Charles Milliard, president of the Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec (FCCQ), has not been idle since his organization inherited, over the past three years, new mandates which have increased its workforce from 35 to 100 people. This did not prevent him from accepting the presidency of the board of the Festival de Lanaudière, the most important classical music festival in Canada, because for him, culture is an important tool for regional economic development.
“I became president of the FCCQ in January 2020. I worked for two months in the office and, subsequently, two years from home, by videoconference… But for the past year, we have taken things in hand, which enabled me to tour the 17 regions of Quebec”, explains Charles Milliard.
Thanks to its network of 123 chambers of commerce and its 1,200 corporate members, spread throughout Quebec, the FCCQ is firmly rooted in the regions, and this is why the organization has become the partner of several programs in co-management with governments. .
“We are working with the government on the regionalization of immigration and we have set up a business internship program. We have also just hired 25 specialists who work directly in the regions to support companies that want to take advantage of Canada’s digital adaptation program.
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
Charles Milliard, CEO of the Federation of Quebec Chambers of Commerce
“We also manage, in partnership with the Community Futures Development Corporations [SADC], small tourism business support projects. The SADCs have a budget of 20 million to support businesses in rural areas and we have an equivalent budget to participate in the financing of infrastructure projects for small regional tourism businesses,” underlines the president of the FCCQ.
a rampart
In the regions, the chambers of commerce are a bulwark for businesses in their community, a place of economic and also political engagement. Some regions are much more committed, as is the case in Chaudière-Appalaches, where there are no less than 12 local chambers of commerce.
We are involved in all major issues, whether labor, employment, immigration or cybersecurity, but for the past ten years, we have also been very involved in supporting the ‘export.
Charles Billion
“Initially, the Corex program aimed to develop the export corridor to New England, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. For five years, we have expanded it internationally. Every year, we bring Quebec delegates abroad to come and discuss their market with our companies and discover the realities of Joliette or Rimouski,” explains the president.
Immigration and culture
With some 250,000 jobs to be filled throughout Quebec, the immigration file remains an important issue for the FCCQ, but the group does not take a position on the thresholds that would be necessary.
We did not go out on the immigration thresholds. What concerns us is the reception capacity. All companies would like to have access to more people, but there are no accommodations available.
Charles Billion
“We have a vacancy rate of 0.1% in Maniwaki and 0.2% in Rimouski, as well say 0. And there are no new housing units being built because there is no labor. of available work”, notes Charles Milliard coldly.
Lanaudiere Festival
A lifelong lover of music and culture, the CEO of the FCCQ agreed last December to chair the board of directors of the Festival de Lanaudière, a completely natural commitment for him.
“I was already on the board of the Festival as well as those of the OSM and the Festival TransAmériques. I like culture, but the cultural offer is also an important vector of regional economic development”, insists Charles Milliard.
The Festival de Lanaudière is not only the most important classical music festival in Canada, but its duration of five to six weeks makes it a structuring event for the entire Lanaudière region.
” It’s still amazing. Milos Karadaglic, one of the greatest guitar players in the world, was giving sold-out performances in Vienna two weeks before he played in the church of Saint-Sulpice, on the edge of highway 40″, explains Charles Billion to highlight the notoriety that the Festival de Lanaudière has acquired in 45 years of existence.
The Chairman of the Board hopes that the musical event will generate the same international interest that the Stratford Theater Festival obtains by increasing the customer experience of the people who frequent it, by developing agrotourism and the reception infrastructure. In summary, it intends to broaden the economic influence of the Festival de Lanaudière.
“We have the place, a unique open-air amphitheater, the surrounding landscape, the shows in churches or in heritage places, the warmth of Quebecers. We have three major international musical products, Orford Music, Domaine Forget and the Festival de Lanaudière. We have to build on our strengths,” said the Chairman of the Board.
Already, the organization of the Festival will soon have a storefront, in a historic house that was bequeathed to it in Joliette and which will better embody its cultural richness.
That said, the CEO of the Federation of Quebec Chambers of Commerce also intends to continue his work to include all communities in the economic development of Quebec.
“After my tour of the regions, I want to go to the Far North. We don’t have a chamber of commerce there, but we want to get closer to the communities to be the strong and independent voice of economic development for all of Quebec,” he summarizes.