Canada calls for review of ‘business relationship’ with Amazon after Quebec closures


The federal industry minister is calling for a review of Ottawa’s “business relationship” with Amazon after the company said it will close its seven warehouses in Quebec.

“You will have me fighting to ensure that this does not go unanswered in Canada,” said Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne.

The closure will eliminate 1,700 permanent and 250 temporary jobs. It comes after workers at an Amazon warehouse in the Montreal suburb of Laval, Quebec. managed to unionize in May.

Amazon rejects the suggestion that the closures are related to a unionization push in the province and says it is about providing efficient and profitable services to customers.

He said in a statement Friday that he is “happy to discuss this matter further with Minister Champagne and other officials in Quebec and Canada.”

Champagne has not said how the federal government might respond.

Ottawa has ongoing contracts with Amazon and the federal government website lists more than 200 contracts signed since 2020. They range in value from about $10,000 to $22.7 million.

“I’m not going to tell you in advance what I’m going to do. That’s called basic negotiation,” he said. “Let them reconsider, let them figure out what we could do as a review.”

SEE | Staff reactions to the closure of Amazon facilities in Quebec:

Employees surprised by Amazon’s decision to close operations in Quebec

Amazon has announced that it will close all of its operations in Quebec, resulting in almost 2,000 people losing their jobs. The decision has some questioning the timing of the closure because one of the facilities had recently unionized.

Champagne said he spoke with the CEO of Amazon Canada and sent a letter to Amazon CEO Andy Jassy telling him it’s not too late to reconsider. He posted the letter online Thursday night.

“We’re on our feet. I can tell you they were pretty shocked,” he said. “I think we had over a million views yesterday, so they’re not used to that kind of response from Canada, and I’m glad we did.”

Champagne said the company was not transparent about the extent of the layoffs in the conversation with Amazon, adding that he only got half the story.

“It’s also about treating Canada with respect,” he said. “I’m even less happy than yesterday.”

SEE | Will consumers abandon Amazon after it leaves Quebec?

Threats to boycott Amazon are gaining momentum online. But could it really happen?

Following Amazon’s decision to close its facilities in Quebec, some have vowed to stop shopping with the company in protest, return recent purchases and cancel their accounts.



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