The two-week old Port of Montreal strike is having a negative impact on many small businesses that are already struggling to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic, says the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB).
Nationally, one in five small business owners say the strike will hurt their company, but this number rises to 37% within Quebec.
“COVID-19 has hit small businesses very hard and they are now faced with yet another blow,” said Corinne Pohlmann, senior vice president of national affairs at CFIB.
“With no end in sight, the strike is hampering the restart of their business activities at a critical time, particularly in Quebec and Ontario. We are hearing about blocked goods, delivery delays, additional costs, production slow-downs, dissatisfied customers, employees who are working fewer hours.
“It’s time for the government to get involved and end the dispute. The longer it continues, the more it will hurt the Canadian economy.”
Businesses in the wholesale (39%), manufacturing (28%), retail (28%) and agriculture (26%) sectors are the hardest hit by the strike, the organization said.
According to the data collected, almost half of Canadian small business owners (46%) are calling on the federal government to prioritize putting an end to the Port of Montreal strike as soon as possible, and this number is even higher in the regions most affected by the dispute.
In Quebec, 70% of small businesses are asking Ottawa to take the lead in resolving the conflict, which continues to cripple port operations.
“The Port of Montreal is a critical part of Canada’s infrastructure not only for many SMEs but also for the economy of Eastern Canada,” said Pohlmann. “As we have said, and as we will continue to say, the federal government needs to use all the resources at its disposal to bring an end to this dispute as soon as possible. The time to act is now.”
Additional information is available at www.cfib.ca
