(Lac-Mégantic) Products designed and manufactured in Quebec will be more easily identifiable on the shelves by the fall, thanks to new certification marks.
Posted at 3:10 p.m.
Updated at 5:50 p.m.
Articles from Quebec companies may be affixed with a logo with a fleur-de-lys according to three levels of certification: “Product of Quebec”, “Made in Quebec” and “Designed in Quebec”, Prime Minister François Legault announced Thursday. .
Companies will have to undergo a certification process provided by a non-profit organization and will be able to use the logo for six months free of charge.
Me first, when I go to a store, it’s not always clear if the product is from Quebec or if it’s not from Quebec.
François Legault, Premier of Quebec
Consumers are looking for products from Quebec and are even ready to pay “a little more”, assured the chairman of the board of directors of the certification body Les Produits du Québec, Martin Deschênes, at his side.
Now, however, manufacturers and retailers need to “get on board” with the process, he continued.
“Not that complex”
The Minister for the Economy, Lucie Lecours, who was responsible for this file, indicated that there is a potential pool of 10,000 manufacturing companies. A second certification component is already under study, which would target companies that supply manufacturers.
The three levels of certification have already been tested with certain companies and Mr. Legault assured, during a press conference in a furniture factory in Lac-Mégantic, that the certification process “will not be that complex” .
The first level “Designed in Quebec” targets a product whose workforce assigned to design and development activities is entirely located in Quebec.
The second level “Made in Quebec” is for a product for which the major part of the transformation was carried out here.
The third level “Product of Quebec” concerns a product for which at least 85% of the manufacturing, including raw materials, processing and assembly, is carried out in Quebec.
Accreditation will begin with companies that have indicated their interest on the Les Produits du Québec website, the non-profit organization having set up the identification process.
Local beverages and food products will remain with the “Aliments du Québec” and “Aliments prepared in Quebec” logos. The reference “Origin Quebec”, “Prepared in Quebec” and “Bottled in Quebec” will also remain for Quebec products on sale at the SAQ, specifies the government.