Christyne Sasseville, Avocate Inc.

The Business registrar (Registraire des entreprises) maintains a public register in which the information prescribed by law and relating to associations and businesses incorporated or registered in Québec or which carry out activities there is filed and disseminated. The information declared by businesses and companies is made available to all citizens. The role of the registrar also consists of promoting the administrative efficiency of the government and facilitating the communications that the latter maintains with associations and businesses by (1) the allocation of a Québec enterprise number (NEQ) to enterprises that register in the register; (2) communication of information to Québec government departments and agencies that administer public programs for the benefit of businesses.

This dataset includes all busiensses registered with Registraire des entreprises. For each business, the registered information includes Québec business number (NEQ), business name, home address location, incorporation date, update dates, etc. The Quebec business number (NEQ) is the unique identifier for each business. The information contained in the business register is public, and it is the businesses that are responsible for the accuracy of the information they declare.

In 2016, the Government of Quebec and the municipalities of Gatineau, Laval, Montreal, Quebec and Sherbrooke joined their efforts to create the new open data portal, Données Québec. Data Quebec adheres to the principle of open government and aims to providing better access to open data of public interest; giving citizens the opportunity to interact with the organizations disseminating the data; simplify the use and cross-referencing of data; facilitate citizen participation in the development of innovative solutions; increase the transparency of public administrations. Since 2017, the Government of Quebec, through numerous initiatives, has promoted the opening of data and its reuse. The 2021-2023 Open Government Action Plan is part of the continuity and the search for greater transparency within the administration. This is the third plan for Quebec and the first since Quebec joined the Partnership in Open Government and co-created with civil society.