Business circles welcome with optimism the deconfinement plan presented Tuesday by the Legault government.
On February 21, the queues should be greatly reduced in front of many stores, rejoices the Quebec Retail Trade Council (CQCD), since they will be able to reopen at 100% of their capacity.
The general manager, Jean-Guy Côté, hopes that this measure will increase the number of customers who will visit the stores, even though he says he has noticed a decrease in traffic in many of them.
On the other hand, the CQCD is disappointed not to have any news of a possible withdrawal of the vaccine passport. Passport verification requires more human resources even as the labor shortage rages.
“The second thing is dealing with more difficult customers. There have been several events over the past two weeks, people have expressed their frustration and had to be escorted to the door,” lamented Mr. Côté.
On February 28, bars and casinos will be able to reopen at 50%, which reassures the president of the Nouvelle Association des bars du Québec.
“We will be able to recall employees and suppliers. That gives us almost three weeks from now until the reopening, ”said Pierre Thibault, even if his members would have preferred to be able to reopen for the Super Bowl on February 13. He now says he wants bars to benefit from the provincial business assistance program during the month of April, since bars and restaurants will not open at 100% until March 14.
The Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal (CCMM), for its part, is delighted with the end of compulsory teleworking on February 28. Companies will thus be able to plan the return of employees in hybrid mode, which is not done by snapping their fingers.
“It’s going to be good for companies that have been saying for weeks that they have productivity issues, the integration of new employees, the development of new proposals and creative teamwork,” said Michel Leblanc, president and CEO of the CCMM.
For the vitality of the city center
The Montreal Centre-Ville organization is optimistic that many of these measures will allow downtown Montreal to quickly come back to life.
“Our main demand was predictability. It was important to reassure our partners for the major events that are coming to Montreal, to restore confidence to downtown investors, to demonstrate that there is a game plan,” explained General Manager Glenn Castanheira.
Until recently, the situation was particularly catastrophic for many hoteliers across the province. In recent weeks, they have experienced cancellations of congresses and business events scheduled for the spring, due to the uncertainty that hung over the deconfinement, according to the Association Hôtellerie Québec (AHQ).
At the Center Sheraton Montreal, the occupancy rate was anemic in January, at 8%, whereas it is normally over 40% during this month. “Nobody wants to visit a city that has major restrictions in restaurants, theaters and businesses,” said Bertil Fabre, general manager of the Sheraton Center.
At the end of the afternoon, the AHQ said it was relieved to be confirmed by the Ministry of Tourism that events of 500 participants or more would be permitted as of February 21 in rooms at 50% capacity, and that halls could be 100% full by mid-March.