annual report 2004–2005

Transcription

annual report
2004–2005
RDÉE Canada
450 Rideau Street
Suite 401
Ottawa, Ontario K1N 5Z4
tel.: (613) 244-7308 fax: (613) 244-3934
www.rdee.ca
T a b l e o f c o n t e n t s
Message from the Chair
2
Message from the Director General 3
Mission 4
National Accomplishments
5
Lauriers de la PME 2005
Network Overview
10
National Committee of Economic Development and Employability (CNDÉE)
11
Message from the Co-Chairs (CNDÉE)
11
CNDÉE Structure
12
RDÉE Canada
13
Provincial and Territorial Organizations
14
Provincial and Territorial Accomplishments
15
9
M ESSAGE FRO M T H E C H A I R
I
t has already been more than ten years
since community stakeholders identified economic development in our
Francophone and Acadian communities
as a priority for action. This last year has
unquestionably been the decade’s most
difficult for us; however, now that the Privy
Council Office is directly involved in our
discussions, we can focus on the takeover
of the economic development file by our
federal partners. Although the horizontal
approach desired by the members of the
federal Cabinet seems simple in principle,
we now know that it will require stakeholder commitment at all levels. Last
March the network was facing a major
funding challenge and today we have
before us a solution that will encourage
all the partners to pursue their community
economic development initiatives. The
consultations conducted by our federal
partners have also enabled us to maintain
the dialogue that is essential to our work
and to the realization of our objectives.
In spite of the instability experienced
last year, the network’s maturity allowed us
to address the challenges that were facing
us. We have emerged stronger and better
equipped to continue our mandate with the
Francophone and Acadian communities.
I would like to take advantage of this
opportunity to highlight the dedication of
the RDÉE Canada team and of its Director
General, Mr. Roger Lavoie. Their diligent
work has enabled our provincial and territorial partners throughout the country
to pursue their activities uninterrupted.
I would like to thank my colleagues who
are members of the RDÉE Canada Board
of Directors for their constant support. My
thanks also to the Privy Council Office of
the Canadian Government for its commitment to our national network as well as to
the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne and to its chair, Mr.
George Arès, for their collaboration. Finally,
I wish to highlight the contribution of the
Department of Human Resources and Skills
Development Canada and of Minister Joe
Volpé and I would like to take this opportunity to welcome Ms. Lucienne Robillard
as head of this Department.
In conclusion, I invite all of you to celebrate the accomplishments of the last year
and to make a determined commitment to
the future. It is by working together that
we will succeed in endowing our great
Canadian network with the stability that it
needs to ensure the economic growth and
vitality of our communities.
Claire Bélanger-Parker
Chair, RDÉE Canada
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M ESSAGE FRO M T H E D I RE C TOR GENERAL
A Turbulent Year
DÉE Canada is first and foremost
a network of organizations dedicated to economic development
and employability in the Francophone and
Acadian communities. This considerable
challenge is addressed on a daily basis
by more than 130 individuals employed
by the 12 RDÉEs in the national network.
Confronted with this challenge, the role of
RDÉE Canada is to equip these provincial
and territorial stakeholders with tools to
sustain their work.
Unquestionably, network funding was
the activity that received the most attention last year, which was an especially turbulent one. In 2004–2005, RDÉE Canada
revealed certain urgent requirements if the
network is to maximize its contribution to
the development and vitality of Canada’s
The first of these addressed the establishment of a stable, multi-year financial
structure to ensure ongoing support for
the network. RDÉE Canada was therefore vigorously engaged in this initiative,
which, with the decision-making process
at the federal government well under way,
now seems on the verge of bearing fruit
and should soon lead to a favourable outcome. A second requirement clearly identified by RDÉE Canada consists in ensuring
that the entire network will have access to
the various federal department programs.
This condition is essential to carrying out
the ongoing economic development activities contained in our strategic planning,
including direct business services.
R
Throughout the instability that marked
the last fiscal year, the Board of Directors
and the RDÉE Canada management team
remained focused on the network support
role. On the one hand, the first phase of
the professional development initiatives
for community economic development was
prepared and made available to all network
stakeholders. In this way, RDÉE Canada is
responding to one of the principal needs
identified by its members. On the other
hand, the development of the socioeconomic profiles is proceeding normally. The
primary goal of these profiles is to equip
the RDÉE officers and their local partners
with tools for intervention, starting with a
useful and relevant database. In addition,
the national sector issue tables continued to meet and are proving to be highly
appreciated by the network. These meetings remain privileged occasions for the
network officers to share their expertise
and work support tools.
Working within the framework of the
Agricultural Rural Minority Language
Community Planning Initiative (the Vision
Plans), RDÉE Canada pursued its complementary role with the federal government
in managing—and especially in monitoring—this program. In 2004–2005, the
economic intelligence service was fully
integrated into the network’s operations
and is proving to be highly valued by all
members. Finally, communications will
form a greater part of the services provided
to network members. Our new colleague
in charge of communications, who
joined us in January 2005, has quite
a challenge on her hands to make
RDÉE Canada and its national network and
their accomplishments known to the various target audiences.
In closing, I would like to thank the
members of the Board of Directors of RDÉE
Canada and the Chair, Ms. Claire BélangerParker, for their constant support. Thanks
also to Mr. Pierre LeBlanc for his valuable
collaboration this last fiscal year. I would
also like to highlight the exemplary participation of the RDÉE representatives and
managers who all take the development
of their communities so much to heart.
Finally, I thank my colleagues Aubrey,
Richard, Maurice, Marie, Nathalie and
Karine, who are motivated by a true passion for their work with the network.
Roger Lavoie
Director General, RDÉE Canada
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mi s s i o n
In collaboration with its provincial and
territorial partners, RDÉE Canada promotes
economic development and employment
creation in Canada’s Francophone and
Acadian communities.
n a t i o n a l a cc o m p l i s hm e n t s
T
he efforts expended by the members
of RDÉE Canada and their federal
partners to ensure stable, longterm funding for the network have finally
resulted in some very encouraging prospects for the future. The adoption last fall
of a memorandum filed with the federal
Cabinet is a sign that the Canadian Government is reiterating its commitment to
the country’s Francophone and Acadian
communities with respect to economic
development and employability. In the
spirit of the Memorandum of Understanding signed in 1998 with the Francophone
and Acadian community economic sector stakeholders, the federal government
is thus committing itself to backing the
implementation of RDÉE Canada’s planning for the country as a whole. The new
federal government commitment can be
perceived as an acknowledgement of RDÉE
Canada and its national network as a privileged stakeholder in economic development and employability in the Francophone
and Acadian communities.
At the end of a long research and consultation process, the representatives of
the federal side (Canadian Government)
and of the community side (RDÉE Canada)
of the National Committee of Economic
Development and Employability proposed
to the federal government that a horizontal
approach be implemented as a long-term
solution to funding the RDÉE Canada network. One of their suggestions was a new
governance structure for the National Committee coordinated by a central agency
that will be able to rally the participation
of the economically-oriented departments.
This initiative was also intended as an
exercise in consolidating the network and
received firm support from government and
community representatives alike.
COMMUNITY ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY
With stable, long-term funding, RDÉE
Canada is confident that it will be able
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to continue implementing its community
economic development strategy within the
This strategy stakes its success on planning and on action based on the following
four main lines:
1) development of businesses and
industries;
2) business support services;
3) employment adjustment;
4) strengthening of community capabilities with respect to economic
development.
The recent commitment demonstrated
by the federal government is a first step
towards the realization of this strategy
designed to meet the economic development needs of our communities.
NETWORK SUPPORT SERVICES
RDÉE Canada constantly seeks to remain
an effective national network in solidarity with the economic development and
employability stakeholders in the Francophone and Acadian communities; as such,
it maintains and pioneers support services
at several levels for its members across
Canada. These support services include
organizing and holding the national issue
tables, which are essential to carrying
out the network’s undertakings. RDÉE
Canada will therefore continue to support its provincial and territorial members
by providing follow-up to these meetings,
including the completion of the national
action plans.
Professional development initiatives in
community economic development are now
being offered to the network’s stakeholders. Another major project that fits directly
into the community economic development strategy is the preparation of socioeconomic profiles of the Francophone and
Acadian communities. In terms of partnerships and innovation, RDÉE Canada is pursuing its knowledge management strategy,
which hinges on new virtual collaborative
tools that include an economic intelligence
program and new communities of practice. RDÉE Canada also conducts concrete
actions to attain its communication objectives, in particular through the hiring of a
senior communications coordinator. The
team is already hard at work organizing
the third edition of the Lauriers de la PME
competition, to be held next fall with the
participation of the network’s provincial
and territorial organizations.
NATIONAL CONSULTATION
The articulation of a shared discourse on
economic development and employability
in the Francophone and Acadian communities is an interactive and ongoing
process for RDÉE Canada. By organizing
and holding the national issue tables, the
RDÉE Canada members are able to meet,
exchange ideas and advance their vision
of economic development and employability together.
Among the consultation mechanisms
used by RDÉE Canada, the national issue
table of the representatives and managers
plays an essential advisory role in terms
of the network’s strategic and operational
directions.
Four Sectors at Work
Whereas each of RDÉE Canada’s four
national sector issue tables was updating
its national action plan in 2003–2004,
the 2004–2005 fiscal year has provided
the opportunity to enhance and implement these plans. In RDÉE Canada’s four
priority activity sectors, the importance of
these action plans has been clearly felt.
They bring together the directions shared
by the provincial and territorial RDÉEs and
aim to maximize the network’s interventions within the Francophone and Acadian
communities.
The last fiscal year also demonstrated
the importance of these national consultation meetings in each of the four priority activity sectors. Not only have they
once again fostered exchanges on experiences and best practices in the provinces
and territories but also the professional
development component was considerably
expanded during last year’s meetings. The
various refresher workshops made available to the members have therefore had a
very positive impact.
Finally, the fact that these sector
consultation meetings have been held in
various areas of the country has fostered a
better appreciation of the regional accomplishments. RDÉE Canada considers that
the geographic rotation of the sector tables
significantly contributes to learning and to
network consolidation.
Over the past months, RDÉE Canada
has also forged links with national organizations in each of the network’s four
activity sectors. Thanks to a greater promotion of exchanges with these recognized
organizations, valuable collaborations have
developed with the provincial and territorial RDÉEs.
Rural Development
After two years of co-managing the Agricultural Rural Minority Language Community
Planning Initiative program (local planning, commonly called the Vision Plans)
with the Rural Secretariat of Agriculture
and Agri-Food Canada, the rural development sector made sustained efforts during
the last fiscal year to ensure that these
plans were implemented. Among other
activities, the sector had to increase the
number of meetings with and presentations
to the departments concerned. Parallel to
this awareness-raising work, the sector’s
officers were able to forge significant partnerships to begin effectively implementing
these local planning projects.
In particular, RDÉE Canada produced,
in collaboration with the RDÉE Manitoba,
a document demonstrating the significant
spin-offs of the local planning projects, the
accomplishments, the leverage effects and
the growing interest shown by the communities in these types of initiatives.
The rural development sector also conceptualized and implemented its national
action plan based on the following three
components in addition to the Vision
Plans:
1) capacity building (with the leaders,
young people, officers and the communities in general);
2) rural development (development,
diversification, including local planning projects);
3) networking and partnerships.
Tourism
Thanks to a national action plan defined
and under implementation since 2003,
the tourism sector of RDÉE Canada made
progress in fiscal 2004–2005 on issues
corresponding to its action plan:
1) skills acquisition;
2) partnerships;
3) research.
Last fall’s sector meeting was held in
parallel with the annual national conference of the Tourism Industry Association of
Canada (TIAC-AITC) in Whitehorse, Yukon;
consequently, all the tourism sector officers of RDÉE Canada were able to take part
in this event that brings together the country’s principal leaders in tourism. There
was general agreement that the experience
contributed to making the network better known among the national, provincial
and territorial stakeholders in tourism and
fostered new exchanges and partnerships.
This was particularly true in the case of the
Canadian Tourism Commission and various
provincial and territorial departments and
agencies responsible for tourism.
During the year and in anticipation of
implementing the sector’s national action
plan, new links were forged with, among
other organizations, the Canadian Tourism
Human Resource Council, the Fédération
québécoise de camping et de caravaning
and the Université du Québec à Montréal.
Finally, RDÉE Canada retained a consulting firm to establish a classification
scale for French language tourist services
provided in the country’s Francophone and
Acadian communities.
Knowledge-Based Economy
During the last fiscal year, the national
issue table for the knowledge-based
economy focused more on its national
action plan. This plan is based on three
priorities:
1) raising the awareness of and integrating electronic business into
Francophone and Acadian small
businesses;
2) developing the full use potential of
broadband service;
3) deploying communities of practice
within the network.
In particular, the issue table has commissioned a study on the progression of
e-business in small businesses in the
Francophone and Acadian communities
in order to gain an overall picture of the
situation and validate the hypothesis that
these small businesses are now catching up with the rest of Canada. By relying
on the full use potential of broadband,
the knowledge-based economy issue table
plans to draw its inspiration from the best
practices of “smart communities”, such
as the one officially recognized by Industry
Canada in the Acadian Peninsula in New
Brunswick. The knowledge-based economy
table also wishes to integrate into the network’s professional development program
its strategy of deploying communities of
practice; this will promote the creation of
learning communities, which is currently
one form of a community of practice.
The issue table members have also
studied the possibilities of establishing
a national hardware and software acquisition policy for the network as a whole
and have examined the development
of virtual collaborative tools such as
Internet telephony.
Youth in Economic
Development
During the 2004–2005 fiscal year, the
national action plan of the youth in economic development sector saw significant
enhancements and was implemented. This
plan is based on work carried out with
two client groups: youth 18 years old and
younger and those between the ages of 18
and 30. For the 18 year olds and younger,
the work falls specifically within the scope
of entrepreneurship, while for the 18 to
30 year old group, it concerns entrepreneurship and employability.
To gain better knowledge of their clientele, the officers rely on the socioeconomic
profiles of the Francophone and Acadian
communities developed by RDÉE Canada in
collaboration with the network’s provincial
and territorial organizations.
As part of the sector meetings, the
youth officers exchanged and developed
various types of activities to counter the
exodus of young people from the rural
Francophone communities; this is one of
the important components of the sector’s
action plan. The concept of youth entrepreneurship camps was another focus of
attention for the officers. Several of these
camps have been quite successful in various communities in Canada. The group
also took advantage of its sector meetings to make visits and attend upgrading sessions.
One component of the youth action
plan aims to encourage young people to
enter the labour market; in keeping with
this, the sector made special efforts to
obtain the resources needed to offer young
people a variety of practical job training
opportunities.
Through its initiatives to acquire additional expertise, the sector continued, in
particular, its collaboration with the Fondation de l’entrepreneurship du Québec.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
During the last year, RDÉE Canada was
hard at work developing and setting up
professional development initiatives in
community economic development (CED)
for network members. Following the consolidation of the network, it became obvious that training in the CED approach and
techniques was another major challenge for
the community stakeholders. For some time
already, members of the national network
had expressed their desire to have access
to CED expertise. A profile of the academic
training of CED experts was completed
as part of a needs study and pointed out,
moreover, the importance of perfecting the
members’ skills in this area.
The proposed initiatives are based on a
skills development pedagogical approach.
The primary objective is to have the network members become familiar with all the
skills needed to carry out CED work. Since
the members are geographically scattered,
RDÉE Canada intends to make maximum
use of self-learning, distance professional
development and communities of practice as learning methods. The knowledgemanagement initiatives of RDÉE Canada
and its investments in information technologies are intrinsically linked to professional development in an organizational
context. Members who complete this initiative will receive a certificate of attendance
and learning.
Professional development is consistent
with the strategy initiated by RDÉE Canada
to meet the needs of the Francophone and
Acadian communities vis-à-vis economic
development planning and intervention as
well as human capacity development. As a
partner in carrying out and delivering its
professional development initiative, RDÉE
Canada has formed an association with
the Coopérative de consultation en développement La Clé in Victoriaville, Quebec.
This workers’ co-operative is recognized
throughout Canada for the quality of it
programs and consultants.
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RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS
Research and analysis are fundamental
to the community economic development
cycle. During the recent fiscal year, RDÉE
Canada set as one of its priorities the
development of socioeconomic profiles of
the Francophone and Acadian communities. The primary purpose of this initiative
is to equip the RDÉE officers and their
community economic development partners
with tools to access information giving
them a better understanding of the communities they serve.
Currently, the officers can access information and data whose scope and relevance vary greatly. The CED stakeholders
must have more accurate, relevant and
consistent socioeconomic data to support
their analyses and reflections and to be in
a position to assess the impact of their
interventions. RDÉE Canada has already
begun developing a number of these socioeconomic profiles. This initiative is a direct
response to the objectives stemming from
the network’s strategy for community economic development. The socioeconomic
profiles will constitute dynamic tools that
will be continuously updated and accessible online via RDÉE Canada’s Web site.
The approach used to develop these
socioeconomic profiles involves creating
partnerships with a certain number of
stakeholders, including the Fédération des
communautés francophones et acadienne
du Canada and the following departments
and agencies: Canadian Heritage, Statistics Canada, Citizenship and Immigration
Canada and Industry Canada.
Furthermore, RDÉE Canada has continued to provide its members with a daily
economic intelligence service centred on
community economic development, particularly in the network’s four priority activity
sectors. A recent assessment of this support service by network members showed,
moreover, that the use and satisfaction
levels are very high.
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PARTNERSHIPS AND
innovation
RDÉE Canada’s community economic
development strategy is based on, among
other things, the creation and support of
strategic alliances. In addition to the federal members of the National Committee of
Economic Development and Employability,
RDÉE Canada and the provincial and territorial organizations in the network maintain many other partnerships. Although
these alliances or collaborations are not
exclusively of a financial nature, they
endow the network with expertise and credibility. Such is the case with the alliances
with the Canadian Institute for Research
on Linguistic Minorities, the Conference
Board of Canada and McGill University,
which represent significant collaborations
for the network and its members in terms
of analysis and research. These recognized
institutions are proving to be privileged
associates from a development and innovation perspective
In the same vein, RDÉE Canada has
recently opened talks with the Quebec CFDC
network (Community Futures Development
Corporation) to conclude a Memorandum of
Understanding. This collaboration will enable both networks to take mutual advantage of targeted resources and increase
the support services available to their
members. The achievement of partnerships and alliances thus aims to optimize
the ability of the provincial and territorial organizations in the network to intervene in the economic development of their
communities.
Communications
Still within the context of implementing its
strategic planning, in 2004–2005 RDÉE
Canada gave itself the mandate of setting up a structure to help it attain its
communications objectives. The position
of senior communications coordinator was
therefore created to harmonize all of RDÉE
Canada’s communications activities, make
our economic development and employability network better known and contribute to
the development of internal communications mechanisms with the RDÉEs and
with the network’s partners. In this context,
we have implemented a communications
plan that takes into consideration all the
strategies developed by the network. This
plan establishes new communicational
measures and at the same time takes
into account the concrete actions already
undertaken by RDÉE Canada.
In addition, in order to better attain
its communications objectives and better position itself, RDÉE Canada has
brought added value to its slogan, which
now reads: Le réseau national de développement économique francophone (The
national Francophone economic development network).
“A THIRD EDITION EXPECTED”
In recognition of entrepreneurial excellence in the
Francophone and Acadian
communities
The third edition of the Lauriers de la PME competition has been officially launched.
Following the success of the first two editions, RDÉE Canada is enthusiastically anticipating this event.
Once more this year, the awards gala, scheduled to take place in Ottawa next
October 22, will be the closing event of the Semaine de la PME. In 2001 and 2003, Francophone businesses from all regions of the country came away winners in the competition’s
four categories corresponding to the network’s activity sectors. Now that this event has
achieved national credibility, the 2005 competition promises to be impressive in scope
and the accompanying media coverage will be unprecedented. Since this is an occasion
of such great magnitude, many hours have already been devoted to organizing the event
in consultation with the provincial and territorial organizations.
The Lauriers de la PME competition rewards Francophone businesses outside Quebec
in accordance with their economic performance and social commitment. The winning
businesses receive national recognition and visibility.
New logo
The new logo for the Lauriers de la PME competition fits in with the new visual identity
adopted in 2003. Evoking the winners’ success and glory, the laurel branches have been
redesigned borrowing the curve and red colour that accent RDÉE Canada’s logo. More
modern, it further highlights the name and nature of this event aimed at Francophone
and Acadian small businesses in Canada.
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network overview
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NAT I ONAL C O M M I TTEE OF E C ONO M I C D EVELOP M ENT AN D E M PLOYAB I L I TY ( C N D É E )
T
he National Committee of Economic Development and Employability is an instrument
for bringing the Francophone and Acadian communities and the Government of
Canada closer together. The objective is to promote the development and socioeconomic vitality of Canada’s Francophone communities. Its role has three components:
• maintain sustained relations between the Francophone and Acadian communities
and the Government of Canada;
• provide advice in order to orient the policies, programs and services of the federal
organizations on the Committee;
• stimulate the socioeconomic development of Canada’s Francophone
communities.
m e s s a g e f r o m t h e c o - ch a i r s ( C N D É E )
A
s Co-Chairs of the National Committee of Economic Development and Employability (CNDÉE), we are proud of the progress accomplished during the last year. The
CNDÉE is now solidly anchored in the communities as well as in the federal government culture. Indeed, we are in a position to observe how the CNDÉE and RDÉE Canada
have been able, over the years, to establish themselves as leaders in their communities and have so served so often as models for relations between the government and
community-based groups in Canada.
One of the successes of the last fiscal year was the creation of a parity working group.
Although not all solutions have been identified, this working group has enabled us to
begin reflecting on the desired long-term results vis-à-vis the development of the official
language minority communities.
In addition, last year saw the extension of our partnership to the federal government
level. The Privy Council Office, Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Indian and Northern
Affairs joined the National Committee, opening the door to new opportunities for the
We believe that the coming year will once again be characterized by the same spirit of
cooperation and partnership between RDÉE Canada and the federal government and we
believe that we will be positioned to establish new projects promoting the development
and vitality of the official language minority communities across the entire country.
Louise Branch
Co-Chair
Claire Bélanger-Parker
Co-Chair
At work in the Francophone and
Acadian communities
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CNDÉE structure
community side
federal side
Ms. Claire Bélanger-Parker
Co-Chair
Mr. Roger Lavoie
Director General
Ms. Louise Branch
Co-Chair
Ms. Michelle Hamelin
General Secretary
BOard of directors of RDÉE
Canada
Departments and Agencies
Represented on the
Federal Side
Eastern region
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Mr. Brian Murphy
Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
Mr. Kurt Inder
Business Development Bank of Canada
Ms. Sylvie Ratté
Canadian Heritage
Ms. Sheila Macdonald
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Ms. Élise Lavigne
Human Resources and Skills
Development Canada
Ms. Dianne Bradley
Indian and Northern Affairs Canada
Ms. Sheilagh Murphy
Industry Canada
Ms. Mary Pavich
Privy Council Office
Ms. Anne Scotton
Public Works and Government Services
Ms. Francine Bastien
Western Economic Diversification
Canada
Ms. Kiran Cahoon
Mr. Jean-Paul Deveau, Director
Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
Ms. Germaine Montague, Director
Notre-Dame-de-Kent, New Brunswick
two vacant positions
central region
Mr. Pierre Bélanger, Vice Chair
Earlton, Ontario
Mr. Simon Proulx, Treasurer
Ottawa, Ontario
Ms. Pascale Harster, Director
Dundas, Ontario
western region
Ms. Claire Bélanger-Parker, Chair
Regina, Saskatchewan
Ms. Louise Durand, Director
Île-des-Chênes, Manitoba
Ms. Francine Thivierge, Director
North Delta, British Columbia
Mr. Léo Piquette, Director
Plamondon, Alberta
northern region
observer
Mr. Pierre Lacasse, Director
Whitehorse, Yukon
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RDÉE
Canada
Fednor
Mr. Michel Racine
RDÉE Canada
RDÉE Canada team
Mr. Roger Lavoie
Director General
Mr. Richard Aubry
Deputy Director General
Mr. Aubrey Cormier
Director of Organizational
Intelligence
Mr. Maurice Chiasson
Director of Sectoral Collaboration
and Liaison
Ms. Marie Dorion
Director of Operations
Ms. Karine Silva
Chief Coordinator of Communications
Ms. Nathalie Gélinas
Administrative Assistant
RDÉE Canada Team
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p r o v i n ci a l a n d t e r r i t o r i a l o r g a n i z a t i o n s
RDÉE Colombie-Britannique
RDÉE Nouveau-Brunswick
Société de développement économique de la Colombie-Britannique
Mr. Donald Cyr, Director General
Mr. René Digard, Manager, RDÉE
Conseil économique du Nouveau-Brunswick
Mr. Robert Frenette, Manager, RDÉE
RDÉE Nouvelle-Écosse
La Chambre économique de l’Alberta
Mr. Frank Saulnier, Chief Executive Officer and Manager, RDÉE
Conseil de développement économique de la Nouvelle-Écosse
Ms. Julie Oliver, Director General
Mr. Yvon Samson, Manager, RDÉE
RDÉE saskatchewan
RDÉE Île-du-Prince-Édouard
Conseil de la coopération de la Saskatchewan
Mr. Robert Therrien, Director General
Mr. Siriki Diabagaté, Manager, RDÉE
Société de développement de la Baie acadienne
Ms. Louise Comeau, Director General
Mr. Francis Thériault, Manager, RDÉE
RDÉE Manitoba
RDÉE Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador
Conseil de développement économique des municipalités bilingues du Manitoba
Ms. Mariette Mulaire, Director General
Ms. Diane Bruyère, Manager, RDÉE
Fédération des francophones de Terre-Neuve et du Labrador
Ms. Josée Dalton, Manager, RDÉE
RDÉE Alberta
RDÉE Yukon
RDÉE ontario
Regroupement franco-ontarien de développement économique et d’employabilité
Ms. Nicole Sauvé, Director General
Association franco-yukonnaise
Mr. Dominique Pépin-Filion, Manager, RDÉE
eastern region
RDÉE Territoires du Nord-Ouest
Mr. Paul Onadja, Manager, RDÉE
Conseil de développement économique des Territoires du Nord-Ouest
Mr. André L. Routhier, Director and Manager, RDÉE
southwestern region
Ms. Annie Dell, Manager, RDÉE
northern region
RDÉE Nunavut
Mr. Guy Robichaud, Manager, RDÉE
Association des francophones du Nunavut
Mme Chantal Gabriot, Manager, RDÉE
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British Columbia
STREET YOUTH AND
EMPLOYMENT
FRANCOPHONE HUMAN
RESOURCES
In partnership with La Boussole, the RDÉE
Colombie-Britannique supported a study
to track a category of young Francophones
identified as street youth, who make up
between 20 and 30 percent of Vancouver’s
young people living on the streets. The
study extended to the Okanagan region
because this area attracts youth in search
of seasonal jobs who subsequently end up
in Vancouver and are often destitute.
Thanks to this study, an assessment
was made to determine how the RDÉE
Colombie-Britannique could work with
this client group, particularly in terms
of reintegrating young people into the
labour force.
Increasingly multicultural and largely
urban, British Columbia’s Francophone
community is overwhelmingly bilingual and
constitutes added value for development of
the province’s economy.
In this regard, the RDÉE ColombieBritannique has completed a study to
explore the economic sectors in which
Francophones are currently working in
order to obtain information on qualified
and available human resources.
Key partners
La Boussole
Justice Canada
Fédération des francophones de
Colombie-Britannique
A NEW METHOD OF
COMMUNICATING
The Francophones of British Columbia
who live in rural areas are extremely
scattered throughout the province. The
RDÉE Colombie-Britannique has therefore
decided to set up an Internet-based communications system linking five regions of
the province.
This initiative has made it possible to
create a new dynamic and to test a new
method of communicating with the rural
communities at little cost. This project
will also enable the RDÉE ColombieBritannique to gain better knowledge of
the reality facing Francophones who live
in rural areas.
Key partner
Western Economic Diversification Canada
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Key partners
Go2 (Tourism British Columbia)
Development Canada
Statistics Canada
THE LABOUR FORCE AND
CUSTOMIZED TRAINING
The RDÉE Colombie-Britannique carried
out and contributed to a number of studies
aimed at gaining a picture of the situation
in those economic sectors where Francophones could take advantage of their
knowledge of the French language and
their culture. These studies provided information on the labour market in six industry
sectors in which training programs for
Francophones have been developed.
At the same time, the RDÉE ColombieBritannique has had a study carried out on
the employment potentials in occupations
requiring manual skills.
Key partners
Éducacentre
Development Canada
distance training
The RDÉE Colombie-Britannique has completed a study to identify the most appropriate and accessible ways to deliver
distance training. This was done to help
our educational partners set up a network
capable of adequately and cost effectively
meeting the training needs of Francophones who lack ready access to services
in French.
SOCIOECONOMIC FORUM
A consultation with the British Columbia
community groups was carried out in
March 2004. As a follow-up, the RDÉE
Colombie-Britannique has undertaken to
set up a socioeconomic forum in March
2005 that will bring together the province’s
Francophone community stakeholders.
The forum, called Préparons demain,
aujourd’hui (Let’s prepare for tomorrow
today), will enable us to identify, prioritize
and support the projects put forward by the
community concerning economic development, employment development and community capacity building.
Key partners
Éducacentre
Fédération des francophones de
Colombie-Britannique
Francophone Affairs Secretariat
(Government of British Columbia)
French Chamber of Commerce in Canada
Association des francophones de Nanaimo
The socioeconomic forum Préparons demain,
aujourd’hui (Let’s prepare for tomorrow
today) will bring together stakeholders in
British Columbia’s Francophone community.
Alberta
A PRESTIGIOUS TOURISM
AWARD
MEETING THE NEEDS OF
YOUTH
The year 2004 was once more an important one in terms of tourism for the RDÉE
Alberta. Following in last year’s footsteps,
the RDÉE Alberta, with 13 private sector
partners this time, produced another promotional campaign specifically targeting
the Quebec market. This campaign significantly increased the number of visitors
from Quebec and won for the RDÉE Alberta
and the Chambre économique de l’Alberta
the Travel Alberta 2004 Alto Award for
excellence in the “partnership marketing” category.
Economic studies demonstrate that the
next five years are critical in terms of
replacing the working population who will
be leaving the labour market. A shortage of
workers is expected in 73 of the 75 active
industry sectors. The RDÉE Alberta has
therefore been active preparing studies
to be conducted in 2005 concerning the
employment profiles and needs of youth
aged 18 to 30.
key partners
Travel Alberta
Department of Alberta Economic
Development
Several major private sector partners
VISION PLANS IN
DEVELOPMENT
The RDÉE Alberta is still very actively participating in a number of Agricultural Rural
Minority Language Community Planning
Initiative projects (the Vision Plans).
In the municipality of Plamondon, the
Implementation Committee successfully
obtained a significant sum from Lakeland
County to carry out its projects. In addition, partnerships are being studied and
the RDÉE Alberta is counting on the participation of other agencies to meet the
community’s expectations.
In the Saint-Isidore region, the RDÉE
Alberta continued its community-building
efforts by assisting three local cooperatives. The Implementation Committee
has been busy developing partnerships to
ensure follow-up to its local planning.
key partner
A WEB SITE FOR ARTISTS
The RDÉE Alberta has completed a business plan to seek funding for a project
aimed at providing the province’s Francophone artists with the opportunity to
sell their products over the Internet. An
agreement has been signed with a Calgary
company to conceptualize and produce this
site, which is expected to be launched during the year.
key partners
Nomatterware (Nevada) Inc.
Arvic Secure
A REGIONAL COMMUNITY
RADIO
To reduce the start-up and operational
costs associated with developing a community radio, the RDÉE Alberta has initiated a cooperative approach that promotes
the grouping of four cities and proposes a
regional—rather than local—radio. The
RDÉE Alberta has also suggested an Internet pilot project as a broadcast method.
The Chambre économique de l’Alberta (CÉA) and the RDÉE Alberta were the winners of the
Alto Award in 2004, presented by Travel Alberta for excellence in the “partnership marketing”
category. (Left to right) Jim Vince, President of Parcom Travel Marketing; Frank Saulnier, CEO
of CÉA and Mark Norris, Minister of Alberta Economic Development.
INTERNET DEVELOPMENT
The RDÉE Alberta is working on producing
a one-stop tourist Internet service for visitors to the Greater Edmonton area. Tourism
businesses will be able to present their
attractions on this portal. An analytical
study in collaboration with 13 surrounding
municipalities is under way and agreements have been signed to link the Internet
site to Travel Alberta’s tourism information
base and to the geographical information
system of Alberta Capital Region Alliance,
an association of municipalities.
Several companies have taken advantage of the RDÉE Alberta consulting service for Internet site development and
functionality.
Each year, the Chambre économique de
l’Alberta presents awards for excellence to
Francophone businesses and to a communitybased organization involved in the economic
development of a region. This year the award
went to the Association canadienne française
(ACFA) de Lethbridge. (Left to right) Camille
Bérubé, guest of honour, Adèle Porato, Chair
of the ACFA de Lethbridge and Léo Piquette,
Chair of the Executive Office of CÉA.
key partners
Travel Alberta
Alberta Capital Region Alliance
Edmonton Regional Tourism Group
key partners
Association canadienne-française de
l’Alberta (Régionale de St-Paul)
l’Alberta (Régionale de Bonnyville/
Cold Lake)
l’Alberta (Régionale de Plamondon/
Lac La Biche)
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S a s k a t ch e w a n
THE PRIX BRAVO AND
LEADERSHIP TRAINING
The Conseil de la Coopération de la
Saskatchewan and the RDÉE Saskatchewan
have now awarded the Prix BRAVO for the
second consecutive year. This award,
intended to recognize the efforts of those
volunteers who have worked on economic
issues, is given by members of their
community.
The Conseil has also set up a Leadership training program with the objective of ensuring the future of economic
development in the Saskatchewan Francophone community. Those taking part
are candidates who have been nominated
for the Prix BRAVO or individuals who have
initiated community economic development projects.
key partners
Development Canada
Affinity Credit Union REGIONAL ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT GROUP
In order to implement the recommendations
contained in their Vision Plan, the communities of Bellevue, Domremy and SaintLouis have decided to unite to establish a
regional economic development group.
The role of the RDÉE Saskatchewan
has been to support the communities by
providing information on existing models
and by helping them analyze the various
options available to this group.
key partners
Development Canada
Communities of Bellevue, Domremy and
Saint-Louis
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COMPUTER SUMMER CAMP
The computer camp is a mobile camp that
aims to improve the technical skills of the
participants, regardless of their age or
level of computer use. The upgrading workshops focus on such varied topics as office
automation, Internet site creation, community radio broadcasting over the Internet
and image and video clip manipulation.
In 2004, more than a hundred participants
benefited from these workshops.
key partners Service fransaskois de formation
aux adultes
“Guichet unique” (one-stop service)
of the Assemblée communautaire
fransaskoise
Development Canada
Communities of Bellevue, Domremy,
Duck Lake, Ponteix, Regina, St-Denis,
St-Louis and Zenon Park
FRANCOBOUTIQUE.CA
The idea for Francoboutique.ca came about
at the request of entrepreneurs in various regions of Canada—often rural—who
lacked easy access to the important client
groups found in urban centres.
An e-commerce Internet site has been
developed, enabling Francophone entrepreneurs to initiate themselves to the new
technologies by presenting their products
on the site. This project was conducted
by the Conseil de la Coopération de la
Saskatchewan and the RDÉE Saskatchewan, in collaboration with the RDÉE Yukon
and the RDÉE Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador, as
part of Industry Canada’s Francommunautés
virtuelles program.
key partners
Industry Canada
RDÉE Yukon
A Leadership training program was
offered by the Conseil de la coopération
de la Saskatchewan (CCS) and the RDÉE
Saskatchewan. (Left to right) Cécile LeBlancTurner, Rural Development Officer, RDÉE
Saskatchewan; Éthel Côté, Trainer, and
Robert Revet, CCS Chair.
YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS’
CAMP AND FOLLOW-UP
ACTIVITY
The second Young Entrepreneurs’ Camp
was held between July 24 and August 1,
2004. New this year was the fact that
the camp was organized in collaboration
with the Manitoba RDÉE. Two young people
from that province were thus able to take
advantage of this great experience.
A follow-up to both editions of the
Young Entrepreneurs’ Camp was held in
December 2004. Twenty-one former participants from the summers of 2003 and
2004 came together in Saskatoon for a
weekend of activities. The program had
a three-pronged focus that consisted of
explaining the micro-loan program set up
by the RDÉE Saskatchewan; beginning a
reflection with the young people on identifying the economic potentials that exist in
their communities; and finally, carrying out
a case study on a business plan.
key partners
Development Canada
Saskatchewan Department of Learning
Service fransaskois de formation
aux adultes
Intergovernmental Affairs Secretariat
Division scolaire francophone 310
Radio-Canada
RDÉE Manitoba
Young beginners at the Zenon Park summer
computer camp.
WEB SITE CREATION
COMPETITION
The RDÉE Saskatchewan and the Conseil
de la Coopération organized the fourth Web
Site Creation competition, a collaboration
between the knowledge-based economy
sector and the youth sector of the RDÉE
Saskatchewan.
Eighteen teams took part in this competition intended for the province’s students
in Francophone or immersion schools. The
awards presentation was held during the
New Information and Communication Technologies Week in May 2004.
key partners
Balfour Moss
Official Minority Language Office
Development Canada
Division scolaire francophone 310
Saskatchewan Office of French-language
Co-ordination
SaskEnergy
Manitoba
A CORPORATE IDENTITY FOR
BILINGUAL MUNICIPALITIES
RECOGNITION OF FRANCOMANITOBAN JOIE DE VIVRE
As part of the Leave a Legacy project, the
Conseil de développement économique
des municipalités bilingues du Manitoba
(CDEM), which incorporates the RDÉE
Manitoba, undertook a large number
of consultations in the regions and in
Winnipeg to define a new corporate
identity for the province’s 16 bilingual
municipalities.
The municipality of La Broquerie and
the French Quarter of St. Boniface were
selected to test the new visuals as part
of a pilot project. Following an evaluation,
these will be implemented in all the bilingual municipalities.
In February 2004, the booth developed by
the CDEM, Joie de vivre Main Street, earned
the Best Overall Award at Discover MB for
the hospitality of the volunteers and the
dynamic presentation of the booths.
In March 2004, at the Brandon Rural
Forum, the CDEM’s Joie de vivre campaign
received the Travel Manitoba 2003 Marketing Award. Simone Neveux, the 2003
Coordinator of the Corridor touristique
francophone de l’Ouest, also earned the
Ambassador Award for the work she did
for the event.
Finally, and still in the month of March,
the CDEM launched the second edition of
its tourist guide Joie de vivre. The new brochure now brings Manitoba’s three bilingual tourist regions together in a single
guide, which was produced in partnership
with the Province of Manitoba.
key partners
Canadian Heritage
Société franco-manitobaine
BILINGUAL MUNICIPALITIES
ON THE MOVE
As a rural economic development catalyser, the CDEM’s Vision project model has
left its mark on the Canadian scene and
the concept has been chosen as a model
of community planning by both Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and Canadian
Heritage.
Since the creation of the CDEM in 1996,
130 large-scale projects based on Vision
Plans have seen the light of day in various bilingual municipalities in Manitoba.
These projects represent investments
of nearly $137,000,000 throughout the
communities.
key partners
Manitoba Association of Bilingual
Municipalities
Canadian Heritage
key partners
Province of Manitoba
Travel Manitoba
Development Canada
Destination Winnipeg
ON THE INTERNATIONAL
SCENE
Bilingualism is proving to be important
as an added value in Manitoba’s business
sector and is attracting an increasing
number of foreigners. European entrepreneurs are planning to set up businesses
in Manitoba and become involved in the
economic development of the bilingual
municipalities.
Excited by the dynamism of FrancoManitobans and the region’s business
potential, six entrepreneurs from Alsace
have already filed their applications with
Immigration Manitoba and the Canadian
Embassy in France.
In March 2005, the CDEM headed an
important economic delegation to Alsace.
The success of the Joie de vivre campaign earned the Travel Manitoba 2003 Marketing Award for
the CDEM. (Left to right) Michèle Gervais, President of O’Tours; Gary Doer, Premier of Manitoba;
Mariette Mulaire, Director General of the CDEM; Eric Robinson, Minister of Manitoba Culture,
Heritage and Tourism.
A group consisting of 75 people from the
business world and from agencies of the
bilingual municipalities will take part in
this activity, including Mr. Gary Doer, Premier of Manitoba, and other government
representatives.
key partners
Industry Canada
Foreign Affairs Canada
Société franco-manitobaine
TECHNOLOGICAL CONVERSION Well aware that knowledge plays a
decisive role in the economy, the CDEM
has formed associations with various
community development corporations to
ensure that services and technical support are provided to entrepreneurs and to
the Franco-Manitoban community-based
organizations so that they can make the
conversion to technology.
THE CHALLENGE OF
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
A dozen young people aged 16 to 25 have
taken up the challenge of entrepreneurship in the context of the CDEM’s Summer
Business Youth Program. In total, three
businesses in Winnipeg and ten in rural
areas have offered their services to the
public—a record for participation.
Key partners
Development Canada
Conseil jeunesse provincial
Key partners
Development Canada
Manitoba Association of Bilingual
Municipalities
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CENTRAL SOUTHWEST
BUSINESS INCUBATOR
NETWORK
The planning sessions held by the RDÉE
Ontario and its partners concerning the
Vision Plans (Agricultural Rural Minority
Language Community Planning Initiative)
pointed out the need to implement measures promoting community economic development, especially through the creation of
businesses drawn from the Francophone
communities.
With the support of the RDÉE Ontario,
some developers of the Toronto urban
region joined their rural counterparts to
realize a project that saw the creation of a
business incubator network serving each
of the regions. The Collège Boréal joined
this innovative group, providing training
and online help services.
Three organizations therefore applied
for assistance to implement their projects
in the spring of 2004, i.e., the Centre
d’avancement et de leadership en développement économique communautaire de
la Huronie (CALDECH) (Simcoe County) on
behalf of the Pépinière d’entreprises multiservices; the Club 2000 Niagara (Niagara
Region) on behalf of the Centre de ressources et d’accompagnement en agrotourisme; and the Regroupement des gens
d’affaires africains canadiens de Toronto
on behalf of the Centre d’incubation et
d’accélération en entreprise pour les
francophones.
Another business incubator project is in
the planning stage in the Central Southwest and organizations in other regions
are examining the opportunities that this
innovative concept offers to their FrancoOntarian community groups.
Key partners
Ontario Trillium Foundation
Industry Canada
Collège Boréal
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CALDECH (Simcoe County)
Renard bleu (plus various local
partners)
Club 2000 Niagara (plus its regional
organizations)
Regroupement des gens d’affaires
africains canadiens de Toronto
A VEGETABLE OIL
EXTRACTION PLANT
Soybeans and canola are crops that lend
themselves to rotation. A vegetable oil
extraction plant could revitalize cultivation
of a number of abandoned farming lands
in Northern Ontario.
In this regard, the Coopérative régionale de Nipissing-Sudbury Ltée, in partnership with a business in the region, is
studying the possibility of building a plant
to extract vegetable oil from soybeans
or canola. Such a plant would be developed with the objective of providing oil to
the biodiesel manufacturing plant in the
Greater Sudbury region.
The RDÉE Ontario is one of the partners in this initiative, which is proposing
attractive economic development prospects
for Northern Ontario. The project will have
an impact on job creation and will also
help to increase the value of the region’s
farming lands. This is a project staking
its success on a renewable product that
respects environmental standards.
Key partners
Coopérative régionale de NipissingSudbury Ltée
Conseil de la Coopération de l’Ontario
FedNor
West Nipissing East Sudbury Soil & Crop
Improvement Association
Topia Energy
In March 2004 in Toronto, the first meeting took place between current and potential partners
and developers in the framework of the Central Southwest business incubator network project.
NORTHERN PRIDE
The goal of the Northern Pride public
awareness campaign, backed by the RDÉE
Ontario, is to demonstrate the attractive
employment opportunities in the communities of Northeast Ontario and to encourage
people to settle there. The project focuses
on two topics that are important for the
region: the youth exodus and the declining
and aging population.
Weekly testimonials from young people
who have stayed in or returned to the North
will be featured in the newspapers and on
the radio throughout 2005. This initiative
of the Far Northeast Training Board will
publicize the cases of young people who
have found or created jobs in the North.
Key partners
Far Northeast Training Board
Timmins Youth Need Action Project ACFO-Timmins (www.francotimmins.ca)
Major corporate sponsors: The Daily
Press, Timmins Times, Les Nouvelles
de Timmins, Q92/EZRock, CHYK FM,
TrueNorthNews.com
THE “ÇA MARCHE” FORUM
FRANCO-PRÉSENCE
The Ça marche (It’s working) forum, presented in February 2004 in Dubreuilville
in Northern Ontario, was a huge success. Organized by the Centre d’Action de
Dubreuilville, this event sought to motivate
people to entrepreneurship opportunities
in the wake of the many job layoffs in the
community. Armed with the success of this
initiative, the RDÉE Ontario is supporting
this year the second edition of the forum,
which is called Ça marche encore (IT’S
STILL WORKING).
Young people 13 and older will take
part in a leadership workshop on project
development, taking special advantage
of the expertise of community resource
persons.
The RDÉE Ontario also gave two sessions on communication, leadership
and community economic development
to groups of secondary school students.
The young people gained an awareness of
how important partnerships are in project
development.
The Conseil pour la promotion des arts et
cultures de la communauté des minorités
raciales francophones is working to create a marketing firm that will sell various
Canadian and international Francophone
products of an artistic and cultural nature.
The firm is called Franco-Présence and has
a number of components, including a caféstyle meeting place.
The project, which was the subject of
a feasibility study funded in part by the
RDÉE Ontario, aims to create jobs for young
Francophones, to examine the possibility of
setting up a workers’ cooperative, to make
Francophone artistic and cultural products
accessible and to increase the appreciation
and visibility of Francophone artists.
Key partners
Centre d’Action de Dubreuilville
Dubreuilville Township
Key partners
Conseil pour la promotion des arts
et cultures de la communauté des
minorités raciales francophones
Conseil économique et social
d’Ottawa-Carleton
Conseil de la Coopération de l’Ontario
Association des auteures et auteurs
francophones de l’Ontario
Association des professionnels de la
chanson et de la musique
Centre for Integration, Training and
Economic Development
Société Artistique Rhythm’n’Zouk
Centre des Jeunes Francophones
de Toronto
STRATEGIC PLANNING:
2005–2010
The RDÉE Ontario organized three consultation sessions for its five-year strategic
planning concerning the needs of Ontario’s
Francophone communities.
The goal of these sessions was to identify the similarities and complementarities
of the various economic realities of the
regions, to take note of the potential synergisms between the regions and the areas
of cooperation, to facilitate collaboration
and to optimize financial resources.
Three issue tables (Eastern, Central
Southwest and Northern) have been created and will be coordinated by the RDÉE
Ontario with the involvement of many
organizations working in the RDÉE’s four
activity sectors. These tables will focus
on creating partnerships to carry out new
projects in the various Franco-Ontarian
communities.
Consultation session coordinated by the
Central Southwest branch of the RDÉE
Ontario.
Young people taking part in the Dubreuilville
Ça marche forum in Northern Ontario.
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JE REVIENS! J’Y RESTE!
For several years, the RDÉE NouveauBrunswick has been taking part in activities that aim to counter the exodus of rural
youth. The program entitled Je Reviens!
J’y Reste! (I’m Coming Back and I’m Staying!) was a resounding success during
the last year.
Inspired by the Place aux jeunes du
Québec experience, this project called on
some twenty young people to spend a weekend in their home region in order to explore
the career opportunities on the Acadian
Peninsula. Following this event, eight of
them chose to return to work there.
Other regions of New Brunswick have
forged ahead with the idea and the concept
is even becoming more popular throughout
the Atlantic provinces. The RDÉE NouveauBrunswick produced a promotional video as
part of this project.
Key partners
Concertation rurale Centre Péninsule
Fonds de Relance économique pour la
Péninsule acadienne (Government of
New-Brunswick)
KEEPING THE TOURISTS
SATISFIED
The RDÉE Nouveau-Brunswick collaborated
on setting up a new spa service soon to
open on the Acadian Peninsula.
This new spa centre, available not only
to tourists but also to the local population,
is a project that complements the Complexe Les Deux Rivières, which already has
a number of riverfront tourist chalets. It is
a significant addition to this resort.
Key partners
Agence de développement économique
communautaire de la Péninsule
New Brunswick Department of Training
and Employment Development
Key partners
New Brunswick Department of Training
and Employment Development
Corporation du Développement des Deux
Rivières Tracadie inc.
Agence de développement économique
communautaire de la Péninsule
Municipality of Tracadie-Sheila
DIVERSIFYING THE ECONOMY
YOUTH PORTAL
The Coopérative de Bleuet Notre-Dame
Ltée in Val-Doucet and a group of blueberry producers of the Acadian Peninsula
decided to work together to maximize their
resources, with the aim of increasing blueberry processing in the region.
In response to a feasibility study, the
construction of a blueberry processing
plant has been announced for next fall.
This new venture will create some twenty
jobs and promote economic diversification
in this under-exploited sector of Northeast New Brunswick. The RDÉE NouveauBrunswick played a vital role in
this project.
An Atlantic youth Web portal was launched
last November. Entrepreneurinc.ca is a
virtual resource centre for young entrepreneurs in Atlantic Canada.
This project is the result of cooperation by a number of partners, including
the four Atlantic RDÉEs. Since it began,
300 new members have been recruited and
the portal has been visited thousands of
times. At the RDÉE Nouveau-Brunswick, it
is felt that this portal is an innovative and
useful tool for young entrepreneurs.
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Key partners
New Brunswick Community College
—Dieppe Campus
Fédération des caisses populaires
acadiennes
RDÉE Île-du Prince-Édouard
THE RDÉE NOUVEAUBRUNSWICK EXPANDS ITS
ACTIVITIES
The RDÉE Nouveau-Brunswick is gradually
expanding its activities in various regions
of the province. In particular, it has supported a number of Vision project follow-up
initiatives and was a partner in carrying
out such entrepreneurship development
initiatives as the first youth entrepreneurship camp. The RDÉE Nouveau-Brunswick
also took part in organizing the second
Salon Franco-Tech, which focused on the
knowledge-based economy; the Salon
is now an event that is province-wide
in scope.
nova scotia
SEEKING innovation IN
THE FISHING INDUSTRY
Fishing has been critical to the survival
of the Acadian communities in Southwest
Nova Scotia throughout history. The Conseil de développement économique de la
Nouvelle-Écosse (CDÉNÉ) and the RDÉE
Nouvelle-Écosse have initiated a research
project on innovation in the fishing industry to identify plans for the future of these
communities.
With the backing of a multidisciplinary team made up of local experts, a
new research method specifically designed
for rural areas has been developed. This
method is known as Participatory Rural
Appraisal and has led to faster information retrieval.
The analysis results underscored the
need for more innovative initiatives in the
following areas: fishing practices, improved
quality measurements and development
of markets for new products as well as
for products already being exported. The
analysis pointed out an enormous potential
for innovation in Southwest Nova Scotia
but also a lack of leadership to ensure
follow-up action.
Key partners
Saint Mary’s University
Municipalities of Clare and Argyle
Fishing industry stakeholders
BUILDING FIBREGLASS
SHIPS
Nova Scotia’s shipbuilding businesses are
not always able to find the labour force
that they need. For a few years now, the
CDÉNÉ and the RDÉE Nouvelle-Écosse, in
collaboration with New Directions, have
been providing training programs in shipbuilding for people in the rural Francophone communities.
With this end in view, a program
coordinated by the CDÉNÉ and the RDÉE
Nouvelle-Écosse has led to the development of a project to train 24 individuals in
the fibreglass shipbuilding industry. More
than $95,000 was granted by the Enterprise Cape Breton Corporation and 13 participants attended the training program in
2003–2004. Ten of these participants have
found employment in the industry.
In the fall of 2004 in Cheticamp, other
participants received their certificates following an orientation session on the skills
required for shipbuilding.
Key partners
Enterprise Cape Breton Corporation
New Directions
Nova Scotia Boatbuilders Association
Several shipbuilding businesses
A vision FOR 2005–2008
Last summer, after numerous internal
meetings and with the assistance of a consultant, the provincial team of the CDÉNÉ
and the RDÉE Nouvelle-Écosse developed a
long-term vision in the form of a three-year
plan for 2005–2008. This plan incorporates the activities targeted by the CDÉNÉ
and the RDÉE Nouvelle-Écosse with regard
to employability, economic development
and community capacity development in
the province’s Acadian and Francophone
regions.
Key partner
Development Canada
Participants in the fishing industry innovation project.
COMMUNITY profilEs
The CDÉNÉ and the RDÉE Nouvelle-Écosse
have initiated an important activity targeting the development of Nova Scotia’s
Acadian communities. The project consists
of developing community profiles that will
provide better knowledge of the business
opportunities and economic limits in each
of the Acadian regions. Regional advisory
committees have already been formed.
Key partners
Development Canada
Municipalities, entrepreneurs and
community economic groups
L’Acadie en fête!
The 2004 summer season in Nova Scotia
was filled with numerous activities, chiefly
in the context of the Congrès mondial
acadien 2004 and the Expo Acadie 2004.
The RDÉE Nouvelle-Écosse increased its
presence and visibility in the province’s
Acadian and Francophone communities
through its participation in a number of
these events.
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prince edward island
A VISION, A PLAN
“LAVAG” IS MAKING WAVES
The five-year strategic development plan
created by the Acadian and Francophone community of Prince Edward Island in
2003 consists of one provincial plan and
six regional plans. During fiscal 2004–
2005, the RDÉE Île-du-Prince-Édouard
team thus collaborated at length on how
to implement this plan (called the Vision
Plan), which grew out of the Agricultural
Rural Minority Language Community
Planning Initiative.
As a member of the committee responsible for developing implementation of
this planning, the RDÉE Île-du-PrinceÉdouard undertook an in-depth analysis
of the various plans in order to define its
participation. Together with the Société
Saint-Thomas-d’Aquin, the organization
responsible for the plan, the RDÉE Île-duPrince-Édouard facilitated, among other
things, a regional tour intended to help set
priorities. A number of projects and activities derived from the Vision Plan have been
realized in the various Francophone and
Acadian regions of the Island, while many
are in the planning phase.
The Prince Edward Island Committee
of Human Resources Development, made
up of senior federal and provincial civil
servants and of representatives from key
organizations involved in economic development, formed an association with the
Société Saint-Thomas-d’Aquin and the
RDÉE Île-du-Prince-Édouard and established the completion of all the Vision Plan
projects as a priority for the province.
The RDÉE Île-du-Prince-Édouard has
recently developed a new online tool
which will initially be used to track and
assess the progress of the many Vision
Plan projects. The Web application, called
LAVAG (the letters stand for Local–Action–
Vision–Access–Global), will also be used to
share documents such as funding applications and reports of all types.
LAVAG is outstanding for its flexibility
and, among other possibilities, allows the
user to extract various data on participating organizations and to stay abreast
of the knowledge acquired as a project
progresses. It is a tool that facilitates the
exchange and sharing of best practices
among the regions.
The RDÉE Île-du-Prince-Édouard is
already using LAVAG for its own activities and plans to make this tool available
to all agencies on the Island. A second
component of LAVAG includes developing
a profile of the knowledge held by people
in the community.
Key partners
Canadian Heritage
Division des Affaires acadiennes et
francophones de l’Île-duPrince-Édouard
Société Saint-Thomas-d’Aquin
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• RDÉE
Canada
Key partner
Société Saint-Thomas-d’Aquin
AN ACTIVITY-FILLED YEAR
The RDÉE Île-du-Prince-Édouard originated
a numbers of activities on the Island during the recent fiscal year, including a few
projects involving information sharing
and entrepreneurial networking. These
activities aim to strengthen the Island’s
Acadian and Francophone human resource
capacities. Below are a few of these highly
successful events:
• mealtime meetings with panels providing examples of regional best
practices;
• Entrepreneurs’ Annual Banquet;
• the 2004 Economic Meeting (a day
of lectures and workshops to motivate, encourage and equip people
with the tools they need); and
Some of the participants at the 2004 Economic Meeting: (Left to right) Geoff Allen, Business
Agent at the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency; Louise Moreau, keynote speaker; Liette
McInnis, event coordinator; Angie Cormier, proprietor of AcA Consultants and facilitator; and
Pierre Pelletier, co-owner of the Olivier Soapery in New Brunswick and speaker.
• the Smart Communities InfoFair (a
day of sharing technological knowledge and information on the new
broadband network applications).
The PERCÉ Project (Programme
d’entrepreneurship régional, communautaire et économique), designed to counter
the exodus of young Islanders, was a great
success for the second consecutive year.
The project invites young postsecondary
students from the Island to return to discover career opportunities and, at the same
time, gives them a working and mentoring
experience in their fields of study.
Key partners
Industry Canada
Société de développement de la
Baie acadienne
Entrepreneurs and community-based
organizations
LAVAG, a practical and innovative online tool
developed by the RDÉE Île-du-Prince-Édouard.
Newfoundland and Labrador
SEVERAL TOURISM PROJECTS
The RDÉE Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador was
busy setting up a number of new tourism projects during the last fiscal year.
In particular, it completed the creation
of a database of Francophone tourism
industry operators. This database will be
updated on a regular basis. The operators
will make any changes concerning their
tourism products and services.
In partnership with the Association
régionale de la Côte-Ouest, the RDÉE
Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador developed the
former hiking trail known as La Route
de mon Grand-père, located between the
municipalities of Cape St. George and La
Grand’Terre. This project necessitated hiring five people for a 10-week period. Fourteen kilometres in length, the hiking trail is
used by area residents and tourists alike.
Key partners
Development Canada
Association régionale de la Côte-Ouest
Provincial Department of Natural
Resources
Lynx 3012 Army Cadets
A SCHOOL TRANSFORMED
AND A NEW AGRICULTURAL
NETWORK
The RDÉE Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador lent a
hand to the community of La Grand’Terre to
assist with acquiring funding for the initial phase of restoring a school that dates
from the early 1900s. This old building
will be renamed L’école de mes Ancêtres
and will be used as a place for the study
of traditional occupations and for tourism activities.
In the agricultural sector, the Réseau
agricole de la péninsule de Port-au-Port
grew out of a study completed in 2004.
This agricultural network benefited from an
information session on available programs
held with the potential financial backers.
Grouped into a network, farmers can now
better share relevant information concerning their industry sector.
Key partners
Comité patrimonial de La Grand’Terre
Association régionale de la Côte-Ouest
Department of Innovation, Trade and
Rural Development
Port-au-Port Economic Development
Association
Entrepreneurs
A SITE FOR YOUNG
ENTREPRENEURS
In consultation with several other Atlantic partners, the RDÉE Terre-Neuve-etLabrador took part in the launching of
www.entrepreneurinc.ca, a Web site for
young people. Since November 2004, young
Canadian entrepreneurs and those thinking about going into business have been
able to access a new virtual resource to
help them with every step of setting up
their business.
This virtual interactive centre will allow
users to access a wide range of resources
and information concerning the business
world, such as the creation of a business
enterprise, training, consulting services
and financing. The Entrepreneurinc.ca
service centre also features a free online
mentoring service to facilitate matching
young entrepreneurs with experienced
business people.
Key partners
Industry Canada
Université Sainte-Anne
Dieppe Net
RDÉE Île-du-Prince-Édouard
RDÉE Nouveau-Brunswick
—Dieppe Campus
Development of the former La Route de mon Grand-père hiking trail, located between the
municipalities of Cape St. George and La Grand’Terre, was carried out as part of a project
conducted by the RDÉE Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador and the Association régionale de la
Côte-Ouest.
VIRTUAL BOUTIQUE
Another good example of partnership for
the RDÉE Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador last
year was its ongoing participation in
the francoboutique.ca project. This is a
product of Industry Canada’s Francommunautés virtuelles program and is overseen by the Conseil de Coopération de la
Saskatchewan; it brings together the
RDÉEs of Newfoundland and Labrador,
the Yukon and Saskatchewan.
The project consists of developing an
electronic commerce site to help entrepreneurs initiate themselves to e-commerce
by registering their products in a virtual
boutique.
A group of reservist soldiers photographed
during construction of one of the bridges of
the La Route de mon Grand-père hiking trail.
Key partners
Industry Canada
RDÉE Saskatchewan
RDÉE Yukon
Smart Labrador
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Yukon
ECONOMIC IMPACT
OF FRANCOPHONE
ORGANIZATIONS
The RDÉE Yukon worked closely on the economic impact study of the not-for-profit
Francophone organizations in the Yukon
conducted by the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadiennes
du Canada. This pilot research led to the
development of an analytical framework
for the whole of Canada using the Yukon
as a case study.
It is already obvious that the Francophone organizations need more and
more information and tools in order to
gain greater recognition and promote their
contributions to Canadian society.
Key partners
Industry Canada
Fédération des communautés
francophones et acadiennes
du Canada
Not-for-profit Francophone
organizations in the Yukon
TOURISM MARKETING
The RDÉE Yukon obtained funding to begin
the implementation of its marketing plan
to develop Francophone tourism. The strategy involved diversifying the complementary partnerships in order to implement
economic development activities for Yukon
Francophones. The first year of the plan
was implemented thanks to agreements
concluded with several financial backers
and collaboration with Human Resources
and Skills Development Canada.
The plan has led to the development
of promotional tools targeting the Francophone markets. The RDÉE Yukon has
thus been able to carve out a presence
for itself and achieve a new visibility in
the Francophone tourism industry. The
marketing plan will generate economic
benefits exceeding two million dollars over
the next five years.
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•
RDÉE
Canada
Tourism is an important engine for economic growth in the Yukon. (photo: Government of the Yukon, Wayne Towriss)
Key partners
Government of the Yukon
100 Yukon businesses
YOUTH ENTREPRENEURSHIP
AND EMPLOYABILITY
The RDÉE Yukon facilitated the participation of a number of young people in various
traineeships or workshops on entrepreneurship and employability development.
In particular, young people in the
Yukon took part in the Forum National et
International pour jeunes francophones
défavorisés en Insertion (National and
International Forum for Youth with Integration Problems), held in the framework
of the celebrations of the 400th anniversary of l’Acadie. They took advantage of
workshops on entrepreneurship, leadership and employability. Such workshops
are incentives to participate more actively
in developing the Canadian economy. The
young Francophones also took part in two
workshops on self-employment given in
French; one took place in the framework of
Canada Career Week and the other during
Small Business Week.
And finally, the RDÉE Yukon enabled
some Franco-Yukoners to participate
in the entrepreneurship seminar given
by the Fondation de l’entrepreneurship
du Québec.
Key partners
Canadian Embassy in Paris
Association of Alumni and Friends of the
—Campbellton Campus
Institut National de la Jeunesse et de
l’Éducation Populaire, France
Fondation de l’entrepreneurship
du Québec
Service d’Orientation et de Formation des
Adultes du Yukon
MOBILIZATION AGAINST
POVERTY
The RDÉE Yukon introduced the principal
Yukon Francophone stakeholders to the
mobilization against poverty. It then facilitated the creation of a Francophone issue
table called Groupe solidarité pauvreté and
sits on its executive.
By emphasizing an awareness of poverty, this group wishes to bring about
better dialogue and a shared reflection on
poverty and identify the needs of Yukon
Francophones in the face of this reality.
It intends to ensure that they are represented and have an advocate in the struggle against poverty.
Key partners
A dozen community-based organizations
Government of the Yukon
Young people taking part in the Forum
National et International en Insertion.
northwest territories
T
he 2004–2005 fiscal year was once
again a fruitful one for the Conseil de
développement économique des Territoires du Nord-Ouest (CDÉTNO), also known
as the RDÉE Territoires du Nord-Ouest.
PUTTING THE TERRITORIES
ON THE MAP!
For the first time, the Northwest Territories
were represented at several tourism salons
east of Ontario. The interest was such that
the RDÉE Territoires du Nord-Ouest initiated a search to have a tourism marketing
strategy drafted targeting the Province of
Quebec. In partnership with the territorial
government, two discussion groups took
place in Quebec and a conversion study
was carried out.
In collaboration with the Chambre
économique de l’Alberta, the RDÉE Territoires du Nord-Ouest has developed an
organized tour as an incentive for tourists
to visit Northern Alberta and continue their
travels to the Northwest Territories.
The efforts of the RDÉE Territoires du
Nord-Ouest were also fruitful in terms of
publishing tourist information in French.
A tour folder promoting the Fort Smith
community was published by the RDÉE
Territoires du Nord-Ouest and the Government of the Northwest Territories; a tourist brochure for the city of Forth Smith
was created and an eight-page insert now
appears in the promotion for the city of
Yellowknife.
The year 2004 also enabled the Fort
Smith community to translate the Mission Park sustainable development project
into action.
Key partners
Department of Resources, Wildlife
and Economic Development for the
Northwest Territories:
•principal office
•south slave office
•north slave office
La Chambre économique de l’Alberta
Northwest Territories Tourism
MEMBERS’ PORTAL
In partnership with the Association
franco-yukonnaise and the Conseil de
la Coopération de la Saskatchewan, the
RDÉE Territoires du Nord-Ouest has inaugurated a portal for its members and for
the Franco-Territorial community. This portal allows users to communicate easily and
quickly with one another. As part of this
project, the RDÉE Territoires du Nord-Ouest
was able to create its own Internet site and
make it available online.
Key partners
Fédération Franco-TéNOise
Association franco-culturelle de
Yellowknife
Association franco-yukonnaise
Conseil de la Coopération de
la Saskatchewan
Industry Canada
BILINGUALISM: AN ADDED
VALUE
The Northwest Territories business community is increasingly sensitive to the
added value of bilingualism. Internet sites
in French have been created and a good
number of promotional tools have been
translated.
The contributions of the RDÉE Territoires du Nord-Ouest include the development and translation into French of an
Internet site (www.northwin.ca) on development, life and career guidance and job
searching. Moreover, the offices of the
RDÉE Territoires du Nord-Ouest remain very
popular with job seekers.
The owners and pilots of Reliance Airways Ltd., one of the member organizations of the CDÉTNO,
on the GéoPlein Air press tour.
Key partner
NorthWIN
PARTNERING WITH THE
COMMUNITY
The associative members of the Northwest
Territories Francophone community took
advantage of the expertise and support
provided by the RDÉE Territoires du NordOuest for a number projects.
The RDÉE Territoires du Nord-Ouest
completed a contract to conceptualize a
community centre project for the Association franco-culturelle de Yellowknife and
made a number of presentations on behalf
of the Association to the community. The
RDÉE Territoires du Nord-Ouest also presented a weekly travel feature on the
Yellowknife community radio.
Finally, the RDÉE Territoires du NordOuest shared its expertise with the Fédération Franco-TéNOise to develop a Young
Business project in Yellowknife.
A guide at Wood Buffalo National Park
explains to Nathalie Schneider, Editor-inChief of GéoPlein Air magazine, that buffalo
roll on the ground to protect themselves from
mosquitoes.
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Nunavut
P
roud of its motto “Ténacité et partenariat” (perseverance and partnership), the RDÉE Nunavut has given
particular emphasis during recent months
to making young Nunavut Francophones
aware of their living environment and of
the benefits of developing themselves in
the Territory. The RDÉE Nunavut has also
devoted a great deal of energy to promoting Nunavut as a tourist destination
abroad and has stressed the business
centre concept.
JE VIS AU NUNAVUT During the last fiscal year, the RDÉE
Nunavut focused on defining a strategy to
ensure the future of the economic development of the Territory’s Francophone community. Three priority projects resulted
from these discussions:
• set up an economic development
committee;
• produce a three-year action plan;
• develop partnerships.
In collaboration with its partners, the
RDÉE Nunavut helped carry out a number
of projects during the last fiscal year. The
production of the documentary Je vis au
Nunavut (I live in Nunavut), realized as
part of the teaching program for grades
7 to 9, was a success. This 20-minute
film, shot with the participation of three
young Nunavut Francophones, portrays
the daily life of the community. The
Nunavut Department of Education, through
its French-language education office, provided the elements of the script and distributed approximately a hundred DVDs to
the educational institutions.
Key partner
Nunavut Department of Education
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•
RDÉE
Canada
GOOD TOURISM PROMOTION
In the area of tourism, the financial support
of Nunavut Tourism and of the Nunavut
Department of Culture, Language, Elders
and Youth enabled the RDÉE Nunavut to
pursue its promotional activities, including
the popular exhibition Ilititaa…Bernier ses
hommes et les Inuits, which is continuing
its European tour. The Ilititaa… exhibition is now a part of the great exhibition
Peuples de glaces (Peoples of Ice), a major
event included in the activities surrounding the Winter Olympics, which will be held
in Turin in 2006.
The completion of this project is a tremendous boost to tourism promotion in
Nunavut. The promotional tools produced
during the preceding fiscal years (Destination Nunavut guides, DVDs and exhibition brochures) are available at each
exhibition site.
The RDÉE Nunavut team made an
appeal to the memory of a number of
Iqaluit elders to develop and produce a
self-guided map relating the city’s history.
An asterisk identifies those establishments
providing service in French. This bilingual
document is available to tourists at the
Iqaluit tourist information centre and in
hotels.
The RDÉE Nunavut also carried out the
logistics and coordination of the activities
for the 80 or so passengers on an Arctic
cruise on the Le Levant during the liner’s
call at Iqaluit.
Key partners
Nunavut Tourism
Nunavut Department of Culture,
Language, Elders and Youth
The RDÉE Nunavut coordinated the passenger activities on the Le Levant cruise liner during its
call at Iqaluit.
BILINGUAL BUSINESS
CENTRE
In consultation with various economic
development organizations in the Territory,
a feasibility study is currently in progress
concerning the creation of a bilingual business centre, including a business incubator. Depending on the results of this study,
the RDÉE Nunavut will act as a facilitator
to develop the project over the next fiscal year. The Department of Indian and
Northern Affairs, which is partially funding this activity, is extremely interested in
the project.
Key partner
Promotion kit for the documentary Je vis au
Nunavut.

annual report 2004–2005

Transcription

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