Over the past year, Martin Belzile has been employed by the Côte-des-Neiges/Notre-Dame-de-Grâce CDEC as a researcher to carry out a survey among the most important enterprises in the area.

The objective was to learn about and to measure the impact and consequences of the 2008 economic crisis on those businesses. A working group made up of business service representatives from Emploi-Québec, the Ministère du Développement économique, de l'Innovation et de l'Exportation and the FormaPlus training mutual compiled information and measures available for businesses.
A sample of 200 businesses was selected on the basis of their sales figures, and a written invitation to participate in the research project was sent to their senior managers. This was followed up by phone calls to confirm appointments with our researcher, and the meetings lasted an average of 15 minutes. The information gathered during these meetings was classified using reference sheets, which were transmitted to the above-mentioned partners. An information-sharing process during meetings of the working committee was also envisaged.
Our researcher sent invitations to 241 businesses and of these, 51 managers agreed to a meeting. A total of 34 businesses were referred to our partners for information on the support services available through the various programs and training opportunities.
The responses provided by the managers reveal that, during the recession, most enterprises kept tight control of their production and operating costs and several decided to delay investment projects to the next year. Half of the respondents noted a drop in their sales figures, with minimal job losses. However, almost a third of the businesses decided to put off hiring new employees. The economic slowdown was very pronounced for exporting enterprises because of the drop in demand and the high value of the Canadian dollar. The slowdown had an impact on both customers and suppliers.
Most respondents believe that the economic situation will improve in the coming year, because 75% of them anticipate growth in their sales figures.