Baie-James Tourism — EPRTNT 2025-2027 – Digital development of a company

• Completed and signed application form submitted in the required format
• Full business plan for the digital development project
• Financial statements for the last two years, or equivalent documents if applicable
• Three-year financial forecasts following project completion, when required
• Board or council resolution authorizing the funding application and project signatory

• The applicant must be legally constituted under Quebec or Canadian law and conduct business in Quebec.
• The project and promoter must be established in the Baie-James tourism region, including specified cities and Eeyou Istchee Baie-James.
• The applicant must be a tourism-related enterprise, municipal entity, Indigenous community or nation, or a grouping of these.
• The project must concern the digital development of a tourism enterprise to enhance client experience or organizational efficiency.
• Applicants must have fulfilled commitments related to any previous subsidies from the program partners.

Who is eligible?

• For-profit tourism enterprises.
• Non-profit tourism organizations.
• Tourism cooperatives.
• Municipal entities in the Baie-James region.
• Recognized Indigenous communities, nations and Indigenous tourism enterprises, or groupings of these clients.

Who is not eligible

• Provincial or federal Crown corporations, ministries and government agencies.
• Applicants listed in the Register of enterprises ineligible for public contracts.
• Enterprises not compliant with the Office québécois de la langue française francization process when applicable.

Eligible expenses

• Professional fees for support and implementation of digital solutions, including training of staff responsible for the project.
• Purchase of technological or other equipment required to use the solution, including integrated management and e-commerce software.
• First subscription (up to 24 months) to cloud services associated with the digital solution.
• Purchase of hardware, software or mobile applications to increase client interaction and manage data and revenues.
• Project-specific travel expenses, overheads, salaries, benefits and net taxes related to eligible costs.

Ineligible Costs and Activities

• Regular salaries, operating and management costs of the promoter.
• Purchase or rental of land, buildings, installations and capital expenditures for equipment acquisition.
• Bandwidth purchases, recurring operating costs of the digital solution and commissions on online sales or reservation platforms.
• Working capital, debt service, operating or capital losses, asset transfers, donations, in-kind contributions and usual maintenance or administration expenses.
• Marketing, promotion, legal and financing fees, cost overruns, server rooms, video game or infrastructure development, and costs committed before application submission (except project design fees).

Eligible geographic areas

• Cities of Chapais, Chibougamau, Lebel-sur-Quévillon and Matagami.
• Territory of the Eeyou Istchee Baie-James Regional Government.
• Organizations legally constituted and doing business in Quebec.

• Alignment with EPRTNT 2025-2027 objectives and regional tourism priorities.
• Structuring impact and tourism relevance, including attraction power, regional benefits and seasonal or product diversification.
• Innovative nature and quality of the concept, products and services.
• Financial structure and feasibility, including business plan quality, schedule, marketing strategy and promoter expertise.
• Consideration of sustainable development principles and regenerative tourism benefits for the territory and communities.

• Step 1: Preliminary Contact
  • Contact the designated project officer at Tourisme Baie-James by phone or email.
  • Obtain the self-assessment and financial assistance application forms.
• Step 2: Mandatory Meeting
  • Hold a mandatory meeting with the Tourisme Baie-James team before submitting the project.
  • Confirm project eligibility and review required documentation for a complete file.
• Step 3: Prepare Application
  • Complete the self-assessment and financial assistance application forms.
  • Compile all required supporting documents, including financial and governance documents.
• Step 4: Submit Application
  • Send the completed forms and all required documents by email to the specified program address.
  • Ensure submission aligns with the ongoing intake and published analysis periods.

• Applications are received on a continuous basis by the regional tourism association.
• Projects are analyzed during specific evaluation periods as indicated on the program website.
• Only complete applications, including all required documents, are analyzed; incomplete files are not considered.

• Projects can be submitted on an ongoing basis until 31 October 2026 or until funds are exhausted.
• A mandatory meeting with Tourisme Baie-James must take place before submitting the project.
• Incomplete applications will not be analyzed by the program administrators.
• The current funding cannot replace an existing financial support program and cannot come from ARBJ grants.