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Minister Audet expresses his satisfaction
Report of the Working Group on the Québec government’s role in venture capital
Québec City, December 17, 2003 - “The government has a very interesting report in its hands—one that will undoubtedly help us better define the role of government corporations and how they should intervene in the economy. It provides a good diagnosis of the situation surrounding public and private venture capital in Québec. We will certainly draw great inspiration from this enlightening report to give Québec the most effective and strategic tools for supporting entrepreneurs and prospective investors,” declared the minister of economic and regional development, Mr. Michel Audet, upon the tabling of the REPORT OF THE WORKING GROUP ON THE QUÉBEC GOVERNMENT’S ROLE IN VENTURE CAPITAL at the National Assembly.
The Working Group, which the minister created on July 10, looked at government venture capital corporations from a Québec economic development perspective. It essentially sought to define what needs the SGF, Investissement Québec, and the Innovatech corporations should meet in today’s Québec.
According to Mr. Audet, “the Quarterly Presentation of Financial Transactions tabled yesterday shows how important it is to correct the previous government’s scatter-gun approach, which caused the SGF to lose hundreds of millions of dollars over the last three years. It’s high time we refocused our efforts.”
For the minister, the Working Group’s proposal, which recommends the creation of a public/private venture capital fund to invest in high tech business startups and expansions, serves as a reminder that there is sufficient private capital available in Québec to create mixed venture capital corporations. “The proposals for creating regional initiative funds (RIFs) in all regions of Québec are particularly sensitive to the needs of regional business communities, which are often in a better position to identify and carry out projects that are promising in their respective regions,” explained the minister.
“These approaches and scenarios are most interesting, and the government will carefully analyze them and conduct vast consultations in the coming months among business communities in all of Québec’s regions. As a whole, the venture capital situation has been admirably well documented, and the SGF, Investissement Québec, and the Innovatech corporations have been considered from a critical, objective, and nonpartisan perspective. I would like to thank chair Pierre Brunet and the rest of the Working Group, who, in five months, produced a report of exceptional quality,” concluded Mr. Audet.
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Source :
Michel Rochette
Press Officer
Office of the Minister of Economic and Regional Development
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