Two heads are better than one

A chamber of commerce is an organization charged with promotion and representation of business in a given area. Sometimes, those interests can be very similar – such is the case with the St. Laurent and West Island chambers. The two chambers of commerce share the Montreal/Dorval Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport, aeronautic giants (Bombardier) and pharmaceutical giants (Pfizer in the West Island and Wyeth in St. Laurent). "Given our geographic proximity, we occasionally combine forces on certain activities. The principal objective of a chamber of commerce is networking, so we have included more activities for members to expand their networks. Working with the St. Laurent Chamber of Commerce allows us to expand the territory and to help businesses get to know one another better when they otherwise might have not been able to do that," said West Island chamber director general Louise Hamelin.

Will this occasional collaboration mushroom into a full-blown merger of the two chambers? Both directors categorically denied the possibility, however. "There's a collaboration there, certainly, but it's only for two annual meetings, maybe a little more. There's no desire whatsoever to merge the two chambers of commerce," said St. Laurent chamber director general Robert Petit.

In brief, it seems the two chambers are content to keep sharing ideas and knowledge that benefit both chambers, but will not be merging anytime soon.