MRC Pontiac releases latest FRR reports, private businesses still not named in component 2
MRC Pontiac releases latest FRR reports, private businesses still not named in component 2
Last week, MRC Pontiac released the latest reports for the Fond régions et ruralité (FRR) components 2 and 4, though only one lists the private businesses that received public funding. The FRR is a provincial envelope that the Ministry of Municipal Affairs (MAMH) distributes for MRCs to divvy up within their region, with different components dedicated to different priorities.
The latest reports are available here: FRR 2 Q1 2025, FRR 4 2024/25.
The vast majority of the component 2 funding is for projects by municipal bodies and non-profits, though roughly 10-15% each year goes to private businesses, primarily in the agriculture or tourism industries.
Back in late May, CHIP 101.9 filed an access to information request for the names of the private businesses that received funding through component 2, as the reports only list their sector (such as agriculture), and a description of the project. At the time, MRC Director General Kim Lesage stated that the MAMH did not initially require the names of businesses in their reports, which is why they were left out but included in the reports for other FRR components.
Despite the fact that Lesage said the information is not confidential and should be published proactively going forward, the latest FRR component 2 report for the first quarter of 2025 doesn’t name the private businesses that received funding. In an email sent on June 27, MRC communications officer Francis Beausoleil told CHIP 101.9 that due to “a bit of ’employees vacation logistic’” they would aim to provide the names “before July 18”.
More than a month after CHIP 101.9 filed its initial access to information request on May 27, the MRC has still not provided the unredacted FRR 2 2020 report.
Even without the names, some of the FRR 2’s latest recipients aren’t exactly a mystery, such as $48,750 for the “modernization of a chiropractic clinic”, $60,000 for a dental hygienist clinic and $25,000 for the purchase of the Pontiac Printshop (the latter two weren’t paid in Q1, but are scheduled to be paid).