On the eve of the provincial elections, the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal (CCMM) is presenting a dozen demands on Thursday for the next Quebec government. The priority, according to the organization that represents the interests of the Montreal business community, is to work twice as hard to alleviate the labor shortage, in particular by raising the immigration thresholds.
“It takes a firm commitment on the immigration file,” explains Michel Leblanc, CEO of the Chamber, in an interview with the To have to. “Nobody is against virtue, that is to say the training of young people, the continuous training or even the retention of experienced workers. But where there is a major debate that is not completed, it is on the part of immigration as a source of labor for our economy and our businesses, ”he says.
According to a survey conducted by the CCMM among its members, nearly 80% of businesses in Greater Montreal are affected by the labor shortage. The repercussions are multiple: from pressure on wages (72%) to loss of contracts (58%), slowdown in production (44%), and reduction in the quality of services (42% ).
“It is an economic emergency to which the parties must respond,” underlines Michel Leblanc. According to the Chamber’s sounding, the Montreal business community believes that the Liberal Party of Quebec would be the most capable of solving the labor shortage (at 33%, against 20% for the Coalition avenir Québec) and to manage issues of immigration and access to foreign workers (at 53%, against 7% for the CAQ).
Have a strategy
The Board of Trade also expects stronger measures from the next government in terms of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. According to the CCMM survey, there is a very strong consensus (87%) within the business community on the fact that it is necessary to prioritize “investment in the fight [contre les] climate change and the deployment of strategies to help companies accelerate the shift towards a green economy”.
The organization also highlights the importance for Quebec of adopting a strategy related to hydrogen. “There is an economic opportunity, and we want to understand the positions of the different parties on this file. We see that there is a reflection in Canada, in the United States, in Europe… So it is important to have one in Quebec too”, indicates Michel Leblanc, who underlines that there are “foreign investors who wish to develop projects here”. Earlier this week, the federal government and Germany signed an agreement to export Canadian green hydrogen.
Reduce the tax burden
Another measure called for by the Montreal business community: to lighten the tax burden for businesses and taxpayers. “The perpetual challenge when you have very heavy taxation, compared to other regions, is a challenge of attracting and retaining mobile talent,” explains Mr. Leblanc. “We have a State which is in good control of its public finances and which has room for maneuver to do so. »
On the tax front, the Chamber also pleads for the Act respecting municipal taxation to exclude equipment from property tax – this law allows, since August 2021, Quebec municipalities to tax the equipment of technology companies.
“This increase in the tax burden on businesses is not only unacceptable, but it is completely counterproductive: it reduces the competitive position of our technology companies, and in addition it penalizes those who modernize and invest in the automation of their processes. when we are in the throes of a labor shortage,” reads the Chamber’s brief.
Among its other demands, the CCMM has also been asking Quebec City for a long time to release investments to expand the Montreal convention center. It also asks the parties to position themselves on the strategy to adopt to ensure the realization of the REM de l’Est project, as well as concrete commitments to ensure the commissioning of the extension of the blue line within the announced deadlines.