Live in French in the Haut-Saint-Jean region

Duration: 3:25 minutes

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

We see an aerial image of the Saint John River. We continue to a small waterfall and then, a dog paddling in the water. We cut to a wide shot of an old water tower, on which we can read: “Edmundston.” Then, we see an aerial view of the city of Edmundston. Over this image, a map of New Brunswick appears, and the text:

“Haut-Saint-Jean
New Brunswick
Over 90% of the population speaks French.”

We see a man jogging on a boardwalk. Then we continue with an aerial image of several houses. Over this image, this text appears:

“In 2021, over 100 volunteers mobilized to welcome 13 Togolese families in the region.”

We continue with a moving image of the Saint John River. Then, we see a statue of a chicken with the inscription: “capitale nationale du poulet national chicken capital.” Then, we see a sign that reads: “Saint-François de Madawaska Bienvenue Welcome.” We then see a man walking in front of a factory.

Aboudel-kahar adam: One day, I read in our newspaper that there was an employer in Canada who wanted to hire butchers. I applied, I was chosen, and we started the process.

We see Aboudel-Kahar, his wife, his two young daughters and his young son standing in front of their house. They are all looking at the camera. This text appears on screen:

“Adam Family
From Togo”

Then we see an aerial image of the small village of Saint-François de Madawaska. We continue to an image of Aboudel-Kahar sitting in his kitchen and addressing the camera directly. His family is sitting on the couch behind him.

Aboudel-kahar adam: When we arrived, we were pleasantly surprised. With help from the community, our employer set up everything to get us settled and to welcome us.

Then, we see an image of the little boy who is running on the lawn, holding a ball. Then we see him kicking the ball. His two sisters and his parents are having fun in the yard with him. We see the youngest of the children running on the lawn. We cut to a wide shot of their house. We continue with a close up of the young boy, now in the living room, still holding the ball. We cut to a wide shot of the family having fun doing a puzzle on their living room table. Then we see the mom reading a book with the little boy.

Aboudel-kahar adam: We were very happy when we arrived. As adults, we told each other that whatever the situation, we would try to adjust. We were worried more about our children, but actually, our children are very happy, they’re thriving, they’re very content. As parents we’re pleased to see our children thriving.

We continue to a wide shot of a small residential neighbourhood in Edmundston. Then we see an aerial image of several houses along the railroad and the river. Then, an image of Renée walking down the street.

Renée morel: I grew up here in Edmundston, and for a long time the population was fairly homogeneous.

We see Renée standing in the street and looking at the camera. Behind her, we can see several small tents set up as part of a temporary market. Text appears over this image:

“Renée Morel
Communications Manager
Welcoming Francophone Community of Haut-Saint-Jean”

We continue on to a sign that reads: “Université de Moncton campus d’Edmundston.” We cut to a shot of several flags waving in the wind. Then, we see an aerial image of a residential neighbourhood. Then, Renée standing in a park. Behind her, the city of Edmundston. She addresses the camera directly.

Renée morel: But it’s also a college town, which means international students have been here for many years. Now, many immigrants choose to move here, and that’s changing the face of the community.

We see a sign that reads: “CFAI 101.1.” Then, an illuminated sign that says “on the air” lights up. We continue on to an image of three people in a radio studio hosting a discussion. We cut to a close-up of the host. Then, a close-up of a man and then a woman.

Renée morel: Now there are people from over 70 countries, and this diversity can also be heard on community radio, which reflects the new multicultural reality of the population.

We continue to a wide shot of the city of Edmundston. We cut to a wide shot of city hall. Then, we see a mural on a building downtown. We continue to a scene of Renée at the market, talking to a farmer selling his vegetables. Then we see an aerial view of the city of Edmundston. We return to the shot of Renée addressing the camera.

Renée morel: Immigration partners organize various activities, not only for newcomers, but also for the people in the community. These can be information sessions, gardening workshops, reading clubs, maybe canoe trips. It gives us the opportunity to create friendships, learn new things about other cultures, new expressions, new languages, new dishes. And the rest of us also learn about our own culture, so it’s a win-win for everyone.

We continue to a wide shot of the Université de Moncton Edmundston campus. Text appears over this image:

“Haut-Saint-Jean is one of the largest Francophone communities outside of Québec.”

We continue to an insert of a sign that reads: “Centre de ressources pour nouveaux arrivants au Nord-Ouest inc. 506-735-0604 www.crna.ca.” Then we see a wide shot of the building. We cut to an image of Normand sitting in his office and talking on a conference call on his computer.

Normand bourdeau: The Centre de ressources pour nouveaux arrivants au Nord-Ouest is a single point of contact for newcomers to our region.

We continue to an image of Normand standing in front of the Centre. He is looking directly at the camera. Text appears over this image:

“Normand Bourdeau
Executive Director
Centre de ressources pour nouveaux arrivants au Nord-Ouest”

We continue to a scene of Normand and three other members of his team talking together in their meeting room. Then we see Normand standing in a room at the Centre. He addresses the camera directly.

Normand bourdeau: The settlement services that we provide include searching for housing, jobs, obtaining a social insurance number, a health insurance card, and contacts with all other businesses and services in the region. To help people look for housing, we meet with clients, and we ask them what their needs are. Afterwards we direct them to landlords, we search for housing with them, and we’ll also help them find furniture through donations made by the community.

We continue with an image of Normand walking down the street. Then he arrives at a public square. Then we see him in the stands with a friend. They are watching a show. We come back to the image of Normand in the room at the Centre where he is looking at the camera. We continue with an image of the musical group at the public square. Then, Normand and his friend are talking and watching the music show. The scene ends with a wide shot of the public square and the musical group.

Normand bourdeau: What I like about the Haut-Saint-Jean region is the time, among other things. Everything takes 5 or 10 minutes here, so we have a lot of time for our personal lives, a lot of time for hobbies, a lot of time to spend with our families.

Lastly, we see a wide shot of the city of Edmundston with the river in the foreground. Text appears over this image:

“Find out more about services in French:
Immigration-hsj.ca”

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