Quebec encourages its civil servants to buy local and avoid Amazon

With President Trump’s tariff threats still looming over the Canadian economy, the Legault government is tightening the purchasing rules for government departments and agencies in order to encourage public servants to buy locally and avoid online platforms such as Amazon.

For example, a government employee who wants to place an order for office supplies via a platform that does not have an outlet in Quebec will have to obtain authorization from his or her manager. The authorization will then have to be sent to the Treasury Board.

“Public bodies will also have to adopt internal guidelines for purchasing from Quebec,” says the press release issued on Monday.

“Some online purchasing platforms sell very few, if any, Quebec goods. Nor do they encourage public bodies to buy from regional suppliers,” explains Sonia LeBel, Chair of the Treasury Board, in the same press release.

This new directive affects 400 organizations, including “ministries as well as institutions in the health and social services, education and higher education networks.”

On Jan. 22, Amazon announced the closure of its seven warehouses in Quebec. These closures resulted in the loss of 1,900 direct jobs in Quebec, as well as 2,600 indirect jobs with subcontracted delivery firms. The CSN severely criticized Amazon’s decision.

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“These changes do not apply to companies that operate such websites and that have a retail outlet in Quebec or when their main activity is the sale of Quebec goods,” the government added.

Quebec has also indicated that it wants to improve its strategy for awarding public contracts “to include criteria that could give greater preference to local businesses, such as carbon footprint or social responsibility.”

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews