Not even two weeks after Amazon Canada officially announced they will be building a distribution centre in Lachine, Premier François Legault appears open to another concept that would take it one step further – an Amazon ‘Quebec’ for Nationalist shoppers. Last Wednesday November 20th, he said he had concerns over the absence of ‘made-in-Quebec products on the Amazon site‘ as only American products are available on it. We have the products. We have customers who are nationalists, who like to buy Quebecois, so perhaps it’s time we started to look closely at having such a structure, he told reporters.
Pierre Fitzgibbon, Quebec’s Economy Minister said he felt such a platform ‘would better serve nationalist shoppers in the province’ after they both attended a meeting with Amazon Canada officials and that ‘the government might invest in such a platform if it allowed Quebec suppliers to gain more presence on Amazon… we’re innovative in Quebec, we can do it, why not?’.
In the meantime, the Lachine distribution centre, a first in Quebec and the 12th in Canada, is expected to be open by the end of 2020 and will employ over 300 people who will receive a full benefit package. They will be working in a ‘safe and innovative’ environment that involves picking, packing and shipping items for customers. We’re excited about our growth in Montreal, which gives us the opportunity to better serve our customers across Quebec. The Greater Montreal area has a talented workforce and we are committed to providing the area with great job opportunities that have comprehensive pay and benefits, said the Vice-President of Amazon Canada Alexandre Gagnon in a press release. Whether Amazon would consider moving forward with of a ‘Made In Quebec’ version of their online business remains to be seen.
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