Outaouais businesses hope to bounce back with eased restrictions

Outaouais businesses are relieved they'll soon be able to reopen but some are unsure if they'll be able to bounce back.

Quebec Premier François Legault announced that non-essential businesses, hair salons and museums would be allowed to open across the province starting Feb. 8, but the 8 p.m. curfew is staying. Gyms and restaurants are staying closed.

Marc Fortin, president of the Quebec division of the Retail Council of Canada, said restrictions on the types of goods allowed to be sold have been difficult for hardware and big-box retailers which stayed open during the lockdown, but it's been worse for non-essential businesses forced to close their doors.

He described the closures as "complete destruction financially for those that are not open." While online and curbside sales have helped, Fortin said it's not enough to replace in-person business. Between 10 to 14 per cent of small businesses are at risk of collapsing.

Fortin pointed to the number of Quebec-based fashion retailers that are teetering, including Aldo, Tristan and Reitmans and said the province needs to do more than hand out loans in order for those retailers to survive.

"When you talk fashion, when you talk shoes, jewelry, a lot of the head offices and a lot of the creative is here in Quebec so it's [a] nice ecosystem that we have in Quebec," Fortin said.

"We need make to sure that we save it and maintain it because there's going to be an after-COVID and we want businesses to be there."

'Everybody needs a haircut'

The Association of Quebec Hair Salons said it's confident the industry would rebound.
 
"Everybody needs a haircut, so it's going to come back," said Salvatore Falci with the association. "It's one thing [for men] because they need the hair cut, but women with the roots? They're going to go haywire," Falci said with a laugh.

Stéphane Bisson with the Gatineau Chamber of Commerce said the changes are "more than welcome" and that reopening certain businesses goes a long way for the "well-being of the population but also the well-being of these operator[s]."

Bisson added that the Outaouais has faced particular challenges being part of the National Capital Region but having different rules compared to Ottawa neighbours. 

"We need to adjust the confinement and the restriction that we have in Gatineau as well with Ottawa in order to see the region as a global area instead of two separate entities," he said.