Montreal looks to 'change culture' to attract more businesses

Montreal is notorious for beinga difficult place in whichto run a smallbusiness, withroad construction,high tax rates and reams of red tape complicating an already challenging pursuit.

Last year, it was ranked as the leastentrepreneurialurban centre in the countryby the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.

The Coderre administration says it's committed to improving matters and following up on the recommendations of a working group released on Monday.

• User fees for water and garbage pickup, Montreal advisors recommend
• Montreal auditor general has 'serious concerns' about how city is run

Pierre Desrochers, president of the city's executive committee, said part of the goal is to change the culture within the municipalbureaucracy.

"There's a change that needs to be done, andyes, we're committed to making it happen," Desrochers told Daybreak on Tuesday.

"It's a difficult task, and we've working at it since 2014, and yes, we need to harmonize and make it more business-friendly so that when people want to come and invest in Montreal, we're more open to them."

The working group,createdinFebruary,was given the task offinding ways to makethe city more attractive for businesses.

It came up with 17recommendations,including:

• compensating merchants who lose business because of construction work on city streets.
• charging businesses andresidents according to how much water they use andhow much garbage they throw out.
• making Montreal'sbureaucracy easier to navigate.

Desrochers said the city willstudy the recommendations, addingthat apay-as-you-go system forgarbage and water use could enablethe city to ease the tax burden on businesses.

Montreal, along withSaint John andCharlottetown, taxesnew business investment more than all othermajor Canadian cities, according to a 2015 report by the C.D.HoweInstitute.

Are user fees the answer?

At least one small business owner was skeptical of the city's plans.

Sam Papoutsis, the owner of Mile End Kicks, with two locationson ParcAvenue, doesn't thinkuser fees will lead to any savings for business owners.

"I'd like to see the recommendations that have been done by this commission acted upon before any pay-as-you-go water service or garbage system is implemented," he said.

Papoutsis said taxes have "gone up five to six times the amount he was originally paying" when he opened for business in 2009.

He also said he'd like the city to be more forgiving when it comes to business initiatives such assidewalk terrassesandpromotional signage.

"They are not business friendly," Papoutsis said of the city's bureaucrats."They are actually anti-business, I feel."