Indigenous Media Operating Assistance Program

The Indigenous Media Operating Assistance Program is designed to help Indigenous media organizations fulfill their mission and carry out their operations. It aims to help organizations:

• whose activities fall within one of the sectors covered by the ministère de la Culture et des Communications;
• whose mission and action plan make a significant and lasting contribution to achieving the Ministère’s objectives for the relevant sector and territory;
• whose sound management and efficiency guarantee the quality of the services they provide to the public or to their peers; and
• who have established partnerships in their sector or territory, and who benefit from the support of the community to which they offer their services.

The goal of the program is to provide operating support to Indigenous media organizations in order to:

• maintain the production and distribution of content dedicated to local and/or cultural information;
• ensure the production and dissemination of content in the relevant Indigenous language or in a language understood by their community and reflecting its needs;
• increase access to and quality of information for Indigenous communities;
• contribute to the financial health of Indigenous media organizations.

Terms and Conditions

This program is open to not-for-profit legal entities (organizations, co-ops or public authorities) as well as for-profit companies legally constituted and registered with the Registraire des entreprises that:

• Have their head office and principal place of business in Québec and carry out the majority of their operations there; and
• Offer the public or their members (as the case may be) access to their operations, goods and services.

Specific Requirements

The assistance is intended for Indigenous media organizations or their authorized agents, i.e., band councils and municipalities that:

• Are actively conducting operations at the time the application is submitted;
• Undertake to:
  • Produce at least 12 hours a week of local and/or cultural information programs for radio and television;
  • Distribute a minimum of two issues per year, for print media;
  • Update their content at least once a month, for online media and communications societies; and
• broadcast their programming primarily in the language(s) of their community, or in a language understood by their community and reflecting its needs.

Indigenous media targeted by this program include:

• Indigenous radio stations;
• Indigenous print media;
• Indigenous online media;
• Regular Indigenous television; and
• Communications societies.

Exclusions

The following are not eligible for the operating assistance:

• Individuals;
• Non-Indigenous organizations;
• Non-Indigenous governmental organizations;
• Applicants whose operations’ are funded by another one of the Ministère’s assistance programs;
• Any applicant who:
  • Is registered with the Registre des entreprises non admissibles aux contrats publics (RENA), including any subcontractor registered with the RENA;
  • Has failed to meet its obligations after having been duly served with formal notice in connection with the granting of prior financial assistance by a Government of Québec department or agency.

Applicants must e-mail the duly completed form provided by the Ministère to their regional office, or attach documents containing the necessary information to assess their application. Applications for financial assistance (DOTX 0.93 Mb) may also be submitted via a paper form, which must be forwarded to the Ministère’s office in the applicant’s region.

Applications for financial assistance must be received by the dates determined each year by the Ministère. To learn more about these dates, see the program calendar (french version) (PDF 165 Kb).

Applicants must submit, on the form or in the attachments, all the necessary information on the organization for reviewing their application. This includes:

• A description of its organizational structure, including the names of its employees and their job category (executive, managerial, professional, technical and support staff);
• The number of volunteers contributing to its operations and the number of hours their work represents (if applicable);
• Information on the content broadcast, i.e.:
  • Its programming schedule, for radio and television;
  • The number and frequency of the content published, for print media;
  • The frequency with which content is updated on the Internet, for online media and communications societies;
• Its most recent activity report, if applicable;
• Its most recent financial report;
• Its provisional operating budget;
• Consent from the organization’s jurisdiction to submit an application for financial assistance; and
• Any relevant information to support the application.

While the project is being reviewed, the applicant will be required to provide the Ministère with additional information and documentation as requested.

If the applicant has a business relationship with one or more related companies (a company or organization controlled directly or indirectly by the same administration as its own), it must:

• Inform the Ministère, identifying each one by its legal name and Québec business number;
• Demonstrate that it is the sole beneficiary of its surpluses and grants;
• Provide proof that its transactions with related companies:
  • Are formally documented by contract or written agreement;
  • Are disclosed in the financial statements’ notes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles; and
  • Are established under conditions and at costs that are lower than or at least comparable to those that would take place with a third party.
• Make available to the Ministère, on request, the financial statements of each of its related companies.

In order to be submitted for review, applications must be complete, comprehensible and based on accurate data. If not, the applicant will be required to correct the deficiencies within the timeframe granted by the Ministère.

The application is evaluated by the Ministère according to eligibility requirements and ministerial guidelines.

Guidelines

Depending on the funds available, priority will be given to media organizations that:

• Prioritize Indigenous content production;
• Originate in a local Indigenous community or respond to the local community’s needs;
• Promote written or oral expression in an Indigenous language
• Ensure optimal service to the population throughout Québec.

Terms and Conditions

Financial assistance is granted on an annual basis. It may be revised according to the funds the Assemblée nationale allocates to the Ministère.

In addition to the clauses relating to payment and use of the grant, the Results Agreement that the recipient must sign to receive payment of the grant includes:

• a statement of accountability; and
• commitments related to communications regarding the purpose of the grant.

The grant may be awarded to the beneficiary either:

• in two instalments, the first of which, at the beginning of the government fiscal year, represents a maximum of 80% of the grant; or
• in some cases, in a single payment.

Specific Requirements

The grant awarded to eligible applicants under this program may not exceed $50,000.

The amount of the annual grant awarded to community media organizations is determined by the sum of two parameters:

1. The basic amount:
   • Online media organizations: $10,000
   • Print media: $10,000
   • Conventional television: $20,000
   • Radio: $20,000
2. The amount is based on production volume and the specific characteristics of the distribution means used by the organization.

In all cases, financial assistance may be revised according to the funds the Assemblée nationale allocates to the Ministère.

The total financial assistance granted by the Ministère to an eligible applicant may not exceed 100% of its operating budget for non-profit organizations and public authorities (75% for for-profit companies).

Each beneficiary must produce an annual Accountability Report (DOTX 0.92 Mb) in accordance with the agreement’s provisions. The accountability report must include:

• An overview of the operations carried out and the amounts allocated to them;
• A description of the results achieved in relation to the objectives;
• Any information or documentation required by the Ministère in accordance with the Results Agreement;
• Any other information or documentation requested by the Ministère.

The Ministère reserves the right to visit the broadcasting and production site and verify use of the grant money at any time.