Message from the President and CEO

Profile of Societal Contributions

I am pleased to announce that Loto-Québec released its Profile of Societal Contributions a few days ago. Covering the fiscal year beginning April 1, 2009 and ending March 31, 2010, this document outlines the Corporation’s economic, social and environmental contributions to Québec society.

I believe that it is important for everyone to contribute to the prosperity of the province. By participating in societal life — be it through the promotion of local procurement, the creation of jobs, the support of cultural events, or through honest and responsible business practices — organizations play a part in maintaining and improving the quality of life and prosperity of all Québecers. At Loto-Québec, we are constantly striving to maintain the proper balance between our business mission and social responsibility.

The question many people have is “Where do
Loto-Québec’s revenues go?” Last year, the Corporation remitted $1.34 billion to the provincial government for the financing of public programs and services. Loto-Québec belongs to all Québecers and participates actively in our economy. This translates, for example, into the purchase of $399 million worth of goods and services from suppliers conducting business in Québec, more than $990 million in prizes awarded to lottery and bingo winners, and, most importantly, into the direct and indirect jobs associated with the Corporation’s activities, including those of our 7,000 employees.

Over the course of the past year, like me, you have probably attended one of the events sponsored by Loto-Québec, which include the Québec City Summer Festival, the Montréal International Jazz Festival, and the Traversée internationale du Lac Saint-Jean. The activities sponsored by the Corporation serve to contribute to the vitality of numerous regions across the province.

These are but a few examples of the actions taken to successfully fulfill our mission, which is to responsibly manage games of chance in a controlled and measured fashion and in the interests of all Québecers.

I invite you to review the
Profile of Societal Contributions.

Belles-Sœurs Musical in Paris!

This past March 11, Loto-Québec announced that the Belles-Sœurs musical will be crossing the Atlantic to be presented next year at the mythical Théâtre du Rond-Point in Paris thanks to a bold and remarkable partnership. To be able to make this dream happen, we have found a number of other partners — namely, the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, CGI and Power Corporation of Canada.

This initiative represents an excellent opportunity to support and promote Québec culture beyond our borders. It also enables us to offer the Parisian public the chance to see a masterpiece of Québec theatre interpreted as a musical production.

Belles-Sœurs is indeed an exceptional work and, at Loto-Québec, we are committed to lending it significant support, allowing it to delight new audiences, and to giving it the boost needed to enable it to tour internationally. In fact, one year has already passed since Loto-Québec and Les Belles-Sœurs were each celebrating their 40th anniversaries. Therefore we were delighted to be associating with the musical production.

Out of our histories was born a solid partnership — a partnership that has enjoyed success well beyond our expectations. That is why we feel it our duty to support this show and to give it the opportunity to soar to new heights and take the French capital by storm.  

Loto-Québec is extremely proud to be a part of the destiny of these women and the work that has been uniting them on stage for over 40 years.