MRC Haut-Richelieu — Local investment and solidarity funds (FLI and FLS)

Who is eligible?

• Legally constituted businesses operating within the territory of the MRC du Haut-Richelieu with head offices in Quebec
• Social economy enterprises (certain non-profit organizations) that meet specific conditions
• Manufacturing companies
• Companies contributing to the civil and public safety value chain
• Businesses contributing to the vitality of the Haut-Richelieu territory, regardless of sector

Who is not eligible

• Organizations or projects of a sexual, religious, or political nature, or those with controversial activities (e.g., dating agencies, war games, armament, tarot, astrology, personal growth courses, pawn shops).
• Businesses with more than 10% of gross sales derived from the production or sale of armaments.
• Businesses in the tobacco or cannabis industries.
• Companies with irresponsible environmental practices according to applicable legislation.
• Enterprises with a history of non-compliance with labor standards or human rights legislation.
• Organizations operating only in subcontracting or privatization of operations that simply transfer economic activities and jobs from one organization to another.
• Non-profit organizations, unless they are recognized as social economy enterprises meeting specific criteria.
• Projects in the pre-startup phase (only firms at the commercialization stage are eligible).
• Projects exclusively related to housing (except for certain equipment or infrastructure projects aimed at improving residents' quality of life).
• Organizations managed by or under the authority of the Quebec government, or managing programs on its behalf (e.g., CPEs, home support services, perinatal centers, educational services, housing organizations, Carrefours Jeunesse Emploi).
• Enterprises with negative equity after the project financing.

Eligible expenses

• Capital expenses such as land, buildings, equipment, machinery, and rolling stock (excluding goodwill).
• Acquisition of technologies, software, or software packages, and patents (excluding research and development activities).
• Working capital requirements strictly related to operations, calculated for the first year of operation or the first year following a project expansion.
• For business succession projects: acquisition expenses of ownership titles (voting shares or equity stakes) and assets of the targeted company, as well as professional service fees directly related to the acquisition transaction.

Eligible geographic areas

• Enterprises operating within the territory of the MRC du Haut-Richelieu
• Head office must be located in Quebec

• Applications are subject to a non-refundable file opening fee of $300 per application, payable by the applicant or enterprise.
• Annual monitoring fees of $100 or 3% of the initial loan amount are applied during the entire loan period.
• Enterprises may benefit from a repayment moratorium for the loan principal, with interests payable monthly, under specific conditions.
• The policy came into effect on March 31, 2023, replacing all previously adopted policies.