November 3, 2004 Organization

Québec City – The President and CEO of the Autorité des marchés financiers (the “AMF”), Jean St-Gelais, is pleased to announce that the Fund for Investor Education and the Promotion of Good Governance has begun its operations. The AMF today released guidelines that detail the project selection criteria and the conditions for submitting projects to the Fund.

With $14.6 million at its disposal, the Fund will provide financial support in four areas:

• investor protection;
• promotion of good governance;
• investor education;
• improving knowledge about the financial sector.

Flexible and thorough
The project selection criteria and the conditions for submitting projects under the Training and Research categories are both flexible and thorough. “What we’re proposing is based on existing models that have proved to be successful in terms of transparency and accountability. However, we’ve also tried to provide the flexibility necessary to encourage innovation and support the goals of the Fund,” said  St-Gelais.

The document published today (“Guidelines regarding the Fund for Investor Education and the Promotion of Good Governance”) provides the following information:

• description of the Fund and its goals;
• eligibility criteria for projects and applicants;
• type of financing offered;
• cost eligibility;
• rules for submitting an application to the Fund and the decision-making process;
• project assessment and selection criteria;
• project monitoring and accountability requirements.

The AMF President and CEO also noted that the activities supported by the Fund will further the development, vitality and expansion of Québec’s financial sector.

Organizations interested in submitting a project to the Fund may read the Guidelines on the AMF website, or telephone Fund manager Jean-Guy Ouellette at (418) 525-0558, ext. 2304.

Established on February 1, 2004, the Autorité des marchés financiers is the regulatory and oversight body for Québec’s financial sector. The AMF consists of the Commission des valeurs mobilières du Québec, the Bureau des services financiers, the Régie de l’assurance-dépôts du Québec, the Fonds d’indemnisation des services financiers and the Inspector General of Financial Institutions.

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Information:

Journalists only:
Philippe Roy (514) 940-2176
Issuers, dealers, advisers and representatives: (877) 525-0337, dial 9 for English, then dial 1 for industry
Investors: (877) 525-0337, dial 9 for English,then dial 2 for consumers