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To promote the development and economic diversification of the regions of Quebec and achieve the outcomes from its four program activities as described in Section 2, the Agency uses and makes available to its clientele a vast array of tools and programs which enable it to intervene with respect to regional development. This range of intervention tools consists of guidance and advice, information and referrals, and financial support.
These tools, used alone or together by the Agency, contribute in particular to:
Guidance and advice
For the Agency, guidance and advice involve helping entrepreneurs and local and regional development agents design and develop policy, a strategy, a business plan, an action plan or a project, or helping them plan a financial package, identify funding sources, and so on. At the Agency, advice or guidance provided by a staff member are services delivered to an entrepreneur or local development agent on an individual basis, geared to his specific situation. Provision of advice is done as needed. A guidance approach constitutes systematic, sustained, prolonged assistance, at various stages along the client’s path toward design and implementation of his project.
Information and referrals
The Agency produces timely information so entrepreneurs and local and regional development agents may reach informed decisions, and it makes this information more easily accessible and usable. This also involves referring them to resources likely to provide a timely, appropriate response to their specific needs.
In this regard, the Agency works with the Canada Business Service Centres operating in Quebec, namely, Info entreprises in Montréal and Ressources Entreprises in Québec, for Eastern Quebec. These organizations deliver information, referral and reference material services to entrepreneurs and local and regional development agents throughout Quebec.
Financial support
The Agency has several programs and services whereby it makes both repayable and non-repayable contributions and, in exceptional cases, grants to its clientele, comprising SMEs, agencies which assist them, and communities. The Agency’s programming breaks down into different categories, as shown in the following table.
Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec
Programming |
CORE CORPORATE MANDATE |
Regular programming
|
Dedicated programming
|
SPECIAL MANDATES |
Programming under mandates from the Government of Canada
|
The Agency’s main regular programs of financial assistance are IDEA-SME, RSI and CFP. The expiration date for IDEA-SME and RSI is March 31, 2007. Completing the programming inherent in the Agency’s core mandate is the Canadian Support Program for the Gaspésie—Îles-de-la-Madeleine Economy, which has a dedicated budget envelope. But this program is no longer active for applications received after August 23, 2005. Eligible expenditures under this program may be made until August 22, 2008.
Innovation, development of entrepreneurship and access program for SMEs
The IDEA-SME program primarily targets enterprise development. Its goal is to foster the growth of business generated by enterprises in all Quebec regions by facilitating, among other things, access to relevant information, awareness of enterprises’ development issues, establishment of strategic enterprises, and consolidation of their competitiveness through new business practices, innovation and commercialization. In that way, this program fosters realization of the regions’ economic development potential, leading in the long term to enhanced prosperity and sustainable employment. The IDEA-SME program now has a new social economy component whereby it can fund social economy enterprises, make regional patient capital funds available to them and foster development of their competencies and capabilities.
As to planned results, the program should lead to:
For information: http://www.dec-ced.gc.ca/asp/ProgrammesServices/prg_idee_pme.asp?LANG=EN |
Regional Strategic Initiatives Program
This program involves developing and implementing strategies and action plans fostering the creation of a socio-economic environment conducive to reinforcing the assets and competitive advantages of Quebec regions, with a view to enabling them to realize their economic development potential, leading in the long term to lasting improvement in prosperity and employment. The program supports major initiatives likely to have a growth-generating impact on the regional economy, in response to major regional issues identified through a process of local consultation, dialogue and mobilization. The projects and activities stemming from it permit great flexibility and can take various forms, in line with the needs of a single region or a given group of regions.
The program first aims to increase the regions’ technological capability so as to
encourage the use of the most appropriate technologies and their adaptation by SMEs. The program helps develop the regions’ tourist attraction potential, too, as
well as increasing the attraction capability of international activities. It is also used to support the regions in their efforts to adjust to the new global economic
environment, especially in rural areas.
Planned results from the program include:
Community Futures Program
This Canada-wide program provides support for communities in all parts of the country to help them take charge of their own local development. In Quebec, the CFP financially supports 57 Community Futures Development Corporations, as well as 14 Community Economic Development Corporations and nine Business Development Centres.
Canadian Support Program for the Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine Economy
This program came to an end in August 2005. The purpose of this special measure, funded from the Agency’s basic budget, was to support economic activity in the Gaspésie—Îles-de-la-Madeleine region. The program was in addition to the Agency’s regular activities and gave priority to the following elements:
Infrastructure Canada Program – Canada-Quebec Agreement 2000
Within the framework of the pan-Canadian Infrastructure Program under Treasury Board Secretariat responsibility, a Canada-Quebec Agreement was signed in October 2000. The objective of this agreement was to upgrade municipal, urban and rural infrastructure in the province and improve Quebecers’ quality of life. The Agency acts on behalf of the Government of Canada as the federal department responsible for implementation in Quebec. This agreement was amended in July 2005 to postpone to March 31, 2009 the deadline for disbursements under the ICP. Since December 2005, under the terms of the Agreement, no more new projects may be approved under the program.
For information: http://www.dec-ced.gc.ca/asp/ProgrammesServices/TravauxInfrastructures.asp?LANG=EN |
Canadian Apparel and Textile Industries Program (CATIP)–CANtex component
The objective of this component is to encourage Canadian textile companies to:
Textile firms in Quebec can thus benefit from contributions in order to carry out projects aimed at enhancing their competitiveness on an ongoing basis.
For information: http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/epic/internet/inctp-ptc.nsf/en/Home |
CATIP | Canadian Apparel and Textile Industries Program |
CFP | Community Futures Program |
CMA | Census Metropolitan Area |
FTE | Full-time equivalent |
FY | Fiscal year |
ICP | Infrastructure Canada Program |
IDEA-SME | Innovation, development, entrepreneurship and access program for SMEs |
MAF | Management Accountability Framework |
MRIF | Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund |
MRRS | Management, Resources and Results Structure |
NPO | Non-profit organization |
PAA | Program Activity Architecture |
R&D | Research and development |
RPP | Report on Plans and Priorities |
RSI | Regional Strategic Initiatives |
SDS | Sustainable Development Strategy |
SME | Small- and medium-sized enterprises |
TBS | Treasury Board Secretariat |
Abitibi-Témiscamingue
906 5th Avenue
Val-d’Or, Quebec J9P 1B9
Tel.: 819-825-5260 • 1-800-567-6451
Fax: 819-825-3245
Bas-Saint-Laurent
2 Saint-Germain Street East, Suite 310
Rimouski, Quebec G5L 8T7
Tel.: 418-722-3282 • 1-800-463-9073
Fax: 418-722-3285
Centre-du-Québec
Place du Centre
150 Marchand Street, Suite 502
Drummondville, Quebec J2C 4N1
Tel.: 819-478-4664 • 1-800-567-1418
Fax: 819-478-4666
Côte-Nord
701 Laure Blvd.
Suite 202B, P.O. Box 698
Sept-Îles, Quebec G4R 4K9
Tel.: 418-968-3426 • 1-800-463-1707
Fax: 418-968-0806
Estrie
Place Andrew Paton
65 Belvédère Street North, Suite 240
Sherbrooke, Quebec J1H 4A7
Tel.: 819-564-5904 • 1-800-567-6084
Fax: 819-564-5912
Gaspésie—Îles-de-la-Madeleine
120 de la Reine Street, 3rd Floor
Gaspé, Quebec G4X 2S1
Tel.: 418-368-5870 • 1-866-368-0044
Fax: 418-368-6256
Île-de-Montréal
3340 de l’Assomption Blvd.
Montréal, Quebec H1N 3S4
Tel.: 514-283-2500 • 1-800-322-4636
Fax: 514-496-8310
Laval—Laurentides—Lanaudière
Tour Triomphe II
2540 Daniel-Johnson Blvd., Suite 204
Laval, Quebec H7T 2S3
Tel.: 450-973-6844 • 1-800-430-6844
Fax: 450-973-6851
Mauricie
Immeuble Bourg du Fleuve
25 des Forges Street, Suite 413
Trois-Rivières, Quebec G9A 2G4
Tel.: 819-371-5182 • 1-800-567-8637
Fax: 819-371-5186
Montérégie
Complexe Saint-Charles
1111 Saint-Charles Street West, Suite 411
Longueuil, Quebec J4K 5G4
Tel.: 450-928-4088 • 1-800-284-0335
Fax: 450-928-4097
Nord-du-Québec
Tour de la Bourse
800 square Victoria
Suite 3800, P.O. Box 247
Montréal, Quebec H4Z 1E8
Tel.: 514-283-8131 • 1-800-561-0633
Service Point, Chibougamau:
418-748-2175 • 1-877-748-2175
Fax: 514-283-3637
Outaouais
259 Saint-Joseph Blvd., Suite 202
Gatineau, Quebec J8Y 6T1
Tel.: 819-994-7442 • 1-800-561-4353
Fax: 819-994-7846
Québec—Chaudière-Appalaches
Édifice John-Munn
112 Dalhousie Street, 2nd Floor
Québec, Quebec G1K 4C1
Tel.: 418-648-4826 • 1-800-463-5204
Fax: 418-648-7291
Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean
170 Saint-Joseph Street South, Suite 203
Alma, Quebec G8B 3E8
Tel: 418-668-3084 • 1-800-463-9808
Fax: 418-668-7584
CORPORATE SERVICES
Tour de la Bourse
800 Square Victoria
Suite 3800, P.O. Box 247
Montréal, Quebec H4Z 1E8
Tel: 514-283-6412 • 1-866-385-6412
Fax: 514-283-3302
Place du Portage, phase II
165 Hôtel-de-Ville Street
P.O. Box 1110, Station B
Gatineau, Quebec J8X 3X5
Tel.: 819-997-3474
Fax: 819-997-3340
Vitality
Cluster Local development Attractive milieus Competitiveness poles Regional poles Poles of excellence |
Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec |
Quality of life | Grand dictionnaire terminologique (definition translated from the French) |
Competitiveness | Grand dictionnaire terminologique, Dictionnaire des mots nouveaux (Pierre Gilbert) and Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec (definition translated from the French) |
Standard of living | Dictionnaire de l'Académie française (definition translated from the French) |
Social capital | Social Capital as a Public Policy Tool - Project Report, 2005 (Policy Research Initiative) |