糖心vlog入口

Last updated: 11 November 2022

When the pandemic started, Émilie predicted her business would lose 50% of its income. As co-owner of a family-run wild blueberry transformation business, Délices du Lac-Saint-Jean, she knew she had to act fast.

“COVID-19 terrified us, because tourism drove a lot of our business,” Émilie said.

“We had to find a way to adapt to the crisis – and quickly, so we would not lose our staff.”

So, she tapped into a program set up to help small businesses just like hers: Fonds de Relance 02.

In 2020, we joined forces with Canadian bank Desjardins and all 5 regional municipality counties in the 厂补驳耻别苍补测鈥揕补肠-厂补颈苍迟-闯别补苍 region of Quebec to figure out how we could help the community respond to COVID-19 鈥� and Fonds de Relance 02 was born.

We had an ambitious goal: to help local entrepreneurs relaunch their businesses in the wake of COVID-19. Together with our partners we made C$750,000 available through the fund, so small businesses could apply for financial support to help them operate successfully through the pandemic.

As a funding recipient, 脡milie was able to make a 180-degree turn and keep her business thriving: 鈥淲e were able to invest in strategic planning for our business and actually grow it from where it was at the beginning of the pandemic,鈥� 脡milie says.

鈥淲e came up with an artisanal approach and began distributing our blueberry products directly to specialty shops and also placed 2 of our products in supermarkets across Quebec.

鈥淎nd with the Premier asking for us all to support local businesses, the response has been overwhelming.鈥�

Escaping to another era

For the team at Val-Jalbert, a historical village and tourist attraction in Saguenay – Lac-Saint-Jean, support from the fund ensured visitors could continue to enjoy the unique destination while maintaining social distancing.

The former waterfall-powered pulp mill and company town is home to over 40 original buildings that date as far back as 1901. It opened as a tourist attraction in the 1960s, and in the 2000s it was given back to the community and now operates as a non-profit organization employing around 80 people.

“The feeling of being here is one I cannot explain,” says Charles, Val-Jalbert’s Sales & Marketing Coordinator.

“There is real life in these houses… visitors feel as if they are in a totally different place when they are at the village – it’s an escape.

“It helps the community to forget about all the things they cannot do during the pandemic.”

With the help of the fund, Val-Jalbert implemented new sanitary measures, like constructing a new entry process for its cable car so it could be accessed in a safe manner while maintaining physical distance.

“In a normal situation, we receive around 90,000 visitors each year. We had to think of ways to respect health and safety requirements and keep people safe.