Territory

The Gatineau Valley SADC serves the territory of the Gatineau Valley RCM [regional county municipality], consisting of 15 municipalities, two towns and two Algonquin communities – total area 13 424 km2.

It is located in the Outaouais and is bordered to the north by Abitibi, to the south by the Collines-de-l’Outaouais RCM, to the west by Pontiac and to the east by the Antoine-Labelle RCM.

Background

The Gatineau Valley SADC was the very first SADC set up in Quebec.

On February 16,1981, the Gatineau Valley SADC (then known as the"Société de dévelopement économique de la Haute-Gatineau") concluded a historic agreement with the Department of Employment and Immigration of Canada in the context of the LEDA (Local Economic Development Assistance) program.

At the outset, the assistance was to be in place for two to three years only, in regions where unemployment was high and/or greater than the national average.

Rapidly, however, the agency became the focus of its peers across Canada, having been the first to complete the planning phase.

For instance, at a meeting of Canadian LEDA agencies in Toronto, the other agencies were very impressed with the work already accomplished by the Gatineau Valley branch.

When activities started, the loans granted did not exceed $25,000 per business. Ten or so local businesses benefited from assistance to begin with, which meant a total of $117,500 in direct investments.

The activities [K1] continued and the agency was renamed the Business Development Centre (BDC) in 1988. At the same time, the Community Futures Development Committee (CFDC) began its activities among the local population.

Finally, in 1995, the CFD Committee, which focussed on strategic planning at the community level, the BDC, whose mandate was to provide business loans and advice, and the SE (Self-Employment assistance program) joined together to form the CFDC (Community Futures Development Corporation). The new corporation still has the same focus as its predecessors – i.e., “to encourage the community to participate in taking charge of its future".

Over the years, the SADC has continued to invest funds, either as partners or as joint contributors with developers and other financial institutions, to assist people and businesses with development.

Today, the assets of the Gatineau Valley SADC amount to over $3.3 million.