The Welcoming Francophone Community of the Chéticamp region and its Community Advisory Committee (CAC) have drawn up a Community Plan, and here is an overview of the proposed initiatives.
Fair Access to Reception and Settlement Services
To assist with their successful integration, newcomers have access to services and resources provided in French and connected to the French-speaking community.
For The Welcoming Francophone Community of the Chéticamp region, the aim is to ensure optimal and tailored integration for newcomers seeking to settle in the region and thus ensure their retention.
Targeted Actions:
- To receive, inform, guide, and support newcomers who settle in the Chéticamp region
- To develop, present and regularly update a community calendar listing all activities offered in the region
- To create and run subcommittees of regional experts to fuel discussions and support the reception of newcomers based on targeted sectors or client categories (for example: youth, women, education, economy, and entrepreneurship)
- To identify and count the region’s newcomers
- To create and publish a reception and integration pathway for the region’s newcomers
- To develop and present a multitude of local activities such as multicultural evenings, intercultural workshops, recreational and/or sports activities to improve the reception and optimal integration of newcomers.
- To develop and implement a twinning program between newcomers and people who are settled in the region
- To raise awareness among newcomers of the importance of French-language education
- To raise awareness among community members and entrepreneurs in the Chéticamp region
- To develop and run discussion groups in French and English to improve newcomers’ language skills
Economic Opportunities, Entrepreneurship, and Employment
The host community and local employers recognize, value and make full use of the expertise brought by French-speaking newcomers to increase the region’s economic vitality.
For The Welcoming Francophone Community of the Chéticamp region, the aim is to increase
- the economic value of the community of Chéticamp, including through entrepreneurship
- the presence of French in the community of Chéticamp (to reverse the assimilation trend of recent years)
- the range of services in French (at all levels)
- employers’ awareness of the need to hire French speakers
Targeted Actions:
- To receive, inform, guide, and support newcomers who settle in the Chéticamp region
- To get to know the realities of business leaders to enable the implementation of initiatives that meet their needs
- To host awareness-raising meetings with employers from the region
- To develop, organize and put on a semi-annual job fair
- To develop a partnership with Nova Scotia Works to provide job search assistance
- To develop and run discussion groups in French and English to improve newcomers’ language skills