Support for fishing communities in the Gulf of St. Lawrence

Canada Economic Development invests $34 million in the economic diversification of the North Shore and Gaspé - Magdalen Islands coastal regions

Gaspé/Rivière-au-Renard (Quebec), August 31, 2005 — The Honourable Jacques Saada, Minister of Canada Economic Development and Minister responsible for the Francophonie, today announced the implementation of the Fishing Community Economic Diversification Initiative (FCEDI) for communities on Quebec’s North Shore and in the Gaspé - Magdalen Islands region. The goal of this program, with a five-year budget envelope of $34 million divided equally between the two regions ($17 million each), is to diversify the economy of coastal communities heavily dependent on the fishery.

This Canada Economic Development initiative is the result of a process of reflection and consultation with socio-economic stakeholders in the North Shore and the Gaspé - Magdalen Islands. It comes in response to needs expressed by these communities and will help stabilize, enhance and diversify their economic base by supporting business competitiveness and the vitality of these regions.

"Following adoption of Bill C-9 establishing the Agency that I head, the FCEDI is a perfect example of the new role our organization intends to play in regional development. We want to invest in the development of communities, especially those experiencing difficulties, so that they may all contribute to economic growth and to improving their quality of life. This project demonstrates the importance we place on sharing the wealth and ensuring that everyone has an opportunity, " stated the Minister.

Mr. Saada pointed out that the FCEDI is in line with the Agency’s new, more integrated and comprehensive approach and considers not only the economic aspect of development but also all the social, cultural and environmental areas of activity. It is a long-term development strategy focussed on solving the problems of a fragile fishery.

The two components of the FCEDI

The new initiative, entitled "Towards community self-development", comprises two specific components: increasing enterprises’ and communities’ competitiveness and increasing communities’ dynamism and vitality, and seeks to promote promising sectors of activity.

Five development directions were selected for these key areas of activity, namely, enhanced access to knowledge, support for marketing efforts, development of human capital and entrepreneurship, reinforcement of social cohesion and community capabilities and renewal or upgrading of certain targeted collective infrastructures.

"Collectively, we have many challenges to meet and there is one ingredient which is vital to our success: our ability to create co-operation between all stakeholders, the governments, enterprises and communities. I congratulate the people of the North Shore and the Gaspé - Magdalen Islands on their tenacity and their courage. Without their involvement, this FCEDI would not have been possible," concluded the Minister.

Canada Economic Development’s mandate is to promote the economic development of the regions of Quebec. Primarily through financial assistance programs, the Agency elicits and supports the implementation of economic development projects. The two priorities the Agency has set itself are to foster innovation and the knowledge economy in each region of Quebec, and to help communities that are having difficulty adjusting to the new economy. In this way, the Agency contributes to the attainment of the Government of Canada’s objective of building the 21st Century economy.

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Sources:

Guylaine Beaudoin
Communications
Développement économique Canada
Tél. : 514 283-0368 ou cell. 418 580-8215
Courriel :  guylaine.beaudoin@dec-ced.gc.ca

Daniel Dezainde
Press Secretary
Office of the Honourable Jacques Saada
Canada Economic Development
Tel.: 514 496-1282