Montreal setting up $5K subsidy program for businesses affected by construction
Posted May 15, 2023 12:34 pm.
Last Updated May 15, 2023 12:36 pm.
The City of Montreal wants to help business owners dealing with road work and other construction.
They’re setting up a $5,000 subsidy program for those whose operations are, or were, affected by a municipal construction site.
This is in addition to a financial assistance program where businesses can get up to $40,000 a year based on decreases in profits due to work sites. That program was setup in 2019.
The new program will be a lump sum and not connected to a loss in profits.
A businesses must be in an area where construction is ongoing for at least six months.
“Businesses are an integral part of the vitality of our neighbourhoods. Our administration is committed to supporting its merchants during the construction period and that is why it was fundamental for our team to find a way to do so better,” said Luc Rabouin, responsible for economic and commercial development, knowledge, innovation and design on the Executive Committee of the City of Montreal, in a press release.
“The objective 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 program is set to start at the beginning of summer – and owners can apply via an online form on the city’s site.
“With the new lump-sum program, affected SMEs will have access to direct financial assistance with no paperwork. In addition, we must recognize the improvement of the assistance program, which is undergoing administrative streamlining and a broadening of its access. These are concrete actions that will make a big difference for merchants who are often distraught and at a disadvantage when faced with the impacts of roadwork. On this issue, the City of Montreal is a model for major Canadian cities and we hope that many will follow its example,” said François Vincent, Vice-President for Quebec at the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB).
