Small businesses face major disruptions due to construction: CFIB

Construction projects have severely disrupted thousands of small businesses in Canada in the past five years, resulting in a drop in sales and revenue, a new report says.

The report by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, released on Tuesday, says traffic congestion, dust, debris and noise were the most common problems experienced by the majority of small firms due to construction. The CFIB has 97,000 members.

"We're not asking governments to stop upgrading roads or repairing sewers. Public infrastructure projects are important, but when they drag on for years, it's difficult for businesses to survive in the meantime," Emily Boston, senior policy analyst at CFIB and report co-author, said in a news release on Tuesday.

"A large portion of construction costs can be avoided with better planning, execution, and by giving more consideration to the reality of local businesses." 

According to the report, 68 per cent of CFIB members surveyed in May and June said their business operations have been disrupted by local construction projects in the past five years, a 27% increase since 2018.

Forty-nine per cent of respondents said customers and staff had trouble accessing their business or finding parking, 23 per cent reported high levels of stress and 33 per cent said they didn't receive enough notice. 

Twenty-two per cent of businesses surveyed said the disruptions have impacted their operations in a major way. On average, the report said small businesses suffered through 508 days of construction-related disruptions over the past five years.  

The report said surveyed businesses reported a loss of 22 per cent of revenue on average during the most significant construction project that affected them in the past five years and spent about $10,000 in extra expenses such as cleaning and repairs. 

Matthew Lee, owner of Louie Coffee on King Street W. near Dufferin Street, said construction has been going on outside his shop since February as the city replaces a water main and the TTC installs new streetcar tracks. He said it's hard to predict on any given day how many customers are going to be able to come by. 

The project is set to wrap up in November, but Lee says it's impacted the amount of customers and money he's able to generate.

"It's just more disruptive during the weekdays when you have all the construction going on, obviously. It's about a lot of noise. It's noticeably worse when it starts to rain. We see big splashes of water coming over the sidewalk, so it's a little inconvenient for people walking by," Lee said.

"Sometimes, there's sudden closures where they had to do sudden excavating or what not, so it closes off the sidewalk. So access is a little bit limited sometimes."

Nishan Para, owner of Liberty Eats, on Jefferson Avenue near King Street W., said he has been facing similar problems. He said sales have dropped nearly 50 per cent because of construction.

"They move the streetcar to the other side and then people can't walk in," he said.