LEBEL-SUR-QUÉVILLON -- Representatives of the James Bay Regional Government (JBRG) will be in Lebel-sur-Quévillon on Monday, from noon to 8:00 p.m., to answer questions from individuals and businesses seeking financial assistance due to the economic paralysis in the municipality over the last several weeks because of the forest fires.
Businesses may have access to support under the Aide d'urgence aux petites et moyennes entreprises (PAUPME) program, which helps those facing temporary difficulties after the fires.
The companies will need to show there's a causal link between their financial or operational problems and the situation caused by the disasters.
Applicants must meet a number of conditions, including an inability to deliver more than 50 per cent of products over four consecutive weeks, and a problem with the supply of raw materials or products.
They must also be capable of resuming operations rapidly, within a three-month timeframe, or 18 months for companies operating recreational outfitting operations.
Businesses that need cash in excess of $50,000 are invited to apply to Investissement Québec for financial assistance.
In recent weeks, the mayor of Lebel-sur-Quévillon, Guy Lafrenière, has repeatedly called for financial assistance to be made available to local businesses that have been forced to cease operations.
In addition, Lebel-sur-Quévillon municipal authorities report that rain over the past few days has enabled crews to reach their forest firefighting objectives.
In fact, on Monday morning, for the first time in several weeks, the Société de protection des forêts contre le feu (SOPFEU) was no longer reporting a single uncontrolled forest fire in the province's intensive northwestern fire zone. However, there were still 58 active fires in the intensive fire zone in Quebec on Monday morning, with 39 fires under control and 19 contained.
In Lebel-sur-Quévillon, the Nordic Kraft mill and the Comtois sawmill gradually resumed operations last week. Osisko Mining expects to resume operations at the Windfall site this week.
This report was first published in French by The Canadian Press on July 10, 2023.
