Finance Committee on Sept. 20th, 2016

[The Chair, Liberal, Wayne Easter]

One more question....

[Ziad Aboultaif, Conservative, Edmonton Manning, AB]

For me? Sure, I'll take it.

Do you have measures for productivity? How is it measured compared to, let's say, the United States?

Is it 40% lower or 26% lower? What is it?

[Manon Brassard]

We know it is lower than Ontario, generally.

[Ziad Aboultaif, Conservative, Edmonton Manning, AB]

I am asking about Quebec.

[Manon Brassard]

I am comparing Quebec to Ontario.

[Ziad Aboultaif, Conservative, Edmonton Manning, AB]

Okay.

[Manon Brassard]

Our productivity is lower by a few percentage points.

[Ziad Aboultaif, Conservative, Edmonton Manning, AB]

Quebec is lower than Ontario.

[Manon Brassard]

Yes.

[Ziad Aboultaif, Conservative, Edmonton Manning, AB]

By how much is it lower?

[Manon Brassard]

I think it is 3% or 4%. We can check.

[Ziad Aboultaif, Conservative, Edmonton Manning, AB]

Do you have any idea how much it is compared to other nations, for example the United States?

[Manon Brassard]

I don't—

[Pierre-Marc Mongeau]

Sorry, we don't have all these statistics, but—

[Manon Brassard]

What I do have is that we are behind. I can't tell you by how much, but Quebec is behind Ontario, Canada generally, the States, and most OECD countries. We have the big picture.

[The Chair, Liberal, Wayne Easter]

Thank you. Just on that point, do you measure the results of your investments with small business, with enterprises?

[Manon Brassard]

I referred earlier to a Statistics Canada study that we asked them to do for us. They look over a long period of time to see whether the SMEs we are helping are still alive, how long they stay alive, whether they have higher salaries—and they do—and whether they have higher productivity—and they do.

That is how we measure, by comparing it to un groupe témoin and making sure that we actually make a difference.

[The Chair, Liberal, Wayne Easter]

You do make a difference.

Mr. MacKinnon, you have five minutes.

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Gatineau, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I will change the direction of the questions a bit.

As you know, the Government of Quebec has changed its approach to local development. It decided to close some CLDs, a change that is under way. How is this affecting the agency and your day-to-day activities?

[Manon Brassard]

The CLDs also work quite a lot with our CFDCs. We addressed the matter earlier. We are working closely, particularly with the ministry of the economy, science and innovation, the MESI, which is the main economic ministry, with its financial arm represented by Investissement Québec. Investissement Québec is a partner in almost a quarter of our projects. In short, work is being done in collaboration. Quebec changed its way of operating. We have adapted, and we are still working very well with the Government of Quebec, its ministries and organizations, namely, its “supply arms”, if I can put it like that.

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Gatineau, QC]

In Quebec, there are an impressive number of partners in the financing of a given project. Shouldn't this be simplified?

From the perspective of an entrepreneur or a project developer, the number of partners able to participate in a project is quite impressive. We often need to reach these people and bring them together around the same table. I've seen impressive examples where this has happened very effectively.

I'd like your views on this. Shouldn't we simplify the process and reduce the number of partners around the same table by overlooking the level of government?

[Manon Brassard]

To do that, we would need to find someone with all the mandates and competencies, which is a challenge in itself. That person would also have to be able to meet all the demands.

We are working with various types of entrepreneurs and businesses. The small businesses that deal mainly with the CFDCs could find it difficult to work with a partner the size of an organization like Investissement Québec, the BDC or other organizations like that.

There are many stakeholders, of course, but each entrepreneur needs to be associated with a certain niche. We can make groups fairly easily. Is it possible to work better and more effectively together? No doubt, which is what we are trying to do. However, will simplification really lead to an ultimate one-stop shop?

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Gatineau, QC]

Other regions have a concierge service. Does this concept exist in Quebec?

[Manon Brassard]

Yes, in the accelerated growth program CED wants to position itself to connect entrepreneurs with the right stakeholders for their case. It's important to understand that not every stakeholder is right for every case. The entrepreneurs appreciate this service.

CED also makes life easier for entrepreneurs who might have projects in three regions, for example. In that case, we advise them to work with an office and let CED manage the housekeeping and take care of the other two offices. So we are going to help with that kind of thing.

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Gatineau, QC]

Thank you.

Let's change the subject now.

As you know, we are going to invest a lot of money in public transit and infrastructure in the next few years. You mentioned that the hot topic in Quebec right now is electrification of transportation.

How do you think Quebec will be able to benefit from this strong trend from the Government of Quebec and the investments in infrastructure by the federal government that will obviously be paired with those of other levels of government? Basically, how do you see the future and how will Quebec be able to benefit from these investments at all levels?