The Minister of the Economy, Pierre Fitzgibbon, said he was more concerned about the consequences of the closure of the Port of Montreal than the effects of the pandemic.
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“I am, I think, more worried about the closure of the port than about the pandemic. The Port of Montreal is the nerve center of Quebec, ”the Minister of the Economy, Pierre Fitzgibbon, replied yesterday to a question from Carlos Leitao, who is the official opposition spokesperson for the economy.
- On this subject, listen to Mario Dumont and Benoit Dutrizac:
Government Minister Legault added that he had had several discussions with the federal government on this subject. Jean Boulet, of the Ministry of Labor, is also following this file closely.
“It is clear that we cannot let this war continue,” he added.
The fate of containers
Meanwhile, the Association of Maritime Employers (AEM) and the Union of longshoremen agreed yesterday on the release of 116 of the 477 large containers that the employers said on Wednesday essential to have to move.
Union members have authorized the movement of containers of dangerous and COVID-19-related goods. The unloading of a ship, filled with sugar, was also authorized.
Discussions are continuing, however, on the fate of the remaining 361 containers, a large proportion of which are said to contain refrigerated food.
Essential, the wine?
Tuesday, the union representative of longshoremen, Michel Murray, warned that any merchandise could not claim as essential merchandise. The Dollarama articles, Apple MacBook Airs, SAQ wine imports, he gave as examples, could not be considered essential.
In addition, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business maintains that SMEs, already weakened by the pandemic, are particularly affected by the strike by longshoremen.
In Quebec, according to its latest probe, 70% of them would therefore ask for more involvement from Ottawa to settle this conflict.
– With the collaboration of Martin Jolicoeur
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