,
[27:20] SPEAKER_02: 60, 70% because half of our location
[27:23] SPEAKER_02: are shut down due to where they are located
[27:26] SPEAKER_02: in malls and hotel and sorry in the airport.
[27:29] SPEAKER_02: Despite that fact, what we did,
[27:32] SPEAKER_02: we decided to actually launch them in because we,
[27:35] SPEAKER_02: as Paramount, understand what cash flow mean to people.
[27:38] SPEAKER_02: We know as well as anyone that the next few months
[27:41] SPEAKER_02: are going to be very challenging for Canadian family.
[27:44] SPEAKER_02: And their dollars need to be stretching so far.
[27:48] SPEAKER_02: And that's why we were very proud to announce
[27:51] SPEAKER_02: our new pricing, the $7.99 became $5.
[27:55] SPEAKER_02: And the $18.17 and $19.99 became $15.
[28:00] SPEAKER_02: So we make sure we actually have available
[28:03] SPEAKER_02: great food, fresh food, clean food
[28:08] SPEAKER_02: to Canadian family and help from our side.
[28:11] SPEAKER_02: And it was very difficult to convince our French ID
[28:14] SPEAKER_02: why at the time where our sales has decimated,
[28:18] SPEAKER_02: we're gonna do this.
[28:19] SPEAKER_02: And let me tell you, again, it's a profitable thing
[28:22] SPEAKER_02: to do because people are supporting,
[28:24] SPEAKER_02: people are understanding why we're doing it.
[28:27] SPEAKER_02: We only gonna win.
[28:29] SPEAKER_02: It goes down to one thing.
[28:31] SPEAKER_02: If you think winning is alone,
[28:33] SPEAKER_02: we expect one way and a type of action.
[28:38] SPEAKER_02: At Paramount, we believe we only win if we win together.
[28:42] SPEAKER_00: Wonderful.
[28:43] SPEAKER_00: And you found a way to innovate.
[28:44] SPEAKER_00: So a lot of restaurants are closing down or have closed down.
[28:51] SPEAKER_00: You found a way to be able to give back to the community
[28:54] SPEAKER_00: as you always have, but also be able to survive
[28:58] SPEAKER_00: in the current situation that we're at as an entrepreneur.
[29:03] SPEAKER_00: So you're putting the good together
[29:05] SPEAKER_00: together with still maintaining a business
[29:08] SPEAKER_00: and a healthy business.
[29:09] SPEAKER_02: Well, let me tell you something.
[29:11] SPEAKER_02: There is a place, there is an old restaurant in Beirut
[29:14] SPEAKER_02: called Barbar and any Lebanese will laugh or smile on
[29:17] SPEAKER_02: they hear the story.
[29:19] SPEAKER_02: And this place, the militia that you used to be fighting
[29:22] SPEAKER_02: in Lebanon during the Civil War,
[29:24] SPEAKER_02: they used to ask to have our slots that the first part
[29:30] SPEAKER_02: of the war come eat it from 5 p.m. to 7.
[29:33] SPEAKER_02: The other part come from 8 to 10,
[29:36] SPEAKER_02: but they're both gonna eat theirs
[29:37] SPEAKER_02: because that was the only restaurant during the war,
[29:40] SPEAKER_02: the bombs, the bullets flying, he stayed open.
[29:44] SPEAKER_02: And we grew up with that name in our mind.
[29:48] SPEAKER_02: We grew up loyal to that name of a place.
[29:51] SPEAKER_02: And when people ask me,
[29:52] SPEAKER_02: why are you open with those minimal tail?
[29:55] SPEAKER_02: I say, I want my name to be engraved in Canadians mind
[29:59] SPEAKER_02: that I am that asserted that they'd open to serve them
[30:02] SPEAKER_02: when they wanted food.
[30:03] SPEAKER_02: And I truly do.
[30:05] SPEAKER_02: I love this country.
[30:06] SPEAKER_02: I love it people.
[30:08] SPEAKER_02: It breaks my heart seeing Canadian dying.
[30:11] SPEAKER_02: It does to create break my heart.
[30:13] SPEAKER_02: It made me cry so many nights,
[30:14] SPEAKER_02: understanding that there is a lot of lies
[30:18] SPEAKER_02: that is being tortured and by being home
[30:22] SPEAKER_02: and seeing their family members or the flower
[30:26] SPEAKER_02: that people put in front of the senior home
[30:29] SPEAKER_02: that a lot 10 Canadians couple days ago yesterday
[30:33] SPEAKER_02: it broke my heart, those children that can't go see their
[30:37] SPEAKER_02: parents and they know that there's only the wall between them
[30:41] SPEAKER_02: and their life parents and those life parents
[30:43] SPEAKER_02: like could die any moment, it broke my heart.
[30:47] SPEAKER_02: Honestly, it does.
[30:48] SPEAKER_02: And I want to be that company.
[30:50] SPEAKER_02: I want to be that company that will say,
[30:52] SPEAKER_02: we're beside you, it's not about profit.
[30:55] SPEAKER_02: There is no restaurant making any profit these days.
[30:58] SPEAKER_02: It's about the spending besides the community
[31:00] SPEAKER_02: that supported you when you were doing well.
[31:03] SPEAKER_02: It's all given, taken life.
[31:05] SPEAKER_02: I think in this period, it will show who we really are as people,
[31:09] SPEAKER_02: as a human.
[31:11] SPEAKER_02: And I hope Paramount will really show that real Paramount,
[31:14] SPEAKER_02: DNA and personality to people.
[31:17] SPEAKER_02: And to all Canadians, I want to say something,
[31:20] SPEAKER_02: you have made magic.
[31:21] SPEAKER_02: I'm one of the things that Canadians have made.
[31:24] SPEAKER_02: You made me who I am.
[31:27] SPEAKER_02: I know it's stuff out there for you.
[31:29] SPEAKER_02: I know it's a very difficult time for you.
[31:31] SPEAKER_02: I know it's very difficult to see the light.
[31:34] SPEAKER_02: But trust me, the light will come.
[31:36] SPEAKER_02: I lived in bunkers, dark bunkers.
[31:38] SPEAKER_02: We're living in homes.
[31:40] SPEAKER_02: I had to be couple of times.
[31:43] SPEAKER_02: Stuck in places separated from my family.
[31:46] SPEAKER_02: We are with our children at home.
[31:49] SPEAKER_02: Don't lose hope.
[31:50] SPEAKER_02: Canada will always be a place of hope for everyone
[31:52] SPEAKER_02: and will continue to be.
[31:54] SPEAKER_02: So the light will come.
[31:55] SPEAKER_02: And like my dad used to say, when we came up with the bunker,
[31:58] SPEAKER_02: I can't wait to build more businesses.
[32:01] SPEAKER_02: I can't wait to build more homes.
[32:02] SPEAKER_02: He used to build homes.
[32:04] SPEAKER_02: I can't wait to hire back my team.
[32:07] SPEAKER_02: And build this country again.
[32:09] SPEAKER_02: And from here, I tell you, you have made people's life better.
[32:13] SPEAKER_02: You have made me who I am today.
[32:14] SPEAKER_02: And I'm very appreciative.
[32:17] SPEAKER_02: Believe in this beautiful country.
[32:20] SPEAKER_02: I do.
[32:21] SPEAKER_02: We'll come back. We'll come out of it.
[32:23] SPEAKER_02: And the light will come.
[32:25] SPEAKER_02: New day will come and we will greet it together.
[32:28] SPEAKER_02: We'll celebrate it.
[32:30] SPEAKER_02: We'll open the doors of our houses.
[32:31] SPEAKER_02: We'll walk out.
[32:32] SPEAKER_02: Give the hug to our neighbors.
[32:35] SPEAKER_02: It will feel better.
[32:36] SPEAKER_02: We'll feel better. We'll appreciate it better.
[32:38] SPEAKER_02: We'll come out to rest.
[32:40] SPEAKER_02: And we'll celebrate more when we are there.
[32:43] SPEAKER_02: Because now we know the value of the people
[32:45] SPEAKER_02: that we surround ourselves with.
[32:47] SPEAKER_02: So stay positive.
[32:50] SPEAKER_02: Like Corona virus will go.
[32:51] SPEAKER_02: But what should remain is us understanding how important
[32:55] SPEAKER_02: is our social solidarity and cohesion.
[32:59] SPEAKER_02: And how important it is for us
[33:01] SPEAKER_02: to have a friend surrounding us.
[33:03] SPEAKER_02: And how important for us to really help the people most in need
[33:08] SPEAKER_02: and never forget them.
[33:10] SPEAKER_02: And make them part of our celebration
[33:13] SPEAKER_02: when we do well in life.
[33:14] SPEAKER_02: Like when you do a good business deal,
[33:17] SPEAKER_02: take a percentage of it and give it back to the community.
[33:19] SPEAKER_02: Because we just realized that we need to build more community
[33:23] SPEAKER_02: within our communities.
[33:24] SPEAKER_02: And we need to more appreciate it to have a community.
[33:28] SPEAKER_02: And that's very important.
[33:30] SPEAKER_00: Muhammad, I love your message.
[33:33] SPEAKER_00: I love everything about you as an entrepreneur.
[33:37] SPEAKER_00: And you're a true example of an immigrant
[33:40] SPEAKER_00: that came to Canada, made a successful story for himself.
[33:46] SPEAKER_00: But it is also now giving back and lending a hand
[33:50] SPEAKER_00: to other immigrants and other Canadians in the process.
[33:54] SPEAKER_00: So Muhammad, thank you for your time.
[33:58] SPEAKER_00: Thank you all the best and keep giving back just like as you do now.
[34:03] SPEAKER_02: Thank you very much.
[34:05] SPEAKER_02: And I'm sure I see what you do as well.
[34:07] SPEAKER_02: We're very proud of you.
[34:08] SPEAKER_02: And thank you.
[34:09] SPEAKER_02: I always say we become why we celebrate.
[34:11] SPEAKER_02: And when we celebrate success, we basically telling other people
[34:15] SPEAKER_02: to succeed, push them to succeed.
[34:18] SPEAKER_02: I'm telling you all will come out of this and always
[34:21] SPEAKER_02: Canada did a place of hope for the rest of the world.
[34:25] SPEAKER_02: And hopefully we will all.
[34:26] SPEAKER_02: And we will only do it when we do it together.
[34:29] SPEAKER_02: Thank you again.
[34:30] SPEAKER_02: Have a great day and be safe.
[34:32] SPEAKER_02: Please.
[34:33] SPEAKER_00: I'm Karekira and Andrea Sasson, your Toronto's host
[34:36] SPEAKER_00: for Canada's podcast, Nations Member of the International Network.