The head of Montreal-based fashion retailers Dynamite and Garage says he is considering moving his businesses to the United States amid concerns that Quebec’s rigid immigration policies pose a huge risk to his operations. Andrew Lutfy, the CEO of Groupe Dynamite Inc., says his company celebrated an IPO about nine months ago after years of success in the American markets — but adds that a lot of talent he hires to work in places like California and Texas are working in Quebec on temporary visas that last an average of 13 months, which he says is “completely unacceptable.” “Today, being a public company, I have many shareholders, many stakeholders and I need to be responsible to everyone. It’s no longer a family business and fundamentally we need to make changes on these immigration laws such that we have predictability to be able to bring in senior, key talent that ultimately is going to serve those markets,” he told CTV News on Wednesday. When asked if senior Canadian executives can take on those jobs, he said it’s not always that simple, and that learned experience in those markets south of the border is key to his companies’ success. He said only about 10 to 15 per cent of his business is done inside Quebec, with the rest happening outside the province. “If you are an export business and the majority of your sales are outside of Quebec, then you should have an opportunity to be able to sit with the Quebec government and to be able to work out an immigration plan that gives you certainty for the next 10 years,” he said. “So we can have certainty as to which people we can bring in without complexity, without fanfare, we can continue making the right investments for the next 10 years. But we need predictability … we need an agreement with the Quebec government.” His potential move to the U.S. was first reported by La Presse, which said that Lutfy, who is also the owner of Royalmount mall, had sent a letter to the government complaining that Montreal, the economic heart of Quebec, was excluded from a recently announced pilot project that would see select stores extend their opening hours on weekends. Announced last July, the pilot will run for one year in Laval, Gatineau, and Saint-Georges. He told the newspaper that the government’s misstep means millions of dollars in lost sales opportunities and that his letter has fallen on deaf ears. On Wednesday in Quebec City, the Liberal Party slammed the government for not responding. The party’s parliamentary leader, Marwah Rizqy, said “it’s not normal” for Quebec entrepreneurs who have employees in Quebec, who support the local economy, who pay taxes in Quebec and can’t “get the ear of their own premier or anyone in the ministry.” In a press scrum, Immigration Minister Jean-François Roberge defended the province’s immigration policies, which he says are based on the province’s overstretched capacity to welcome newcomers. “We will continue to welcome new talent. Let there be no misunderstanding about our intentions — we will continue to welcome people to Quebec every year. People who are fluent in the language, people who come to contribute to Quebec — that will continue,” he told reporters. “The urgency right now is that Ottawa, which must help us, must take responsibility and reduce the number of temporary workers in Montreal and elsewhere.” With files from CTV News’ Matt Gilmour.
