MRC La Jacques-Cartier — Local Investment Fund (FLI)

• Completed, dated, and signed financial assistance application form
• Business plan and/or detailed project description
• Detailed breakdown of project expenses
• Project financing plan and confirmation of other funding linked to the project
• Financial statements for the last three years, interim statements if applicable, projected financial statements, and the required francization and employment equality declarations or certificates, if applicable

Who is eligible?

• Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) legally constituted under the laws of the Government of Quebec or Canada
• Collective enterprises, including cooperatives and OBNLs, with market activities

Who is not eligible

• Applicants registered in the Registre des entreprises non admissibles aux contrats publics (RENA), including subcontractors registered in the RENA planned for the project
• Applicants not compliant with the francization process under the Charter of the French Language, including Quebec businesses with 25 employees or more for at least six months that do not hold a francization certificate or a valid OQLF document, or that appear on the non-compliance list
• Applicants that failed to meet their obligations, during the two years before the request, after formal notice from the MEIE or the MRC in connection with prior financial assistance
• State-owned companies, companies directly or indirectly controlled by a government, majority-owned by a state-owned company, companies under creditor protection or bankruptcy proceedings, or companies with unethical, environmentally irresponsible, or labour and human rights non-compliance histories
• Businesses operating wholly or partly in pre-start-up or restructuring, controversial weapons, fossil fuels, gambling, violent games or sports, sexual exploitation, tobacco or drugs, and the non-permitted cannabis or industrial hemp products listed by the policy

Eligible expenses

• Working capital for the project
• Equipment, machinery, and rolling stock
• Land, buildings, construction, renovation, and site development
• Professional fees linked to feasibility, audits, implementation, acquisition, and transaction support
• For succession projects, acquisition of shares, assets, and related expertise costs

Ineligible Costs and Activities

• Expenses incurred before the application is filed
• Debt service, upcoming loan repayments, capital losses, capital replacement, or capital payments
• Transactions between related businesses or partners
• Research and development expenses, normal operating expenses, and Quebec sales taxes
• Projects in pre-start-up or restructuring, and the simple purchase of shares or assets that is not part of a business transfer and succession process

Eligible geographic areas

• MRC de La Jacques-Cartier

• The economic viability of the financed business.
• The promoters’ knowledge and experience.
• The project’s environmental and social benefits.
• The business’s openness toward workers and labour relations.
• The participation of other financial partners and the impact on the sustainability of the FLI portfolio.

• Before depositing a project, the promoter must meet with a business advisor to validate the nature of the project and the documentation needed for filing.

• The process of admissibility, analysis and decision for financial assistance requests is handled by the MRCs.
• Requests are processed and analyzed continuously once the business has provided the required information and documents.
• The investment committee must respect the policy and may request a derogation from the MRC authorities, provided the FLI management modalities are respected.
• In case of non-compliance with the borrower’s obligations, the MRC will try to regularize the situation and may use the legal mechanisms available to recover its investments.

• Applications are reviewed continuously as documents are received.
• Applicants must meet the MRC’s integrity and compliance requirements.
• Other public funding may be combined, subject to the program’s overall limits.
• Applicants must first meet with a business advisor before filing the request.