The last unionized Renaud-Bray branch in Quebec City is closing its doors

CTV FILE

The last unionized Renaud-Bray branch in Quebec City is officially closing its doors on Saturday, while union members – who have been on strike for 18 months – are nevertheless holding a final day of picketing to denounce the employer’s actions and the Quebec government’s inaction on the issue.

Members of the Syndicat des travailleuses et travailleurs de Librairie Renaud-Bray–CSN were informed last May of the branch’s closure, while these employees had been on an indefinite general strike since Dec. 6.

“There is disappointment, but no one doubts that we did the right thing, because our pay conditions were unsuitable for everyone,” explains the union’s president, Jimmy Demers. “We weren’t asking for the moon; we were just asking for $1 more than the minimum wage (...) and a pay scale that reflected our employees’ expertise.”

In total, around 40 people have lost their jobs following the closure of the branch, and that of Les Galeries, which closed a few months earlier.

Demers condemns the Quebec government’s inaction on this matter in the face of Blaise Renaud, a “tyrannical boss,” whose company was found guilty last February by the Administrative Labour Tribunal (TAT) of negotiating in bad faith, obstructing trade union activities and using strike-breakers.

“We would have liked to see real consequences when he broke the law,” said Demers. “He can break the law with complete impunity.”

“This dispute highlights a political choice. For several years now, the government has been favouring employers’ demands while weakening the counterbalancing forces that enable workers to defend their rights,” said Katia Lelièvre, vice-president of the Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN), in a news release. “The result is clear: employers found guilty by the courts, such as Blaise Renaud, can step up their anti-union manoeuvres and flout workers’ rights without fear of any real consequences.”

Demers also condemns Blaise Renaud’s growing monopoly on culture in Quebec and calls on the public to boycott his businesses.

“This is not an owner who has the well-being of Quebec’s cultural life at heart,” said Demers. “I would therefore urge Quebecers to wake up and stop giving money to someone who couldn’t care less about Quebec’s culture.”

Neither the Ministry of Labour nor Renaud-Bray had responded to questions from The Canadian Press at the time of writing.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on June 27, 2026.