Mr. Speaker, as member for Gatineau, it is a pleasure for me to take part in this debate at third reading on Bill C-9, to establish the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec.
I would have liked to see our friends from the Bloc come back from our recess week with new feelings towards Bill C-9. If they had listened to Quebeckers, they would have realized that that bill is extremely important and goes far beyond what has been said this morning by some members from their party.
Canada Economic Development, under the various names it has had over the years, has been working for about 40 years to support the entrepreneurship spirit of women and men, young and not so young, to help them contribute to regional economic development. Bill C-9, once adopted, will give Canada Economic Development the flexibility and tools it needs to stimulate development and to apply an integrated federal strategy.
This is more than what my colleague for Argenteuil—Papineau—Mirabel implied when he said that it was a simple structural change. The bill will make the agency independent from the department of industry and commerce.
Furthermore, the agency will be in a better position to represent the views and interests of Quebec regions in the elaboration of different national policies and programs. The agency will continue, as it has always done, to support promising ideas, determined entrepreneurs and innovative businesses. Option Femme Emploi, in my riding, and Produits Chanteclerc and Styro Rail Inc. are only a few good examples of these. The agency will also continue to help entrepreneurs to adapt to new market conditions created by globalization of trade.
Indeed, over the years, the agency has endeavoured to provide small and medium-sized businesses, the true engines of economic growth in Quebec, with immensely useful strategic information on the expertise and the resources of the government of Canada which can help them continue their growth.
The agency's interventions produce results of which our fellow citizens can be proud and which, even more importantly, meet their needs and their expectations. Thus, the agency has pledged over a billion dollars in financial support for the implementation of some 2,000 projects which were under way in 2003-04. If one adds the investments of other backers to those of the agency in those projects, their total value reaches close to $4 billion across Quebec's regions. This leverage amounts to $4 for every dollar invested.
Within the context of its various programs, Canada Economic Development has contributed to the pre-startup and startup of nearly 2,800 businesses across Quebec. A study undertaken by the agency reveals that more than half of the respondent businesses, that is 58.6%, have stated that their turnover increased following the projet for which they received financial assistance from the agency. Moreover, according to data compiled by the agency for 2003-04, close to three-quarters of those clients, 73.9%, have pointed out that they would not have been able to bring their projects to fruition without its financial support.
Community representatives who share this view include Ms. Manon Laporte, president and CEO of Enviro-Accès Inc., who stated before members of the Standing Committee on Industry, Natural Resources, Science and Technology on February 16—and I was very pleased to be there—how support from Canada Economic Development had been important in setting up eight strategic projects. Those initiatives essentially aimed to raise awareness and support the implementation of pollution prevention practices and an environmental management system for production processes with a view to profitability and increased competitiveness.
Ms. Françoise Bertrand, president and CEO of the Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec, in an article in La Presse , highlighted the importance of the economic benefits that publicly-funded assistance can bring. She said that these benefits go far beyond the assistance received initially.
On another note, an external audit of Canada Economic Development's Regional Strategic Initiatives program shows that the agency's contributions have a considerable leverage effect on the other active financial partners in regional development.
The same audit reveals that the Regional Strategic Initiatives program, compared to other regional development programs in Europe, is a pioneer in targeting the region instead of the business and in supporting the development of innovative capabilities.
As part of an evaluation related to the agency's activities in the field of innovation, 80% of participants said that the assistance provided by Canada Economic Development in the form of repayable contributions helped them meet the challenges of innovation and productivity-related projects.
In that sense, Mr. Yves Goudreau, director of business development for Premier Tech, an important eastern Quebec company, speaking to the Standing Committee on Industry, Natural Resources, Science and Technology in February:
During the past year, I was able to note ... as a businessman, the full importance of CED in the development and the diversification of the Quebec economic regions. ... Without these amounts, we would have, without any doubt, directed our product development to the partial improvement of products. In the middle term, this delay would have caused the withdrawal of our products from the market, because of the constant optimization of the products of international competitors—
Also, the agency's actions are sustainable in nature. In fact, among enterprises having received assistance from the agency to carry out innovation and R and D activities, 85% continued to perform this type of activity. In addition, 87% of enterprises stated that these activities contributed to increasing their productivity, and 83% pointed to enhancement of their competitiveness.
A long term impact on employment is also observed. More than half the enterprises, or 57%, reported an increase in the number of employees following a project completed with the agency's support.
Finally, to show just how relevant the agency's involvement is, for the past three years, its clientele’s satisfaction levels have been rising consistently. In 2003-04, for example, 94% of the agency's clients stated that they were satisfied with the quality of services in general.
In this respect, I would like to quote Raymond Giguère, the director general of the Cégep de Rimouski. On February 16 he told the Standing Committee on Industry, Natural Resources, Science and Technology that Canada Economic Development was an ideal partner for our regions, working together with all concerned and making its extensive economic development expertise available to the regions.
Mr. Giguère added that, in his view, Canada Economic Development was a key player in the economic development and diversification of Quebec's regions, through its financial and technical support. He went on to say:
Canada Economic Development's capacity to technically and financially support community-based projects focused on domestic and global positioning contributed to this success.
He also said that it would be necessary not only to maintain and develop this capacity to be guided by long term planning in conjunction with the regional community, but also to maintain the capacity to foster a collaborative approach with stakeholders from other orders of government and other federal departments.
Canadians expect, and rightly so, that their governments produce results that reflect their expectations and needs. The ongoing evaluation of our programs and procedures ensures that our activities are in line with the priorities we have set for ourselves and that we will achieve the desired results.
Bill C-9 states that the minister responsible for Canada Economic Development shall cause a comprehensive report providing an evaluation of all activities in which the agency was involved to be laid before each House of Parliament every five years.
In closing, I would like to encourage all members of the House to support Bill C-9 so that Canada Economic Development can have the tools and the flexibility that it needs to continue its effort with the Quebec businesses and communities. I am convinced that Canada Economic Development will do everything in its power to meet the aspirations of the people of all regions of Quebec.
The work done in committee helped to bring in the adjustments that should have allayed the fears or the red herring being used by the Bloc members who keep saying that we want to interfere in areas of Quebec's jurisdiction. This will be done in all respect for Quebec's jurisdictions. If Canada Economic Development was able to work for more than 40 years without interfering in provincial jurisdictions, I think that by resorting to fearmongering, the Bloc is only showing that it does not want this to work.
I know that the regions need Bill C-9. I hope that the other parties will support us as they have done up to now, because it is extremely important for Quebec. I will be very proud to go around my province to say that we have worked very hard to pass Bill C-9.