Citing surveys of its members, the CFIB says at least half of them would not easily survive a second wave of lockdown of the kind that was imposed in Quebec last spring.
This exit from the CFIB comes as a group of 75 experts in health, economics and social sciences ask the Legault government to consider the possibility to completely confine Quebec from December 20 to January 3, to try to stem the spread of COVID-19 and thereby the congestion of the Quebec health system.
They believe this scenario is better since the economy is already slowing down and many people, including students, are on leave, rather than being faced with that same prospect later in the winter.
A scenario that would however be catastrophic for thousands of SMEs already grappling with significant financial difficulties, underlines the Canadian Federation of Independent Business in a letter sent to the Quebec Minister of Health, Christian Dubé.
<q data-attributes="{"lang":{"value":"fr","label":"Français"},"value":{"html":"Selon notre Tableau de suivi de la santé des PME, seulement 30% of Quebec SMEs have normal revenues – the lowest rate in the country – while 35% lose money every time they open their doors “,” text “:” According to our SME Health Tracking Table, only 30% of Quebec SMEs have normal revenues – the lowest rate in the country – while 35% lose money every time they open their doors “}}” lang = “fr”>According to our SME Health Tracking Table, only 30% of Quebec SMEs have normal revenues – the lowest rate in the country – while 35% lose money every time they open their doors., writes François Vincent, Quebec vice-president at the CFIB.
Quebec SMEs are currently very vulnerable: a second lockdown would be fatal for half of them. […] The addition of restrictions will delay the economic recovery of SMEs and could force many others to go out of business.
SMEs are making significant efforts to comply with public health requirements at their own expense, says CFIB.
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According to the Federation, which represents 110,000 businesses across the country, including 24,000 in Quebec, the Legault government must instead treat all businesses fairly and prevent small business closures from being an advantage for big box stores and web giants
.
The state must, in addition to maintaining commercial activities in person, consult the community before imposing new restrictions and especially justify any new restrictions with public health data, recommends the CFIB.
The organization is also demanding full compensation for small businesses affected by restrictions. For the CFIB, it would be unfair to penalize traders once again as business owners have strictly followed and in many cases even exceeded public health demands to reduce the spread of the coronavirus.
If we want our SMEs to continue to be the source of life in our neighborhoods, we must at all costs trust their owners
, pleads François Vincent.
Remember that after being closed for several weeks in the spring, restaurants, bars, gyms, cinemas, theaters and other sporting and cultural businesses were closed in the region of Montreal, Quebec as well as in all the other red areas of the province.
These establishments will have to remain closed at least until January 11, according to the Quebec government.
No containment in sight for the moment
Asked at a press briefing Monday afternoon on the possibility of imposing general confinement on Quebecers during the Holidays, the Minister of Health, Christian Dubé, ruled out this possibility for the moment.
It is already very severe what we asked Quebecers several months ago
, he remarked, explaining the difficult balance he must maintain between health restrictions and the mental health of the population.
<q data-attributes="{"lang":{"value":"fr","label":"Français"},"value":{"html":"On en a discuté pas mal durant le week-end avec la santé publique, mais aussi avec deux autres partenaires:Public Security and the Ministry of Labor, explained Christian Dubé. There are many people who make us realize that we should first make sure that the rules that are in place are followed. “,” Text “:” We discussed this quite a bit over the weekend with the public health, but also with two other partners: Public Security and the Ministry of Labor, explained Christian Dubé. There are many people who make us realize that we should first make sure that the rules that are in place are followed. “}}” Lang = “fr”>We discussed it quite a bit over the weekend with public health, but also with two other partners: Public Security and the Ministry of Labor, explained Christian Dubé. There are many people who make us realize that we should first ensure that the rules that are in place are followed.
Rather than confining the province, Minister Dubé preferred to opt immediately for asking the Health, Public Safety and Labor authorities to provide a second effort on the ground to ensure compliance with the regulations. rules already in place.
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