After some political persuasion, the Municipalité régionale du Comté (MRC) d’Argenteuil has received a significant grant from the Québec government for local economic revitalization.
The department of municipal affairs and housing has allocated $1,074,990 to the regional government for the 2020-2024 period.
“We weren’t supposed to get any (funds),” said MRC d’Argenteuil Prefect Scott Pearce.
He explained that the special funding was allocated to MRC’s that the government had identified as needing additional support was based on local economic conditions. The additional funding is part of the fiscal pact the Québec government has with municipalities.
Pearce said that 22 other MRC’s across Québec received the funding, and the MRC which was ranked 22 had very few differences in its local economy from Argenteuil. Pearce said that MRC d`Argenteuil staff lobbied the minister of municipal affairs and Pearce also worked with the Fédération québecoise des municipalités (FQM) to have Argenteuil included.
“This is found money for us,” Pearce said.
The MRC d’Argenteuil does not have to spend the funds all at once. Pearce said that the regional government will consult with its member municipalities about how the economic revitalization grant will be used over the next four years.
