Governments put $1.275M into Montreal plan
Targeted aid for 14 major industries
• Canada, Quebec and Montreal are plowing $1.275 million into a new effort aimed at helping the city’s economy shake off the COVID-19 blues.
Called Relançons MTL, or Restart MTL, the initiative aims to produce a series of “action plans” and industry- specific conferences this fall, culminating with a citywide forum in November. Decision- makers will be encouraged to share know-how and identify concrete actions to speed up the recovery, officials said Tuesday in Montreal.
“What we are announcing today is a collective effort,” Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal president Michel Leblanc said at a news conference. “We’re not delivering the recovery. We’re delivering intelligence to make sure the recovery is successful.”
Fourteen industries will be targeted by the effort. They include major employers such as aerospace, aluminum, retail, construction and infrastructure, “creative industries” such as video games, along with life sciences and tourism.
While Montreal’s economy has clawed back 96 per cent of the jobs that existed here as of February, “the rebound is uneven,” Leblanc said. “It varies by sector.”
The federal government is providing the bulk of the money, with Economic Development Minister Mélanie Joly announcing a $ 750,000 contribution Tuesday. Quebec is investing $ 425,000 in the project and Montreal is chipping in an additional $100,000 — on top of the $22 million that Mayor Valérie Plante said the city has already injected into the local economy since the health crisis erupted in March.
Tuesday’s announcement is intended to serve as “a kickoff for Montreal’s recovery,” Joly said at the news conference. “It’s the spark needed to mobilize everyone and ensure that fall and winter turn out fine.”
As one of the epicentres of the pandemic in Canada, Montreal has suffered major economic pain over the last six months. Though some employees have begun to return, office towers still operate far below capacity, while both foreign students and tourists are staying away as
Canada’s international borders remain closed to discretionary travellers.
“Our priority is simple: we have to maintain jobs and to create jobs,” Joly said. “There is a real threat of people losing their jobs. Montreal needs solutions, it needs actions, it needs support.”
City Hall is doing what it can to revive the local economy. About one- quarter of municipal employees have now returned to their places of work, Plante said Tuesday. She added that the city has also decided to renew leases on the downtown buildings it currently occupies, but did not elaborate.
Asked about the prospect of a second wave of contaminations, officials who spoke at the event were quick to point out few COVID - 19 cases of late have been attributed to workplace incidents.
“Companies and employers are showing great maturity and discipline,” Leblanc said.
“If the situation deteriorates we will face up to it, but right now everybody is doing their job very well, with all the rigour required.”
Added Plante: “The last thing I want, and the last thing we all want, is to see the Montreal economy get hit a second time. So we fully intend to apply the lessons we learned and continue to support the efforts of the provincial government in fighting COVID-19.”