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Employer council urges Quebec to open as many businesses as possible

Quebec’s main federation of employers says it will have a concrete list of proposals for the government by the end of next week on how to reopen the provincial economy.

Yves-Thomas Dorval, president of the Conseil du patronat du Quebec, said today the business community is concerned authorities want to restart the economy sector by sector, as opposed to taking a broader approach.

Dorval says all businesses that are able to protect their workers and limit the spread of COVID-19 among their customers should be able to begin operating at the same time, to avoid the most disruption.

Quebec Premier Francois Legault said Wednesday statistics on how the health-care system is managing the pandemic are encouraging and his government is preparing to relaunch the economy in the next days or weeks.

But Legault said a major condition businesses will have to meet to resume operating is being able to ensure their employees and clients can respect the public health guideline of staying at least two metres apart at all times.

Dorval says businesses that cannot do that should still be allowed to open if they can equip their workers with protective gear and ensure all customers maintain physical distancing.