Today, the Honourable Rachel Bendayan, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister, is announcing, on behalf of the Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for CED, a repayable contribution of $3M for Gilbert Products. This CED funding will enable the Roberval SME to mitigate tariff impacts on its competitiveness.
Gilbert Products is a leader in the design, manufacture and commercialization of forestry, sawmill and construction equipment and track and snowmobile trail maintenance (surfacer) systems. The plant, following the Industry 4.0 standard, includes robotic cells to develop primarily sawmill equipment and specialized construction equipment. As part of a project to improve its productivity and production capacity, the business will be able to acquire and install state-of-the-art technology.
In the current economic climate, the Government of Canada is focusing on structural measures to strengthen the Canadian economy. By supporting workers and businesses in strategic sectors, it is helping to build a more resilient economy better able to adapt to market fluctuations to the benefit of the entire country.
Quotes
"Faced with the tariffs hitting our businesses and workers, our government is taking action. We are giving businesses tools to remain competitive, build stronger supply chains and pursue their growth on international markets. With the Regional Tariff Response Initiative, we are investing directly in the Quebec and Canadian economy to help our SMEs innovate, diversify their markets and come through this turbulence stronger than ever."
The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Member of Parliament for Ahuntsic-Cartierville, Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for CED
"Our federal government is proud to support our manufacturing SMEs, since we know they are core to economic vitality in our regions. By investing to enable them to increase their productivity, modernize their facilities and conquer new markets, we are helping our businesses to remain competitive despite current trade challenges. The Roberval announcement is a testament to our willingness to provide concrete support for Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean businesses so they can continue to innovate, grow and create good jobs here in the region."
The Honourable Rachel Bendayan, Member of Parliament for Outremont and Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister
"This investment marks a decisive step in our growth. Expanding our Fastems system and adding cutting-edge equipment will increase our production capacity considerably, during the day and in fully automated mode, while also enabling us to cut costs. CED's support gives us the means to modernize more quickly, maintain the cashflow needed for our development and conquer new markets."
Audrey Gilbert, Director, Corporate Affairs and Communications, Gilbert Products
Quick facts
- Funding has been granted under the Regional Tariff Response Initiative (RTRI), which is part of CED's Regional Economic Growth through Innovation (REGI) program.
- The RTRI aligns with a broader Government of Canada tariff response plan, which includes over $6.5 billion in new measures to protect Canadian businesses and workers, including an expansion of the Strategic Innovation Fund, labour market development agreements, and the Large Enterprise Tariff Loan facility.
- The aim of this national initiative is mainly to help SMEs negatively affected by tariffs to overcome their challenges to commercialization and to transform in order to remain competitive in the long term. With a budget of $1 billion over three years, the RTRI makes it possible to provide SMEs with non-repayable contributions of up to $1 million.
- CED is a key federal partner in Quebec's regional economic development. With its 12 business offices, CED accompanies businesses, supporting organizations and all regions across Quebec into tomorrow's economy.
