Lac-Drolet, Quebec, April 14, 2009 – The Honourable Christian Paradis, Minister of Public Works and Government Services Canada, today reported on the financial assistance awarded to Estrie enterprises through the Business Support Fund.
Announced earlier this winter, the $9.6 million fund arose from an agreement reached with the Fonds commun des Sociétés d’aide au développement des collectivités (SADC) du Québec, the pooled investment fund of the province’s Community Futures Development Corporations (CFDCs). Some 90 Quebec small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) were able to benefit from financial assistance under this measure. In the Estrie region, three businesses received more than $265,000 in total support through the Fund.
The flexibility of this Business Support Fund, administered through the CFDCs and Business Development Centres (BDCs), made it possible to react promptly to a situation demanding immediate attention, one that has been exacerbated by the economic and financial crisis. With SMEs still struggling to maintain their short-term growth, the situation clearly called for an intervention measure aimed at the achievement of very specific, concrete results.
“In creating the Business Support Fund, we gave ourselves a simple and effective tool to help Quebec SMEs better weather the economic storm. This measure is entirely in line with the spirit of the economic recovery plan our government put in place to lessen the impact of the current crisis on key sectors of the economy and on workers. Many enterprises are at a particularly crucial stage in their development, and the support we have been able to give them is sure to have a positive impact not only on their own viability, but also on the socioeconomic vitality of the communities in which they are based,” explained Minister Paradis.
Pierre Bélair, President of the SADC région de Mégantic, underscored the considerable success the Business Support Fund achieved in a very short timeframe. “In times of crisis, it is important to be able to accurately pinpoint the problem and quickly resolve it. The solution that was implemented, in part as a result of BDC and CFDCs expertise, proved to be right on the mark. I have to applaud Canada Economic Development and its team for the effective and efficient process they put in place. This targeted, one-time measure made it possible to take quick action, and this is something that was greatly appreciated by all of the enterprises concerned.”
Adopted precisely to give SMEs immediate access to the financing required to meet their working capital needs, this measure enabled the BDCs and CFDCs to fund enterprises in the manufacturing and tourism sectors, among others, thereby ensuring these firms are able to pursue their activities and carry out new projects.
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Sources:
Suzanne Thebarge
Communications
Canada Economic Development
Tel.: 514-496-6714
E-mail: suzanne.thebarge@dec-ced.gc.ca
Éric Lefebvre
Senior Special Assistant, Communications
Office of the Honourable Denis Lebel
Canada Economic Development
Tel.: 613-608-7906
E-mail: eric.lefebvre@dec-ced.gc.ca
