Drummondville, Quebec, February 19, 2008 Speaking at a
conference luncheon organized by the Chambre de commerce et d'industrie de
Drummond today, the Honourable Jean-Pierre Blackburn, Minister of
Labour and Minister of Canada Economic Development, made clear his firm
intention to follow up on the recommendations of Quebec's 14 advisory
committees.
These committees were created at the Minister's behest to advise him on the
directions and priorities that should be adopted in each region of Quebec and to
recommend the best course of action for tackling the various issues of the day
and meeting the needs of the province's communities and businesses.
"This initiative stems from my own personal conviction that citizen
participation is key to our success in economic development. These committees
have come up with 275 recommendations that now serve as food for thought in
our process to develop new initiatives and improve those measures already in
place. To the extent that it is financially feasible, I intend to follow through
on the work of these committees with the view to updating and enhancing the
support we give to regional development initiatives," Minister Blackburn
stated.
Minister Blackburn hopes to respond swiftly to the proposals put forth by the
advisory committees, and therefore wants, as his first order of business, to
extend the Community Economic Diversification Initiative Vitality and
Community Economic Facilities for the Regions measures introduced in the
first phase of his action plan.
As many of the recommendations relate to the activities and growth
cycles of Quebec enterprises, the driving forces behind job creation and
wealth, Canada Economic Development is also giving serious consideration to the possibility of
relaxing the eligibility criteria for the Partnering with Enterprises for Commercialization
initiative, most notably in the area of eligible costs and
activities, so as to bolster its support to export firms.
Minister Blackburn is placing considerable weight as well on recommendations
for the adoption of new initiatives that seek to foster innovative startups and
are consistent with the objectives laid out in the Venture
Capital Fund for Business Startups in the Regions
and Capital
Fund for Business Succession
established by the Minister in 2006.
Lastly, the Minister is evaluating a number of other proposals pertaining to
business spin-offs, funding for specialized equipment manufacturers in the
natural resources sector and support for experimentation projects.
"We can draw inspiration from these recommendations in order to give
ourselves tools that are well-adapted to today's reality. Thus, the regions of
Quebec, whose needs have been taken into full account throughout this process,
will be able to confidently set out along the path to sustainable development
and prosperity," Minister Blackburn concluded.
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Sources:
Marie-Claude LemireCommunicationsCanada Economic Development
Tel.: 514-283-2199Cell.: 514-895-6237E-mail: marie-claude.lemire@dec-ced.gc.ca
Jean-Philippe PaymentPress SecretaryOffice of the Honourable
Jean-Pierre BlackburnCanada Economic
DevelopmentTel.: 819-953-5646E-mail: jeanphilippe.payment@hrsdc-rhdsc.gc.ca
