The MRC du Haut-Saint-Laurent welcomed Luc Sirois, Quebec’s chief innovation officer, on September 29 for an early-morning discussion focused on innovation and economic development in rural areas.
The event was designed to stimulate conversation and foster connections by bringing together innovative thinkers, municipal representatives, and committed entrepreneurs to discuss the future of the Haut-Saint-Laurent region.
“Events like this give us the opportunity to reflect together on how to transform these strengths into opportunities for our region, to view challenges as chances to do better, to push further, and to think differently,” said MRC prefect Yves Métras.
“Innovation isn’t just about technology. Above all, it’s a way of viewing challenges as opportunities to do better, to push further, or to think differently. In regions like ours, this capacity for innovation is particularly important. We face very real challenges,” Métras said, referring to labour shortages, the digital transition, climate change adaptation, and issues along and across the border.
Métras then pointed to the region’s entrepreneurial spirit and creativity, as well as the close ties between partners and tendencies toward collaboration as positive attributes that make the region a hotbed for innovative thinking.
He then introduced Sirois, who opened his talk by recounting a pivotal visit to Ormstown when his younger self met with a McGill University professor who offered him a scholarship.
“We often think of innovation as coming up with inventions, creating something, developing technology, as if it’s something complicated that comes from science,” he commented. “But first and foremost, it’s about improving. It’s about finding something better, finding a solution, and making a positive impact – on our profitability, on our growth, or on the well-being of our employees and the community,” he explained.
Sirois also addressed another misconception about innovation, which is often depicted as a lightbulb moment that strikes suddenly. “We should really be focusing on the socket,” he said. “Because once you have identified the problem, you can find solutions.”
Sirois asked if anyone in the audience had innovated within their organization through an interactive survey. He was pleased to see at least 15 people, or well over 50 per cent of respondents, answered positively. Across Quebec the number of businesses that innovate hovers around 55 per cent, though the figure is slightly less in the Monteregie.
Sirois encouraged everyone present to take small steps, prepare for ideas to fail, and keep going. He noted there were numerous sources for help, from consulting to financial aid. He pointed out that Jean de Dieu Cyubahiro, a certified innovation and economic development advisor for the MRC, was also available.
MRC director general Maude Laberge closed the event by referring to a simplified definition of innovators as people who are eager to solve problems. “There are plenty of those here,” she said while looking at the audience. “There are also lots of problems, and we are always working on them,” she concluded.