{"id":636528,"date":"2026-04-29T14:03:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T14:03:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/636528\/"},"modified":"2026-04-29T14:03:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T14:03:13","slug":"business-owner-wants-24-7-work-to-fix-ste-catherine-st","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/636528\/","title":{"rendered":"Business owner wants 24\/7 work to fix Ste-Catherine St."},"content":{"rendered":"

A Chinese restaurant in downtown Montreal is struggling to survive, and the owner blames years of roadwork on nearby Ste-Catherine St. W. for driving customers away.<\/p>\n

Feigang Fei, who owns the restaurant Cuisine Aunt Dai, says the city should treat the construction project as a priority, running shifts 24\/7 to reopen the downtown artery as fast as possible, including on Sundays and holidays.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhatever they pay, they can pay extra. You have to treat it like it\u2019s urgent,\u201d he said in an interview. On Sunday, Fei posted a photo on X of the nearby construction site sitting empty on a warm and sunny day, which he said would\u2019ve been a perfect opportunity to make progress on the project.<\/p>\n

\u201c(Business owners) still make their living working on Sundays, and at the same time you\u2019re blocking them. It doesn\u2019t sound fair,\u201d he pleaded.<\/p>\n

They have been working on this pit for more than 10 days and on a sunny Sunday today no one is working on the project. Nearby they dug up St-Catherine street for months and no one is working on it. The business and people are severely impacted by the closure. Nobody is hurrying\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/n1oKNztxh6<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Feigang Fei (@feigangfei) April 26, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Construction on Ste-Catherine between Peel and St-Marc Sts. began in August 2025 and was scheduled to continue until 2030 until Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada announced in February that the project will finish one year early<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Asked if the city would consider extending working hours and paying construction workers overtime for the Ste-Catherine project, city councillor Leslie Roberts said laws make it impossible.<\/p>\n

\u201cI asked that exact question when the administration took over. We were meeting with the services, and I said, \u2018Can we do nighttime? Can we work weekends? The rules are clear. We can\u2019t,\u201d he said in an interview.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis weekend would have been a perfect opportunity, but unfortunately, the rules are, laws are clear. The reason why it\u2019s because people live there, so you can\u2019t go around the clock, because it would be disturbing the neighbourhood.\u201d<\/p>\n

A municipal bylaw on \u201cnuisance caused by construction\u201d prohibits any work to be carried on between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m., Sundays, and public holidays.<\/p>\n

But for Fei, the impact of the construction outweighs the noise disturbance. The pavement is torn wide open across the width of the street, leaving behind a pit of exposed pipes, wires and dust. People walking down Ste-Catherine are forced to snake through wire fences.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not attractive at all,\u201d Fei said.<\/p>\n

\"Feigang\u201cWhatever they pay, they can pay extra. You have to treat it like it\u2019s urgent,\u201d says restaurant owner Feigang Fei. John Mahoney \/ Montreal Gazette<\/p>\n

A server at Petit Poisson Bistro on Ste-Catherine St. said he walks down a completely different street to get to his job.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven when I walk to work, it\u2019s getting pretty frustrating,\u201d said F\u00e9lix Paul St-Pierre. \u201cI can\u2019t really imagine what it\u2019s like for the actual customers,\u201d he said, noting the restaurant has been much quieter since the construction began.<\/p>\n

Provincial labour laws also limit the number of hours that can be worked by employees to five days a week, and Roberts said paying overtime would cost taxpayers more. \u201cWe don\u2019t have the money,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Hiring additional contractors is not an option either, Roberts said, since the contracts have already been awarded.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel for the guy. I feel for everybody who\u2019s affected,\u201d Roberts said, offering to show Fei how to apply for relief for the city, which he acknowledged can be overwhelming.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Profile<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tLeora Schertzer is a reporter at the Montreal Gazette who thrives on the chase. Whether it\u2019s producing a documentary about sewage or investigating a Nazi gold scandal, it\u2019s the novelty and adrenaline that keep her in this challenging industry. Send her tips at lschertzer@postmedia.com.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\tEditor\u2019s Picks\t<\/p>\n

\t\t