Comings and goings in Quebec businesses will be reduced to their strict minimum at the start of the year, and more than usual due to the pandemic context.
Due to the latest government restrictions, all businesses and boutiques will be closed on Sundays for three weeks, except for convenience stores, gas stations and pharmacies.
This means that most businesses will remain closed throughout the weekend. Most retail stores close earlier Friday at 5 p.m. The doors of these establishments will remain closed on Saturday for New Year’s Day.
Essential businesses (grocery stores, convenience stores, pharmacies) will remain open, but may see their opening hours modified during statutory holidays. Grocery stores will however be closed.
Pharmacies can remain open all New Year’s Day, but cannot employ more than four people in the commercial section.
The SAQs remain open on Friday, December 31, but will close a few hours earlier. All branches will not reopen until the following Monday.
On the other hand, small food stores, such as convenience stores and small SAQs, can open without staff restrictions during normal hours.
Public markets, such as Atwater, Jean-Talon and Maisonneuve markets, will be closed on the 1ster and January 2. On New Year’s Eve, the closing will be brought up to 5 p.m.
Banks, post offices and other businesses will also remain closed this Saturday. In addition, bars, taverns, casinos, cinemas, theaters, fitness centers and spas – with the exception of personal care – are closed in accordance with health restrictions.
Slow motion services
Everything will slow down, including some transportation services. STM buses will have a reduced frequency of use on the 1ster January. In Quebec, the RTC does not plan to deviate from the usual hours since the public holiday falls on a Saturday. It is advisable to monitor departure times beforehand.
The permit counters will be closed until January 4 inclusively in Montreal, and until January 3 in Quebec. The usual schedule of municipal collections (waste, recycling and food residues) will be maintained in the two cities.
The ecocentres will be closed until January 3 in Montreal. The service counters of the Municipal Court of Montreal will be closed until January 4.
Most libraries in Quebec will also be closed on December 31, 1er and January 2.
The catalog of possible activities has shrunk due to sanitary rules. The indoor facilities of Espace pour la vie, namely the Biodome, the Biosphere, the greenhouses of the Botanical Garden and the Rio Tinto Alcan Planetarium, are closed until further notice. However, the exterior gardens of the Botanical Garden remain accessible.
Besides outdoor activities, museums are still an excellent option. The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts will be closed on New Year’s Day, but open the next day from noon. On the other hand, the Museum of Contemporary Art will close its doors on Friday at 2 p.m. and will not reopen until January 4. In the capital, the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec remained open every day.