Montreal to offer $5K for businesses affected by construction

The City of Montreal said it wants to help out those business owners forced to watch their sales numbers drop while orange cones line the streets in front of their shops and jackhammer noises ring through the air.

Montreal's executive committee wants to set up a $5,000 subsidy program for businesses whose operations are or were affected by a municipal construction site, according to a news release from the city.

"Shops are an integral part of the vitality of our neighbourhoods. Our administration is committed to supporting its merchants during the construction period, which is why it was essential for our team to find a way to do so better," said Plateau-Mont-Royal borough mayor Luc Rabouin, who also holds the economic and commercial development file. "The goal is to simplify the lives of merchants, to offer a better user experience to businesses and to allow them to adapt their business practices from the start of a construction project."

The subsidy is in addition financial assistance program launched in 2019 where businesses can get up to $40,000 per year based on decreases in profits due to work sites.

The new program is a lump sum and not connected to a loss in profits. It requires that businesses be in an area where construction is ongoing for at least six months.

The program is scheduled to begin at the beginning of summer when construction picks up dramatically.

Business owners who want to apply for the program can fill out a form on the city's site.

"With the new lump-sum program, affected SMEs will have access to direct financial assistance without any paperwork," said Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses Quebec vice president Francois Vincent. "In addition, we must acknowledge the improvement of the assistance program, which has been made administratively simpler and more accessible. These are concrete actions that will make a big difference for merchants who are often distraught and disadvantaged by the impacts of roadwork."