Thursday, September 19, 2019 – The regional county municipality (RCM) of Témiscouata, the Fédération québécoise des municipalités (FQM), the Government of Québec and the Fonds locaux de solidarité FTQ are pleased to announce the creation of a $900,000 fund to support businesses on the RCM territory.
The launch of the new local solidarity fund (FLS) was confirmed this afternoon in the presence of Marie-Eve Proulx, Minister for Regional Economic Development and Minister Responsible for the Chaudière-Appalaches Region, the Bas-St-Laurent Region and the Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine Region, and MNA for Côte-du-Sud, Guylaine Sirois, reeve of the Témiscouata RCM, Yvon Soucy, reeve of the Kamouraska RCM and vice-president of the FQM, and Éric Desaulniers, general manager of the Fonds local de solidarité FTQ Limited Partnership.
The mission of the FLS is to speed up business start-up, expansion and acquisition projects on the RCM territory. Its creation was made possible by the participation of the Fonds locaux de solidarité FTQ Limited Partnership with a $750,000 variable investment credit and contributions of $100,000 and $50,000 from the FQM and the RCM.
As the representative voice of the regions, the FQM is pleased to make a tangible contribution to the local and regional development of the Témiscouata RCM. The FQM and the Fonds de solidarité FTQ have been working together for almost 28 years now, and it’s the reason the FLS network exists. “We’re proud of this partnership that contributes to job creation and hence the vitality of our regions,” said FQM director Pierre Renaud.
“The partnership between the FQM and Fonds locaux de solidarité FTQ gives us the financial means to support our businesses. The $900,000 from the local solidarity fund is in addition to the annual $500,000 from our wind funds, the $555,000 from our local investment fund and the $175,000 from the territorial development fund. We’re very proud of this partnership, which puts additional money to work for our businesses. The Témiscouata RCM is clearly fertile ground for business and our development service is there to support businesses,” said Guylaine Sirois, reeve of the Témiscouata RCM.
“In the current economic context, characterized by labour shortages and an ageing population, it’s all the more important to provide people who have the courage to start a business with the support they need at all stages of their project. The creation of a local solidarity fund in the Témiscouata RCM is therefore excellent news for the area’s entrepreneurs, who will be able to benefit from a financial tool that meets their needs and takes regional realities into accounts. This initiative also attests to the government’s willingness to work with local economic stakeholders,” said Marie-Eve Proulx, Minister for Regional Economic Development and Minister Responsible for the Chaudière-Appalaches, Bas-St-Laurent and the Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine Regions.
“The Bas-Saint-Laurent region is filled with innovative businesses with strong growth potential. To facilitate their start-up and growth, we have to provide them with effective development tools. The creation of a local solidarity fund in the Témiscouata RCM sends a positive message to our entrepreneurs: they know that their needs will be heard and that measures will be offered to help them grow their business,” said Denis Tardif, MNA for Rivière-du-Loup–Témiscouata.
“The result of a unique partnership formed between the Fonds and the FQM in 1991, the FLS network contributes to the social and economic vitality of our communities by investing in small local businesses. Now that the FLS has been set up for the Témiscouata RCM, entrepreneurs throughout the Bas-Saint-Laurent have access to this network and can obtain financing for their start-up and growth projects. With investments in more than 5,000 business projects over the last 28 years and the creation of new FLSs like this one, our network continues to prove its merit,” said Éric Desaulniers, general manager of the Fonds local de solidarité FTQ Limited Partnership.
Through its leverage effect, the FLS will complete the financing of business projects on the territory by allowing entrepreneurs to access other sources such as a conventional loan from a financial institution, subsidies, cash or other seed money. The maximum amount available from the FLS is $100,000.
The RCM’s entrepreneurship and local development service is now accepting applications for financing.