Objectives:
- Encouraging citizen participation and strengthening dialogue between the population, the municipality, and local organizations.
- Supporting the development of collective projects that contribute to the vitality, attractiveness, and sustainability of the region.
- Ensuring transparent, collaborative, and structured management of the Baie-Comeau Smelter Fund for Sustainable Communities.
- Harmonizing citizen participation initiatives in the three Quebec communities that are partners in the Alcoa Fund for Sustainable Communities.
The City of Baie-Comeau, the central city of the biosphere region, has been engaged since 2011 in an exemplary citizen participation initiative: Ma Ville Ma Voix (My City My Voice). Supported since its inception by MUBR, through MU Conseils, the municipality places citizens at the heart of their community’s sustainable development.
As the guardian of the process, MU Conseils coordinates consultation and communication activities, leads committees, supports project promoters, and ensures the consistency and continuous improvement of the initiative.
Inspired by the success of Ma Ville Ma Voix, the Alcoa Aluminum Smelter in Baie-Comeau created the Alcoa Sustainable Communities Fund in 2012, a $25 million fund distributed among Baie-Comeau, Bécancour, and Deschambault-Grondines/Portneuf. In Baie-Comeau, this financial lever translates into the Baie-Comeau Aluminum Smelter Fund for Sustainable Communities: a unique participatory financing model where any citizen idea must first emerge from the Ma Ville Ma Voix initiative before entering the investment process.
Since 2011, more than 10,000 citizens have taken part in this collective adventure, giving rise to more than 75 projects, generating more than $18 million in investments in the region.
Impact for Manicouagan
This initiative has profoundly transformed the culture of public participation in Manicouagan. By giving citizens the means to imagine, design, and carry out promising projects for their community, it has strengthened social cohesion and the capacity for collective action. It positions the region as a nationally recognized model of participatory governance and sustainable development. Thanks to this innovative partnership between the municipal, industrial, and community sectors, Manicouagan demonstrates that economic development can be rooted in collaboration, inclusion, and sustainability.
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NOTICE—This document was translated from French using AI tools and has been reviewed, but minor errors may persist. Please contact us if you have questions about the content.
