How your savings help maintain jobs

Faced with uncertainty created by the coronavirus crisis, one of the first reflexes you might have is to review your investment strategy. Rest assured that the Fonds is monitoring the situation closely in order to limit the consequences on your portfolio. What's more, saving with us is more important than ever as it actively contributes to the well-being of the Québec economy. Here's how.

The mission statement of the Fonds, as with the tax credits* you enjoy when you invest, explains why the repurchase of your shares is subject to a share redemption policy.

For a healthy economy

The money you invest with the Fonds is vital to the local economy. Your savings are invested principally in companies across the entire spectrum of our economic activity and is instrumental in creating, maintaining and protecting high quality jobs in every region of Québec.

The companies that keep Québec moving

The Fonds invests in a wide range of industries—from transportation and life sciences to agri-food and forestry—each with its own unique circumstances. Our mission is to keep Québec's economy running. Here are some of the businesses that your savings in the Fonds have helped to support.

Rail GD Inc.

Based in New Richmond in the Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine region, this companyAttention, this link will open a new tab.Attention, this link will open a new tab. provides maintenance and repair services to the rail transportation sector. Since its inception in 2012, Rail GD Inc.'s quality work and efficient management have earned it the trust of major industry players such as VIA Rail Canada, ArcelorMittal, and Bombardier. An investment from the Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine regional fund helped the company continue its growth and strengthen its position as a leader in the rail transportation sector.

"For us, the Fonds régionaux de solidarité FTQ – Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine are more than a financial partner. They're a business partner who shares our vision, offers useful consulting services, and helps us achieve our goals. We're pleased to have been able to count on their expertise as well as their financial support for several years now." - Gilles Babin, President, Rail GD Inc.

In the form of loans or share capital of up to $5 million, the Fonds régionaux aim to offer business solutions tailored to SMEs and adapted to the economic reality of their region.

Chantiers Chibougamau

With 50 years of experience, this family businessAttention, this link will open a new tab.Attention, this link will open a new tab. manufactures and markets high-quality forest products, including lumber and engineered wood. Today, it employs more than 1,100 people and is one of the main employers in the Chibougamau region of Nord-du-Québec. Chantiers Chibougamau partnered with the Fonds in 2011 to build the world's largest cross-laminated timber plant, a move intended to support its growth and consolidate Québec's position as a leader in the global wood processing sector.

In 2019, the company received another investment to finance the reopening of a kraft pulp mill in Lebel-sur-Quévillon. The reopening led to the creation of 250 to 300 new jobs in the region and was an important project for all of Québec's sawmills.

"In Chibougamau, one out of every four people in the labour force works for the company. With the activities in Lebel-sur-Quévillon, nearly $50 million in goods and services is flowing directly into the economies of northern Lac Saint-Jean and the Nord-du-Québec region through the awarding of contracts and subcontracts. In addition, more than $30 million in annual contracts are giving a boost to the Abitibi-Témiscamingue economy. That's more than $80 million that our family business contributes annually to the regional economy." - Frédéric Verreault, Executive Director, Corporate Development, Chantiers Chibougamau.

Cunico

Active in the agri-food sector, this Laval-based companyAttention, this link will open a new tab.Attention, this link will open a new tab. distributes a variety of specialty meats, including duck, rabbit, and bison. Its growing clientele hails from all over the country and is primarily made up of wholesalers, butchers, and restaurants. Cunico received financing from the Fonds régional de solidarité FTQ of Laval in 2015 to help fund the buyout of the company by the current owners and support its growth.

« By supporting Laval SMEs like Cunico, we're promoting their growth as well as the creation and maintenance of jobs here in our region. »
- Éric Dargis, Regional Vice-President – Laval, Laurentides, Lanaudière, Fonds régionaux de solidarité FTQ.

As of November 30, 2019, the Fonds had invested more than $1 billion in 153 partner companies in the agri-food sector, making it a catalyst for the strengthening and growth of the industry, as well as one of its key players.

IMV

This Québec City–based biopharmaceutical companyAttention, this link will open a new tab.Attention, this link will open a new tab.is developing new forms of immunotherapies and currently working on a candidate vaccine to prevent COVID-19. A partner of the company since 2018, the Fonds recently completed a private investment and is conducting a financing round in partnership with Lumira VenturesAttention, this link will open a new tab.Attention, this link will open a new tab. to support research and contribute to the development of solutions for unmet medical needs.

"Faced with the COVID-19 pandemic, the IMV team quickly found a path to developing a vaccine. This demonstrates the dynamism of Québec's life sciences sector [...]. When the investment ecosystem is mobilized, great things can be accomplished, to everyone's benefit." - Didier Leconte, Vice-President, Life Sciences and Fund Management at the Fonds.

The vaccine is currently being evaluated at the Centre hospitalier universitaire de Québec, in collaboration with the Infectious Disease Research Center at Université Laval. The first human clinical trials are scheduled to begin in July 2020, in collaboration with the McGill University Health Centre, among others.

So it's very much thanks to you, the savers, that today we are able to contribute to the protection of our economy. In particular, your investment lets us contribute to economic relief measures that help Québec companies affected by the pandemic. These companies can take advantage of a 6-month grace period for loan repayment, both capital and interest, in order to relieve financial pressures related to the pandemic in the short term. Faced with difficulties caused by the coronavirus crisis, your savings with the Fonds de solidarité FTQ have never been more important to the Québec economy and more beneficial for all Québecers.