The Fonds de solidarité FTQ: Driving Our Economy for 30 Years

MONTREAL, June 21, 2013 /CNW Telbec/ - On June 23, 1983, the Québec National Assembly unanimously passed a bill to create the Fonds de solidarité FTQ. Thirty years later, the Fonds is still helping to create jobs in Québec and encouraging Quebecers to save for retirement.

"The Fonds makes a major contribution to our economic development by financing companies to help them grow and in turn create and maintain quality jobs in Québec. That's our mission and we've been working at it for three decades. It's now been 30 years since then FTQ president Louis Laberge created the Fonds in an effort to replace confrontation with cooperation in order to grow the Québec economy. Well, he'd be proud to see how far the Fonds and its network have come," said Fonds chairman and FTQ president Michel Arsenault.

"The economy has changed dramatically in the last 30 years but we still have challenges. Whether it's the growth of Québec businesses, venturing into new markets or product development, the Fonds de solidarité is always there. Close to a million Quebecers have been able to build a nest egg for retirement thanks to the Fonds. The Fonds has also helped create or maintain half a million jobs during this period," pointed out the Fonds' president and chief executive officer, Yvon Bolduc.

"One out of seven Quebecers is a Fonds de solidarité FTQ shareholder-saver. The Fonds is all the more important when you consider that 60 % of the population has only government pension plans to count on for retirement," continued Michel Arsenault.

"In the last 10 years, the Fonds has invested $5.5 billion in unsecured capital, including $2.1 billion in venture capital. Such investments is how the Fonds builds for the future today, and the reason we can do this is because of the confidence our shareholders-savers and Québec companies have in the Fonds," concluded Yvon Bolduc.

About the Fonds de solidarité FTQ

Created in 1983, the Fonds de solidarité FTQ has been driving the Québec economy for 30 years. With net assets of $8.8 billion as at November 30, 2012, the Fonds is a development capital fund that channels the savings of Quebecers into investments in all sectors of the economy to help create and maintain jobs and further Québec's development. The Fonds is a partner, either directly or through its network members, in more than 2,000 companies. With over 600,000 owner-savers, the Fonds has helped create, maintain or protect almost 170,000 jobs. For more information, visit www.FondsFTQ.com.

SOURCE: Fonds de solidarité FTQ

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