West Island roundtable talk

The West Island’s workforce is getting older and older and businesses are going to have to adapt to the demographic shift as this generation’s managers and directors become next generation’s retirees, West Island business and community leaders said at a roundtable discussion held at The Chronicle’s offices in Dollard des Ormeaux.

The Chronicle, in conjunction with sister newspaper Cites Nouvelles, organized the roundtable in order to gauge the economic heartbeat of the West Island as well as to get an idea of what needs to be improved for the region to begin to reach its full potential both socially and economically.

Invited guests included West Island Community Shares executive director Caroline Tison, Conseil Local de Developpement de l’Ouest de l’Ile (CLD) chief Gerry Arsenault, Commission scolaire Marguerite Bourgeoys chairman Diane Lamarche-Venne and West Island of Montreal Chamber of Commerce director Louise Hamelin. Chronicle publisher Wilfred Roussel moderated the discussion, and the concern became very real indeed when the conversation turned to the aging of the population and the workforce.

“I’m going to lose 60 per cent of my staff over the next five years,� Lamarche-Venne said.

The West Island’s workforce will see a slightly smaller — but still large enough for worry — drop of about 40 per cent over the next half-decade. Those jobs will have to be filled, and there won’t be anyone in the West Island to take them, Arsenault lamented.

“It’s an aging group, and not just the workforce,� he said. “Residents who are getting older need services, and residences for seniors who have independence, as well as residences for those who don’t have (independence). Right now, we don’t really have the capacity to care for these people.�

Tison, whose organization oversees grants to community groups that look after vulnerable population, agreed, saying there isn’t enough affordable housing in the West Island for middle-income families to settle in, especially families with only one income.

“Are the homes being built in the West Island territory right now feasible for single-income families and single parents? No, they’re not. They’re being built to accommodate double-income families, and with so many families relying on a single parent to bring in money, it’s really tough for a single-parent family to afford that home. How does that family stay in the community? Do we have the housing for that, I don’t think so. Development has had a heavy accent on condos, and those meet the needs of some aging people, boomers who are getting older and have raised their families, and empty-nesters. It’s not always an option for a family, especially one with a single parent,� she said.

Arsenault agreed, hinting the West Island’s middle class is shrinking — leaving it with potentially two diverse standards of living.

“The housing problem is an issue in the West Island, especially in terms of labour. Not qualified in the classic sense, with professional certificates, but experienced labour that knows how to do the job and can produce results. These people can’t afford to live here, and with a severe lack of public transit, the employees and the businesses who rely on those employees all run into trouble,� he said.

For instance, he said, Baie d’Urfé is home to 4,000 residents, including 2,200 adults, but another 4,000 people come to the town every day to work in its industrial park, located off Highway 40 with pedestrian access from the train station on the Montreal/Rigaud line.

“With the way shifts are spaced out, it’s almost impossible for any workers to get on a train home, so they have to rely on a bus system that is clearly not equipped to meet their needs. These people don’t necessarily have a car to get them back and forth from work and some live downtown, some live in St. Laurent. Literally, the stick in the wheels is the treatment of late-shift workers, who have no way to get to work on time and leave in a timely manner. These people are frustrated,� Arsenault said.

Lamarche-Venne agreed that the network is flawed and added that the West Island is the only area on her board’s territory where children have to be bussed to school. Everywhere else, kids either walk or use public transit.

“A kid who’s 16 doesn’t need a school bus to get them downtown on a Saturday night, because they are motivated to get there,� she said, adding more public transit equals less stress on the environment.

“It’s about sustainable development and it’s certainly better for the environment,� she said.

Chamber of Commerce director Hamelin said “a lack of public transit is a major obstacle in the attractions of new businesses to the territory.�