City's compensation for businesses impacted by construction not nearly enough for some

It was hard for restaurateur Elio Schiavi to keep his composure as he described everything he's lost since a 42-month construction marathon started on Bishop Street.

On Wednesday, the City of Montreal announced it was launching a new compensation program to help businesses financially impacted by construction projects — up to a maximum of $30,000 per year.

But for people like Schiavi, the owner of Ferrari Restaurant, that amount can't curb the negative impact of construction, which for his business, will continue until 2020.

Work started in October 2016 on the stretch between de Maisonneuve Boulevard and Ste-Catherine Street as the STM is building a new ventilation station for the metro.

The 75-year-old says that, beyond the constant drain on his revenue, the construction is dramatically injuring his ability to sell his restaurant and retire.

Now, he feels he doesn't have enough working years left in him to recuperate financially.

"I lost everything," he said.

He said that normally the summer revenue would help carry the restaurant through the winter, but that won't be the case this year since they're already in the red.

"To be fair, we should think of these guys too," he said.

The executive committee member in charge of economic and commercial development and government relations, Robert Beaudry, said that there weren't enough funds for that.

"We have to respect the capacity of the city of Montreal to pay," Schiavi said.

'Better than nothing'

Merchants on St-Hubert Street have been operating in a construction zone since early July and for them, the compensation signals relief.

Francine Gallant, the manager the 64-year-old restaurant Le Roi du Smoked Meat said they had to cut back on staff after construction started and that it's been hard to get deliveries.

"$30,000 is good. Better than nothing, like in the past," she said. "We're losing more than that, but for us, it's not bad."

Mike Parente, the director general of the SDC Plaza St-Hubert, a local merchants association, called the new program "a step in the right direction."

He said the amount will be sufficient for some, but not for others. Still, he's optimistic.

With files from Ainslie Maclellan and Radio-Canada