The Covid recession caused more business closures than the 2008 financial panic, Statistics Canada said yesterday. Data confirmed the phenomenon of “zombie businesses” whose owners never filed for bankruptcy but simply walked away.

“The term ‘business exit’ refers to the permanent closure of a business and an exit from the marketplace,” said a StatsCan report A Profile Of Corporate Exits And Insolvencies. “A business owner may abandon the business or walk away without a formal process,” it added. “A business exit can happen voluntarily.”

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