The Québec government has ordered the closing as of Wednesday, March 25 at 00:01 until April 13, 2020 of all non-essential stores and services. It should be noted that all businesses can always engage in teleworking and e-commerce.

Essential health care services

Essential health care services, including:
  • all professions in the health and social services network;
  • emergency pre-hospitalization services (ambulance attendants and dispatchers);
  • private professional resource offices (health network);
  • drugstores;
  • dentists (emergency consultations);
  • optometry (emergency services);
  • intermediate resources and private seniors’ homes;
  • homecare services for seniors, people with disabilities and vulnerable individuals;
  • specialized shelter services (conjugal violence, homelessness, drug addiction, and so on);
  • 811 and 911 call centre staff;
  • Héma-Québec;
  • Transplant Québec;
  • the Red Cross;
  • the Institut national de santé publique du Québec (INSPQ);
  • the Régie de l’assurance maladie du Québec(RAMQ);
  • the production, procurement and distribution of medications, vaccines and pharmaceutical goods and medical equipment, including laboratories and research centres;
  • veterinaries;
  • animal shelters.

Public security services

Public security services, including:
  • police services, including municipal and Sûreté du Québec emergency call dispatching;
  • fire departments;
  • correctional services;
  • special constables;
  • security agencies;
  • the Ministère de la Sécurité publique (civil protection and coroners);
  • forest firefighters and all professionals who support civil protection operations;
  • courthouses (staff needed to maintain minimal operations);
  • communications services.

Essential government

Essential government services:
  • childcare workers and emergency childcare service support staff;
  • online higher education;
  • suppliers of goods and services for disadvantage people;
  • food inspection;
  • garbage collection;
  • government air services;
  • suicide prevention centres;
  • the customer communications centre in the Ministère du Travail, de l’Emploi et de la Solidarité sociale;
  • assistance services for the victims of conjugal violence;
  • income security and social security;
  • staff that the municipalities deem essential (administration, public works, and so on).

Maintenance and operation of strategic infrastructure

Maintenance and operation of strategic infrastructure, including:
  • the production, procurement, transmission and distribution of energy (electricity, fossil energies);
  • the maintenance in good operating condition of essential public infrastructure such as bridges, municipal buildings, and so on;
  • construction, maintenance and the maintenance of essential activities related to public and private infrastructure that may pose a threat to public health and safety (private dams, the management of hazardous and radioactive materials, on so on);
  • health services and supply chain, for example, a water treatment plant;
  • computer resources (security, maintenance, urgent needs related to the situation);
  • data centres.

Essential manufacturing activities

Essential manufacturing activities, including:
  • food production, such as farming enterprises, food processing, beverages, slaughterhouses, market garden production;
  • the production of inputs necessary for essential sectors;
  • the manufacture of medical instruments;
  • the manufacture of chemical products;
  • the manufacture of health products;
  • the manufacture of microelectronics components;
  • industrial complexes, especially the aluminum sector, and mining complexes must reduce to a minimum their activities;
  • manufacture and maintenance for the defence sector.

Essential stores

Essential stores, including:
  • grocery stores and other food stores;
  • drugstores;
  • convenience stores;
  • megastores outside shopping centres that offer grocery, drugstore or hardware services;
  • products for farms such as mechanical equipment, fertilizer and so on;
  • the Société des alcools du Québec (SAQ) and the Société québécoise du cannabis (SQDC);
  • funeral homes, crematoria and cemeteries;
  • restaurants (takeout counters or delivery only);
  • hotels;
  • drycleaners and laundromats;
  • medical and orthopaedic supply stores;
  • pet food and supplies stores;
  • movers;
  • work equipment (safety and protection).

Media and telecommunications

Media and telecommunications:
  • telecommunications (network and equipment);
  • cable operators;
  • printers (solely for printing newspapers);
  • national media;
  • local media.

Banking and financial services

Banking and financial services, including:
  • financial services (financial institutions, ATMs and other payment methods);
  • insurance services (telephone service);
  • payroll services;
  • accounting services;
  • services related to financial markets.

Construction sector

Construction sector:
  • construction firms for emergency dispatching or security purposes;
  • electricians, plumbers and other trades for emergency services;
  • rental equipment.

Building maintenance services

Building maintenance services, including:
  • janitorial work;
  • building-maintenance firms (elevators, ventilation, alarms, and so on).

Essential transportation and logistics services

Essential transportation and logistics services:
  • mass transit and passenger transportation;
  • ports and airports;
  • locomotive and aircraft maintenance services and essential aeronautical services (air transport);
  • procurement and distribution of foodstuffs, grocery stores and convenience stores;
  • transportation, warehousing and distribution of essential goods;
  • snow removal and maintenance of functional road links;
  • service stations and mechanical repair of motor vehicles, trucks and specialized equipment for industries deemed essential;
  • taxis, paratransit;
  • postal services, message handling and parcel delivery.

Enterprises not listed

If the activity of your enterprise is not listed above but you believe that it is essential or is an entity that provides essential services or functions, you can request the designation of an essential enterprise. A telephone line will be established shortly. The stores and services covered by this list must ensure that the people in their establishments comply as far as possible with the principles of social distancing.