State of the situation in Québec

In the past few weeks, the RCC Québec team has been in continuous discussions with their various government contacts to ensure retail remains open in the province, avoiding the tough measures executed in other Canadian provinces. This last week, the discussions have been particularly intense to save the remaining of this holiday season.

It is clear that the government is concerned about the growth of cases and will announce tomorrow afternoon a series of containment measures. The only information that seems certain, but still subject to change, is that the new measures will begin on the 26^th of December.

Throughout our exchanges, we highlighted a number of subjects, including retail safety. The high level of compliance and enforcement of health measures by retail, and the importance of maintaining economic activity related to the retail sector, especially during the holiday season were in the forefront. From a prevention perspective, we have also worked intensively with the media to support our cause as well as with the owners of shopping malls so that they are as rigorous as you are in managing social distancing measures.

In the event of a re-closure of non-essential businesses, we have demanded that the curbside -pickup in all its forms be allowed. We also made a strong plea for containment to be time-limited with predictable beginning and end. Moreover, our position in the case of this new containment is the complete maintenance of the food supply so as not to create food insecurity in the population.

In closing, we also demanded simple, fast and effective financial support measures including support measures for non-essential businesses that would like to receive assistance with e-commerce.

We will keep you informed as soon as we have new information, in the meantime do not hesitate and contact Marc Fortin or Jean-Francois Belleau.