Local and regional funds are constantly expanding in number and investment activity. Also geared to small deal-making, these funds are key to the strategy of the Fonds de solidarité to facilitate Québec regional and community economic development in co-operation with government and private sector institutions. Local funds, for example, have evolved with the assistance of the Union des municipalités régionales des comtés.
Integrated with the financial audit of the Fonds de solidarité is an accounting of the social performance of a potential investee company. Issues examined include incidence of participative decision-making structures; progressive policies in human resource management; support for local communities; environmental protection practices; and systems for ensuring product quality.
The fund also advocates employee financial participation and ownership. As a condition of investment, shares in the Fonds de solidarité must be jointly purchased and contributed to a savings plan for each employee. Such arrangements may, or may not, persist after the fund has relinquished its equity stake.
Also as an investment condition, the fund requires introduction of a training program aimed primarily at increasing worker knowledge of the financial state of an enterprise and, potentially, some involvement in related decision-making.
The cost of this program is borne chiefly by individual employer who pays $40 per employee per year. In 1994, 80 per cent of investee firms were receiving training delivered by the Fondation.
Over time, the Fonds de solidarité has developed and maintained an array of support services for its investee firms. For instance, sectoral forums involving management and labour have been convened to discuss industrial growth prospects, needs and strategic directions. These and other forums have often led to new services, such as Corporation Financière Brome and those being developed currently for the tourism industry.
The Fonds de solidarité has been investing in the Québec economy for over ten years now. In late 1995, its portfolio comprised 131 investments valued at $641 million.