The owner of a record shop in Montreal took a financial hit after 15 months of road construction made getting to his business a challenge for customers.

Then, Denis Lalonde’s landlord mentioned a city program that offers monetary support to merchants affected by major infrastructure projects.

It was welcome news because his shop, Le Pick-Up on des Pins Avenue, was facing closure without some sort of boost.

But then he took a look at the application process and his hopes fell. 

“I understand some of it,” he said, but the rest was incomprehensible. “I am not the only one who thinks so. All the other merchants on the street think so too.”

Lalonde ended up finding another way to save his business — getting his hands on a big collection of popular vinyls that moved quickly and brought him back into the black after the construction project ended.

However, he’s still eligible for getting some of his losses reimbursed. He just can’t get though the paperwork.

The city of Montreal knows Lalonde isn’t alone, and it is working to make the financial support program more accessible to merchants who take a hard hit during long-lasting construction projects.

The city is simplifying the application while trying to build awareness about the program, said Luc Rabouin, the executive committee member in charge of economic and business development.

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