2021 Was A ‘Tough’ Year For Local Businesses: Chamber CEO

It was another “tough” year for the local business community, according to the CEO of the Saint John Region Chamber.

David Duplisea said there is no doubt that some businesses will not be able to survive the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

But Duplisea said other businesses have found ways to innovate in order to “keep the lights on.”

“Some in the restaurant sector were able to pivot and develop new models and they’re not doing too badly there,” Duplisea said in a year-end interview.

“So there are pockets of businesses that are keeping their head above water and have managed to pivot and do well, but it’s obviously not unanimous.”

Duplisea said the Chamber has promoted several programs to help businesses, such as Lift Up Local.

The campaign encouraged people to support local businesses or risk having them close.

“We kind of used a theme which some people said was a little bit aggressive, the ‘use it or lose it,’ but that’s where we are, that’s the reality of it,” said Duplisea.

Local businesses are the first to step up to the plate when needed, he said, and now it is our turn to do the same for them.

Duplisea said supporting local businesses in the community will be key as we enter another year of the pandemic.

He said while businesses are not out of the woods just yet, some of the indicators are pointing in the right direction.

“The real estate market has been up, we’ve seen a lot of investment in the region from that perspective, and that’s always a good sign when the housing market is good and people are looking at investing in the region,” said Duplisea.

“We see development going on on a lot of multi-units. That speaks well for volumes of people coming into the region.”

Duplisea said the Chamber will continue to lobby governments for relief programs to help businesses stay afloat in the months ahead.

Moving forward, Duplisea believes rapid testing and getting people vaccinated will be key to bringing the pandemic under control and getting the economy back on track.

The Saint John Region Chamber has been distributing rapid tests for free to businesses with fewer than 300 employees.

Duplisea said the program, which was put on hold temporarily by the province on Jan. 4, has seen great uptake.

“We’ve had well over 1,000 businesses participate in that on a regular basis,” he said.

Availability of workers is also going to be a key challenge going forward, he said, particularly in the hospitality and restaurant industries, along with health care.

He is optimistic that two recent announcements will help with that: the federal government’s decision to make the Atlantic Immigration Pilot Program permanent, and an agreement between the province and Ottawa for $10 a day child care.