FAQDD - Regional Support Program for Water Issues

• A completed and signed funding application form.
• The Excel document including the budget planning grid, the schedule grid (plan de suivi), and the project indicator tracking grid.
• An avis d’arrimage from the relevant OBV, TCR, or TCO confirming the project’s link with the PDE, PGIR, or PGIRO.
• A resolution of the organization authorizing the responsible person to sign and submit all documents related to the application.

Who is eligible?

• Private organizations, including private companies, non-profit organizations, cooperatives, and unions.
• Public organizations.
• Municipal entities.
• Education, research, and health institutions.

Who is not eligible

• Individuals, ministries, and organizations integrated into the accounting perimeter of the Government of Quebec.
• Political organizations.
• Organizations listed in the Registre des entreprises non admissibles aux contrats publics (RENA).
• Applicants that, during the two years preceding the application, failed to meet their obligations after formal notice regarding previous financial assistance from the Ministry.
• Applicants that registered lobbying activities for the submitted project or do not satisfy the high standards of integrity expected of a recipient of public funds.

Eligible expenses

• Salaries and usual employee benefits attributable to project coordination, supervision, implementation, and follow-up, including travel and accommodation expenses within Quebec public service rates.
• Transportation, installation, and equipment rental costs, and other expenses directly related to carrying out the project.
• Fees for specialists and consultants in communication, graphic design, accounting, and engineering.
• Project-specific administration and office costs, up to 10% of eligible expenses.
• Project promotion costs, acquisition and development of buildings and infrastructure, and non-refundable GST and QST amounts.

Ineligible Costs and Activities

• Regular activities of an OBV, a TCR, or the TCO related to their consultation mandate, as well as current or annual activities, contests, and fundraising events.
• Recurring clean-up work, recurring project monitoring activities, and recurring maintenance interventions for infrastructure, construction, or a site.
• Land and building purchases, lobbying activities, and projects involving the creation of organizations.
• Costs not directly related to the project or not justified, operating or mission-related expenses, fines and penalties, and subscription, membership, or dues fees.
• Staff training not directly related to the project, expenses incurred before funding confirmation or after the agreement period, and projects already funded under another provincial government program or submitted to Affluents Maritime.

Eligible geographic areas

• Integrated Management Zone of the Ottawa River (ZGIRO).

• Relevance of the actions in relation to the issue addressed: 30%.
• Project outcomes: 30%.
• Monitoring and sustainability: 20%.
• Project feasibility and overall quality: 20%.
• To be recommended, an application must obtain a minimum overall score of 70%, and any application that receives a score of zero on one analysis criterion cannot advance. When eligible projects exceed available funds, the highest-scoring projects are prioritized, and at comparable scores, applicants that have never received Program funding are favored.

• Review the Guide de dépôt de projet, the FAQ, and the example of the information requested in the application form.
• Download the trousse pour le dépôt d’un projet and prepare the required templates and supporting documents.
• Contact the FAQDD if needed to obtain additional information or discuss the eligibility of your project.
• Complete the online formulaire de demande d’aide financière, sign it, and submit it with the required annexes no later than July 30, 2026, at 5 p.m. local time.

• Submitted projects are reviewed by the FAQDD and the MELCCFP in three stages: a preliminary admissibility and receivability review, a scored analysis, and final selection by a committee composed of representatives of both organizations.
• The official announcement of financial assistance is made by the MELCCFP once all selected projects have been confirmed.
• The FAQDD informs applicants of acceptance or refusal no later than six months after the close of the call for projects.
• If accepted, the applicant receives a grant award letter and begins the process of signing a financial assistance agreement with the FAQDD.
• The agreement sets the payment conditions and reporting requirements, and any unused funds, including interest generated, must be returned to the FAQDD by March 15, 2028.

• This is the sixth call for projects under the PSREE.
• Since 2019, the program has supported 102 projects for total funding of $6,766,462.
• The program is coordinated by the FAQDD and funded through the Fonds bleu under the Plan national de l’eau of the Stratégie québécoise de l’eau.
• An information session and a webinar on project budgeting are available online.