Financial support to promote food security in northern communities

The Programme de sécurité alimentaire nordique aims to develop:

• Community projects to produce fruit or vegetables for local or regional consumption;

• actions to support local food production, both in terms of processing and preservation of food produced or harvested locally by and for northern communities.

The Program applies to projects that will be carried out north of the 49^th parallel, either in Québec's northern territory, or for the benefit of communities or businesses located there.

The Program is intended to supplement the financing of projects for which the contributions of the community and other government programs are not sufficient. The applicant must demonstrate that a search for complementary financing has been carried out and that recourse to the Program is necessary for the realization of the project.

Eligible clienteles

The following entities are eligible for the Program:

• incorporated non‑profit organizations;
• cooperatives with activities similar to a non‑profit organization;
• band councils of Indigenous communities and Indigenous communities themselves;
• northern village corporations, northern villages or Inuit landholding corporations;
• municipalities, regional county municipalities (RCM) and municipal bodies;
• the Administration Régionale Baie‑James, the Kativik Regional Government, the Cree Nation Government and the Eeyou Istchee James Bay Regional Government;
• mutual organizations with activities similar to a non‑profit organization.

Project categories

To be eligible, the projects must fall within one of the following categories:

• community projects to produce fruit or vegetables for local or regional consumption;
• projects aimed at preserving or processing locally produced or harvested foods.

Exclusions

• Projects promoted by an individual;
• Project from an applicant who has failed to meet his or her obligations after having been duly served with formal notice in connection with the granting of previous financial support by a department or granting agency during the two years preceding the application for financial support.

Projects must not:

• have been financially supported by the Société du Plan Nord during the three years preceding the application for financial support, unless they present some sort of innovation or novelty;
• have a financing package that already includes a program of the Société du Plan Nord;
• be submitted by an individual;
• run counter to government policy;
• have already been carried out or launched prior to the submission of the application to the Program;
• be submitted by organizations listed in the Register of enterprises ineligible for public contracts (RENA);
• be submitted by an applicant who has failed to meet his or her obligations after having been duly put on formal notice in connection with the granting of previous financial assistance by a department or granting agency during the two years preceding the application for financial support.

Eligible expenses

The Société du Plan Nord reserves the right to ask the promoter to demonstrate the contracting conditions in place. When the project calls for professional fees, the Société du Plan Nord reserves the right to ask the promoter to submit at least two proposals (bids).

The following expenditures are eligible:

• operating costs necessary for the completion of the project, such as wages and other remuneration and one‑off rent payments;
• cost of purchasing or leasing materials and equipment;
• fees for the production of plans;
• professional fees;
• administrative expenses;
• travel and living expenses;
• capital expenditures.

Ineligible expenses

The following expenditures are not eligible:

• recurrent expenses such as operating and maintenance costs;
• representation expenses, donations and sponsorships;
• expenses related to the purchase of any motor vehicle that can be registered;
• expenditures intended to satisfy legislative and regulatory requirements;
• expenditures incurred before the project is submitted;
• expenses relating to a project already completed;
• expenditures eligible for another form of reimbursement (for example, a tax refund);
• expenditures connected with a project that is inconsistent with established government policy or current laws and regulations;
• deficit of an organization or enterprise, or reimbursement of accumulated debt;
• working capital;
• expenditures planned for after March 31, 2028.

The applicant or the community must contribute at least 10% of the allowable costs. Therefore, total government assistance cannot exceed 90% of the eligible costs of the project.

For a community project aimed at producing fruit or vegetables for local consumption, the maximum financial assistance is $275,000.

For a project aimed at preserving or processing locally produced or harvested foods, the maximum financial assistance is $100,000.

The maximum amount of financial assistance, in the form of a non‑repayable grant, will be determined by taking into account all sources of government assistance provided to the project.

The calculation will also take into account the amount received from government departments and agencies that maintain financial assistance agreements with the Société du Plan Nord. Financial assistance may come from:

• departments and agencies of the Gouvernement du Québec;
• departments and agencies of the Government of Canada;
• partners with intervention funds whose financing comes mainly from government sources.

You may apply for funding for the current call for projects until March 27, 2024, at 11:59 p.m.

To apply, you must consult the application guide (PDF 351 Kb) first. Then, you must complete the application form (PDF 513 Kb) for financial support and provide the following documents:

• a copy of the most recent financial report of your organization;
• a copy of the resolution by the board of directors authorizing you to submit projects and sign agreements;
• a three‑year operating budget that estimates operating costs and projected revenues, if the project is infrastructure;
• letters of support from project partners (if any);
• all other documents considered relevant to the assessment of the project.

Projects may be submitted to the Société du Plan Nord at the following e‑mail address : psan@spn.gouv.qc.ca​​​​​​​.

You can also send them by fax or by mail to the Société du Plan Nord. The postmark is proof of the date of submission.

If your project is selected, it will be subject to a financial assistance agreement with the Société du Plan Nord. The agreement will specify the terms of payment and the conditions for granting financial assistance, as well as the terms of accountability.

For each payment, you must submit an activity and utilization report for the grant, in accordance with the deadlines set out in the funding agreement.

This report must include:

• a detailed description of the project and the activities carried out with the grant;
• the cost of the project and of each activity carried out;
• the sources of funding and the amounts obtained from each source;
• the number of jobs created, if applicable;
• an appendix containing supporting documents for eligible expenses and a financial report detailing project expenses;
• a balance sheet of annual production for community fruit or vegetable production projects;
• a report on the project's impact according to sustainable development criteria.

For certain projects, an audit report of the financial data produced by an accredited external auditor will be required at the time of final submission.

If you have any questions regarding the Programme de sécurité alimentaire nordique, you may contact the Société du Plan Nord at : psan@spn.gouv.qc.ca​​​​​​​.