Labour Market Monitor - Human Resources and Skills Development ...

GENERAL EVENTS
Labour Market Monitor
Montréal–Laval
August 2012
The Economic Regions of Montréal and Laval are composed of municipalities located on the island of Montréal and the
island of Laval. According to the Institut de la statistique du Québec, these two regions had a combined population of 2.3
million in 2011, which represents 60% of the population of the Montréal Census Metropolitan Area, and more than 70% of
its economic activity.
A labour conflict is currently taking place in the Quebec hotel industry and affecting more than 500 workers
in four Montréal establishments. Demands touch primarily on salary and pension issues. Approximately
30 hotels in the province must renew their collective agreements for some 5,500 employees. (Le Devoir,
August 28; Argent, August 29)
LABOUR MARKET NEWS BY INDUSTRY
Construction
Real estate developer Samcon has announced the Muz condo project in downtown Montréal. Three buildings
totalling 153 units will be built in the borough of Ville-Marie. The developer has yet to unveil the project cost. If
all goes as planned, delivery of the first units will take place in September 2014. (Constructo, August 28)
Xstrata Nickel Raglan Mine, a mining business, has announced the construction of a new business centre in
Laval. According to the company, this investment will bring together its operational support staff in order to
improve team efficiency. The firm has yet to unveil the cost of the work, but the official opening of the centre is
scheduled for March 2013. (Lavaltechnopole.com, August 30)
Manufacturing
AJ Walter, a British firm specializing in aircraft repair, has announced signing of a purchase agreement to
resume operations of an Aveos division in Montréal following its bankruptcy. The business has entered into
negotiations with restructuring officials from Aveos to finalize agreement details. If all goes as planned, AJ
Walter will be hiring 100 workers beginning next September and gradually hire up to 300 employees. (La
Presse, August 2)

Labour Market Monitor - Montréal–Laval, August 2012 Page 2
Fifty-some workers from Laval’s Mapei ceramic tile adhesives plant were laid off following a labour conflict
that has been ongoing since May 4. According to the union, part of the production is being transferred to
another company. Plant workers have been without a collective agreement since December 13, 2011.
(Newswire, August 29)
Retail trade
The Jean-Coutu Group (PJC) has announced it will open the 400 th pharmacy of its network in Montréal. This
investment, whose value is estimated at $1.1M, will create 40-some jobs. (Marketwire, August 21)
Footwear company FX Lasalle has announced the closure of its Montréal-area stores following
re-organization. All boutiques in Canada will be closing in September after a decision was made in late 2011 by
its parent store, Brown Shoes. Four stores in the Montréal region have already closed their doors: Carrefour
Laval, Galeries d’Anjou, Fairview Pointe-Claire, and downtown Montréal. (La Presse, August 14)
Health care and social assistance
The Maisonneuve-Rosemont hospital has announced it will be expanding and renovating its emergency care
unit as part of a project estimated at $65M. The first two phases of this three-phase project require the
construction of an additional storey on the adjacent pavilion to relocate the laboratories and the upgrading of
the ambulance bay. The final phase involves erecting a four-storey building that will be home to, among others,
emergency services. If all goes as planned, opening will take place in December 2015. (Constructo, August 16)
Note: In preparing this document, the authors have taken care to provide clients with labour market
information that is timely and accurate at the time of publication. Since labour market conditions are dynamic,
some of the information presented here may have changed since this document was published. Users are
encouraged to also refer to other sources for additional information on the local economy and labour market.
Information contained in this document does not necessarily reflect official policies of Human Resources and
Skills Development Canada.
Prepared by: Labour Market Analysis Directorate (LMAD), Montréal–Laval, Quebec
For further information, please contact the LMI team at: lmi-imt@workingincanada.gc.ca
For information on the Labour Force Survey, please visit the Statistics Canada Web site at: www.statcan.gc.ca