Over the past weeks, Québec's CDECs have been hard at work to secure a prolongation of our agreement with Canada Economic Development past March 31, 2010.

Last month, some 50 Montréal personalities from the business world added their voices to the throng of local stakeholders in Montréal, Québec City, Trois Rivières and Sherbrooke in support of these local economic development structures. The message must have been heard on the other side of the Ottawa River. It's now official; Canada Economic Development will be involved for the next year!
This means that the CED's financial contribution will be the same as last year and we will be able to provide a complete program of activities, as we have in the past. The Board of Directors have adopted the activities program at the March Board meeting and now the Agency will approve it, in accordance with the relevant parameters. The Agency also told us that over the coming year, the CDECs and the CFDCs (Community Futures Development Corporations) will be associated with the review of the Community Futures Program, with a meeting to be held in the spring. Until then, anyone who wants to learn more can consult the following link on the Agency's site: http://www.dec-ced.gc.ca/eng/publications/agency/eval.html.
We sincerely thank all the stakeholders, directors, employees and, in particular, our federal politicians, for their support on this sensitive issue.