Projet Montreal mayoral candidate Valerie Plante is promising business owners tax relief.

She spent Monday morning talking to people who run establishments on Bishop St., where the STM has been doing construction for more than a year on a new ventilation system that is expected to be finished in 2020.

Local merchants say business has been down by about 40 per cent since the work began.

“We've lost $70,000 in the first six months of this year,” said Mike Cloghesy, who co-owns Mexican restaurant Mesa 14.

Legal efforts to receive compensation from the city so far have failed, and merchants recently argued in court that they should receive some compensation based on the duration of the project.

“We're in court right now with the city. We haven't been offered anything in terms of money, aid or even a visit,” said Cloghesy.

Plante said Monday there is a better way to handle these situations.

"We need to give a tax break to businesses that have a big construction site that's a huge impact. The question I want to raise today is if the administration, the past administration was able to invest $24 million in the Formula E saying it would be good for businesses, how come we cannot find money to support our small businesses, here downtown and elsewhere in the city," said Plante.

Plante said the city has a $7.5 million program to support small businesses, but it isn’t working.

“It's mostly to improve their facades, but that's not what they want. They don't want to improve their façade; they want to make sure they can cover their bases, so they don't have to close down. That's the bottom line, that's what they want and we have to hear them,” she said.

Until last month, the city of Montreal was not legally allowed to give businesses affected by construction a tax break.

In September, the National Assembly passed Bill 121 that gives Montreal more power over its finances, including the ability to grant tax breaks.

Mayor Denis Coderre said last month he had been fighting for this power, and would use it to help the business owners on Bishop St. as long as they dropped their legal fight for compensation.

He said Monday that helping merchants is part of his plan, especially now that Montreal has metropolis status.

“How we can help them retroactively -- because there's a situation, but I think we will be able to do so,” he said.

In September the National Assembly passed Bill 121 that gives Montreal more power over its finances, including the ability to grant tax breaks.

Coderre said last month he had been fighting for this power, and would use it to help the business owners on Bishop St. as long as they dropped their legal fight for compensation.