Québec young entrepreneur Patrick Grégoire wins Deloitte Corporate Social
Responsibility Award

OTTAWA , Oct. 21 /CNW Telbec/ - Patrick Grégoire, 35, co-founder and vice-president of Boréal - Informations Stratégiques (Boréalis), tonight received the Deloitte Corporate Social Responsibility Award at the Business Development Bank of Canada's 2009 Young Entrepreneur Awards (YEA) ceremony in Ottawa . Mr. Grégoire also won BDC's 2009 Young Entrepreneur Award for Québec.

The Deloitte Corporate Social Responsibility Award honours a YEA-winning company that stands out in terms of practices and policies promoting environmental protection, sound human resources management or community well-being. Mr. Grégoire received the award in recognition of his company's focus on helping multinational corporations adhere to international corporate social responsibility standards, as well as for respecting and practicing those same values in his own operations.

"We are delighted to sponsor this award and to highlight the contribution to social responsibility made by leading young entrepreneurs" says Deloitte National Private Company Managing Partner Peter Brown . "Patrick and his team are making an impact and leading the way for other young entrepreneurs to emulate and we at Deloitte applaud this leadership and encourage other entrepreneurs to follow this lead."

Headquartered in Magog, Québec, Boréalis was founded by Mr. Grégoire and partner, Jules Paquette , both experts in geographical information systems, in 2004. Boréalis provides data and consulting services that help corporations in the mining and petroleum sectors minimize the negative impacts of their international development projects on communities and the environment. The company, which now numbers 37, is branching into environmental footprint management, a service they are bringing to the North American market, particularly in the wind turbine energy sector.

Practicing what it preaches, Boréalis supports numerous international aid projects, and is committed to donating one percent of its annual revenues to community development and environmental protection. The company promotes the use of free, open source software, is increasing its investment in employee training and has its own sustainable development plan.

Young Entrepreneur Awards and Small Business Week

BDC's Young Entrepreneur Awards are a highlight of Small Business Week, providing the opportunity to honour the entrepreneurial spirit and business success of Canadians between the ages of 19 and 35. Platinum partners of the 2009 Young Entrepreneur Awards and Small Business Week are Deloitte and Export Development Canada . Gold partners are Borden Ladner Gervais, and Maclean's.

About Deloitte

Deloitte, one of Canada's leading professional services firms, provides audit, tax, consulting and financial advisory services to a wide range of Canadian and international clients. Deloitte is the Canadian member firm of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, which is a network of member firms, each of which is a legally separate and independent entity. In Quebec , Deloitte operates as SamsonB/lair/Deloitte & Touche.

About BDC

BDC is Canada's business development bank. From more than 100 offices across the country, BDC promotes entrepreneurship by providing highly tailored financing, venture capital and consulting services to entrepreneurs. Visit www.bdc.ca for more information.

Small Business Week is a registered trademark of BDC.

For further information: Johanne Bissonnette, Media Relations Manager, [phone], [email protected]; BDC Media Room, 1-866-962-4554, [phone]