Live in French in Clare

Duration: 3:23 minutes

Soft music starts to crescendo. On a white background, text appears: “Welcoming Francophone communities support the integration of newcomers in French.” 

We see a street and a few houses on the edge of the beach. A mother and daughter are walking next to the beach. In the next shot, two fishermen are sailing in St. Mary’s Bay. The boat arrives at Meteghan dock. In this image, a map of Nova Scotia appears with the text:

“Municipality of Clare Nova Scotia Over 65% of the population speaks French.” 

A car is driving along the road that borders the bay. A hand appears to turn up the volume of the soft radio. We see Amy Paradis driving her car. We see houses again and a flag bearing the words, “Welcome to Clare.”

Amy paradis: The Clare community is located in southwestern Nova Scotia, about a three-hour drive from Halifax.

Amy visits the Acadian Museum in Clare, where a model of an old fishing boat is on display.

Amy paradis: We are mainly a French-speaking, Acadian community.

Amy stands in front of the Rendez-vous de la Baie Visitor Centre building. She smiles as she looks directly at the camera. Text appears on the screen:

“Amy Paradis Communications Officer Municipality of Clare.”

She continues her a visit of the museum. Then, we see the outside of the building with an Acadian flag flying in the wind.

Amy paradis: We suggest that people who are new to Clare come visit us at the Rendez-vous de la Baie Visitor Centre.

Then, we see the inside of a classroom where a group of youths are having a discussion. One of the youth is presenting to the others. Everyone applauds him.

Amy paradis: We offer conversational English courses, where you can have a coffee. You can also take CLIC courses, which are French-language courses offered by the Government of Canada. These courses can help newcomers to Canada to eventually obtain their Canadian citizenship.

Amy stands in an exhibition room at the Visitor Centre. She speaks directly to the camera.

Amy paradis: In Clare, it’s very important for us to make sure that people who are new to this area find a place for themselves in our public spaces and activities.

We see a scene at the outdoor artificial ice rink. A man is skating in the sun with a hockey stick in his hand. Then, another man score a goal. Next, a couple tries to learn how to skate while laughing.

We continue with Amy, who addresses the camera once again.

Amy paradis: That’s why, for example, we recently installed an artificial ice rink where you can learn to skate, not only when it’s cold, but also when it’s nice and warm.

A young man leads a group of people in exercises to learn how to skate. We follow with a close-up of a woman laughing, and then of the young man laughing. In the next shot, a mother and grandmother standing on the other side of the boards are encouraging the children. Finally, we continue with a wide shot of people who have gathered at the end of the rink and are celebrating while looking at the camera.

Amy paradis: We are lucky to be able to do everything in French. We can go to school in French, work in French, buy our groceries in French. It’s really a microcosm where we have the opportunity to flourish in French.

The Nova Scotia flag can be seen. On this image, text appears, “The Municipality of Clare offers services in both official languages.” 

We see Allister walking on the field right in front of Université Sainte-Anne. In the background, we see the university. Then, he stands and looks directly at the camera. Text appears:

“Allister Surette President of Université Sainte-Anne.”

Allister surette: Université Sainte-Anne is the only French-language post-secondary institution in Nova Scotia. We are a small institution, in a small region.

We continue with a wide shot of several small houses on the edge of the sea. Then, we see people swimming at the beach. We cut to an aerial view of the rocky coast.

Next, we cut to an image of Allister standing in the university library. An Acadian flag can be seen behind him. He speaks directly to the camera.

Allister surette: It’s a very safe area. The landscape offers exceptional beauty, and the arrival of international students adds yet another level of diversity and culture.

We continue with footage from a classroom. A teacher addresses the students. Then we see a close-up of a student who is laughing. We cut to Allister walking down a corridor. Then, he is sitting at his desk. We see him working on his computer.

Allister surette: We work closely with various organizations here in the Clare region, including the municipality, to integrate our international students and staff, not only on campus, but also in the community.

We see a wide shot of the university. Next, we switch to an aerial view of the campus. Over this image, text appears: “The university offers scholarships for international students.” 

We cut to an image of Francine chatting with a colleague in her office. Next, we see her colleague, who is smiling at her.

Francine thimot: There are plenty of job opportunities in the area.

Next, we see an aerial view of several boats moored at the dock. The next shot is of several lobster traps, then an aerial view of a boat sailing along the edge of the bay.

Francine thimot: The main employment sectors in the Clare region are the fishing industry, seafood processing, the health care sector, the service sector and education.

This is followed by an image of Francine standing in front of the Entrepreneurship Centre building. She looks directly at the camera. Text appears on the screen:

“Francine Thimot Operations Manager Conseil de développement économique de la Nouvelle-Écosse.”

Then, we see an aerial view of a boat that has stopped offshore. Next, we see the hands of the captain who is steering the boat. Then, a close-up of the captain looking out to sea. Next, we see a fisherman who caught a fish on the end of his line. The captain and the fisherman are talking. The scene ends with an aerial view of the boat sailing off along the coast.

We cut to an image of Francine standing in a conference room. She speaks directly to the camera.

Francine thimot: Most of our employers are looking for bilingual candidates to fill their positions, because they recognize the value of offering services in both official languages of the country. It is therefore an advantage to speak French! We recognize that it may be difficult for newcomers to prepare for their job search in a different country, so we work with them to ensure that they are comfortable in their job search.

Next, we see an image of a brick facade where we can read:

“Municipalité de Clare Bureau municipal - Municipal office.”

We cut to an image of wild geese. We follow with an image of the coast.

Francine thimot: and that they have the necessary tools for a successful job search.

We see an image of the fisherman in his boat smiling at the camera. Finally, the video ends with an aerial view of a lighthouse on the seashore. A text appears on the screen: “Find out more about services in French: clarenovascotia.com/en/citizens/cfaclare.”

The music stops. On a white background, we see the department’s logo, a small Canadian flag with the text, “Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada” and “Immigration, Réfugiés et Citoyenneté Canada.” We see the logo of the Government of Canada, the Canadian flag flying against a white background.