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If Quebec is the only jurisdiction in North America that orders factories to close, Proulx said, it will put the province’s manufacturing industry — which employs 450,000 people and accounts for 14 per cent of Quebec’s GDP — at a severe disadvantage.
“If we’re shutting down and consumers continue to buy, as they did during the last shutdown, they’ll be buying from Amazon and they’ll be buying from other manufacturers who can actually continue to produce,” she said.
“The market share that these foreign companies are gaining is there to stay; it’s very difficult for Quebec manufacturers to win them back.”
Why do we want to shut down manufacturing now? What numbers are supporting this?
Veronique Proulx, CEO, Manufacturiers et Exportateurs du Quebec
Proulx said manufacturers have put measures in place to prevent the transmission of COVID-19, adding that while there may be room for stricter measures in some parts of the industry, she said hasn’t seen the data that supports shutting down the whole sector.
“Why do we want to shut down manufacturing now? What numbers are supporting this?” she said.
Quebec reported 2,508 new cases of COVID-19 Tuesday and 62 more deaths attributed to the novel coronavirus, including 17 that occurred in the past 24 hours. Health officials said hospitalizations rose by 23, to 1,317 — the highest number of patients in hospital with COVID-19 since late May — and 194 people were in intensive care, a rise of six.
The province says 2,529 doses of vaccine were administered Monday, for a total of 32,763. The test positivity rate in Quebec was 11 per cent on Jan. 3, the most recent date for which data is available, with 20,716 tests conducted.
Quebec has reported 215,358 cases of COVID-19 and 8,441 deaths linked to the virus since the beginning of the pandemic.
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This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Facebook and Canadian Press News Fellowship.
