Digitization, automation and innovation; the Legault government is injecting 350 million more in its fall update to stimulate “business growth and productivity”, but also to “close the gap in living standards with Ontario”.
However, we will still have to wait before knowing what types of projects will be eligible for financial assistance. The fall update presented Thursday by the Minister of Finance Eric Girard provides 160 million over five years to accelerate the investment projects of companies.
If the document mentions in particular the increase in productivity, competitiveness, automation and reduction of the environmental footprint of companies, the criteria for determining which projects will be selected have not been disclosed.
“The details of this announcement will be presented later by the Minister of Economy and Innovation” is limited to underline Update on Québec’s economic and financial situation.
The other part of the economic update is looking at the establishment of the first innovation zones, the unveiling of which is fast approaching. The initiative obtains 100 million more – 40 million had already been announced – for the establishment of the first innovation zones.
To this will be added 90 million for other types of projects qualified as “innovative” elsewhere “in Quebec”.
Announced in 2020, the innovation zones, where we want to bring together in one place, been on a thematic basis, environments such as education, research, start-up companies as well as major players, are still being made. wait.
At least 30 requests from 13 regions of Quebec were received.
The Legault government has also decided to relax the terms of the program offering a 20% discount for four years to companies that have deployed investment projects. The spread may be spread over a maximum period of 72 months.
“Due to the health crisis, companies are facing additional delays in carrying out the projects for which they have started with an electricity discount”, one explains.
Requests should be submitted no later than December 31st. There will be “no additional financial impact” for the State since the “projects in progress were already included in the costs of the program”.
To take advantage of this rebate, they will have to invest at least 40 million in improving their productivity or reducing their greenhouse gas emissions. The discount could represent up to 50% of the cost of the investment. For example, a company that invests $ 80 million could benefit from a reduction of $ 40 million on its electricity bill.
As of November 9, 159 requests from major manufacturers had been confirmed. That’s over $ 5.6 billion, according to government data.
Taking into account the 94 million already announced for the deployment of high-speed Internet in Quebec, the sums devoted to the “growth and productivity” of businesses amount to 444 million.