Live in French in Whitehorse

Duration: 3:53 minutes

The video starts with soft music growing louder. Text appears on a white background: “Welcoming Francophone communities support the integration of newcomers in French.”

We see a man looking at a mountain whose summit is in the clouds. We then see a canyon and a river crossed by a small footbridge. Two people are walking along the canyon’s edge, admiring the landscape. The shot cuts to an image of the Kluane National Park mountains. We then see an aerial image of the city of Whitehorse. A map of the Yukon and the following text appear over the image:

“Whitehorse
Yukon
Nearly 15% of the population speaks French.”

Édith bélanger: Whitehorse is a city surrounded by nature. The wide-open spaces are really what drew me here.

Through the trees, we see a statue of a horse. We then see a bridge crossing the Yukon River. Next, a wide shot of the city of Whitehorse is followed by the image of cars driving on a street. We then see an image of Édith in her office, talking to a colleague.

Édith bélanger: And then I discovered truly warm and welcoming people, which made me want to stay and build a life here.

Édith, seated at her desk, looks directly into the camera, smiling. The following text appears over the image:

“Édith Bélanger
Director, Economic Development
Association franco-yukonnaise”

An image of Édith taking notes, follows. She is then seen standing in the library of the Centre de la francophonie, looking directly into the camera. The video transitions to an aerial image of a lake covered by morning fog. We then see an image of a residential building in the city of Whitehorse with the Yukon River in the foreground. The video then cuts back to Édith in the library, speaking to the camera.

Édith bélanger: The Association franco-yukonnaise offers many services in French, whether to welcome and integrate newcomers or to help them settle in Yukon. We also offer English classes to help people get better jobs. Even though many people here speak French, the majority of people speak English.

We then see mountains. This transitions into images of a group of newcomers walking in the forest. We see them picking wild cranberries. The scene ends with a wide shot of the group celebrating while looking at the camera.

Édith bélanger: As for integration activities, we invite people to mingle with the population, to help them feel like they’re part of our community.

We then see an image of a few houses in a residential neighbourhood with the mountains in the background. This is followed by a close-up of Diana walking on the sidewalk. We then see her walking in front of a building with a sign that reads: “Centre de la francophonie.” We then see her in an office talking to Édith.

Diana roméo: I’ve been in Canada for 6 years and I was very surprised. I never expected to find such a vibrant Francophone community.

We see Diana standing in front of the Centre de la francophonie building. She looks directly into the camera, smiling, and the following text appears on the screen:

“Diana Roméo
Immigration Project Officer
Association franco-yukonnaise”

We see an image of the northern lights, then an image of the Yukon mountains with a large lake and a river in the foreground. We then see Diana in the library of the Centre de la francophonie, speaking directly into the camera.

Diana roméo: I’ve been in Canada for six years and I was very surprised. I never expected to find such a vibrant Francophone community. Since I arrived, I’ve been dreaming of the North. The northern lights, the vast landscapes, the lakes and the mountains. I haven’t been here very long ago, but I already feel like I’m part of the community.

We see Diana with other newcomers picking wild cranberries in the forest. We see an insert of three small cranberries and the focus turns to Diana’s smiling face. A little boy runs toward Diana. We see the little boy looking at the cranberries he picked on a small plastic plate. The video cuts back to the image of Diana in the library.

Diana roméo: I haven’t been here very long, but I already feel like I’m part of the community. Every day, truly every day, is a new adventure, and there’s always something to do, either out in nature or in the city. I fell in love with Yukon, with Whitehorse, the activities here and the community. People are so nice. I love everything about Yukon!

We then see a wide shot of a school. The following text appears over the image:

“Whitehorse is the city in the territory with the most services”

We then see the image of a sign on a building that reads “L’Aurore boréale, Yukon’s Francophone newspaper.” We see Maryne working on a computer in her office. The video continues with an image of Maryne in front of the Yukon Arts Centre, smiling and looking directly into the camera. The following text appears over the image:

“Maryne Dumaine
Director and Editor-in-Chief
Journal L’Aurore boréale”

Maryne dumaine: L’Aurore boréale is the territory’s only French-language newspaper.

We see newspaper clippings posted on a wall. We then see Maryne standing in front of that wall, speaking directly to the camera. We see Maryne and her colleagues working on the week’s paper. The video continues with the shot of a person taking a stack of newspapers and another person binding them with an elastic. She then places the stack of newspapers in a cardboard box. Maryne then carries the box and gives it to another colleague outside the building. The colleague places the box in a car.

Maryne dumaine: To me, the newspaper is like the glue, the catalyst in our community. It’s a way of introducing people who have just joined our community. For newcomers, it's also a way to learn about the community, its projects, and the issues that are important right now for people living in French. We are a tight community, and that’s reflected in our newspaper.

The video continues with a wide shot of a road leading to the city of Whitehorse. We then see a mural of children and a snowman. We see cars driving on a downtown street.

Maryne dumaine: I’ve had every opportunity here to make things work for me, to make my life solid.

We see a close-up of Maryne walking. Then, a wide shot of her entering the Yukon Arts Centre building. We see a sign that reads: “Yukon Arts Centre.” The video continues with Maryne visiting an exhibit and taking photos. The scene closes on two shots of street artists painting a mural on the wall of a downtown building.

Maryne dumaine: My children go to school in French, I work in French, and I have Francophone friends. I also have Anglophone friends, but my chosen family here is the Francophone family.

When then see an aerial image of the city of Whitehorse. We see a wooden sign that reads: “Alayuk.” We then see images of Marcelle petting her dogs in the kennel. Next, we see an image of Marcelle standing in front of her house. She looks into the camera, smiling. The following text appears over the image:

“Marcelle Fressineau
Owner
Alayuk Adventures”

Marcelle fressineau: I was pleasantly surprised when I got here to see how much was going on in French. I didn’t expect it. My name is Marcelle Fressineau, and I arrived in Yukon in 2007, where I established my business, Alayuk Adventures.

We see images of several dogs in the kennel. We then see images of Marcelle petting them. The video cuts to an aerial image of a mountain. We then see another mountain with a lake in the foreground. We see an image of a small house, and then a wide shot of a school and another wide shot of the Yukon Legislative Assembly building. The video transitions to a shot of a mural with the Canadian, Yukon and Whitehorse flags in front. We then see an image of an airplane crossing the sky. The video cuts to a wide shot of the Whitehorse General Hospital and a bus passing in front of it.

Marcelle fressineau: When I first got here, I was happy to have the Association franco-yukonnaise, which helps French-speaking newcomers. It has a program that helps tourism businesses, so these were the first kinds of connections I had. I encourage people to come here because there is a great quality of life. You get both: a bit of city life in Whitehorse, with all the services imaginable, and on the other hand, you can step outdoors, right into nature.

Then video continues with an image of a road leading toward the mountains. We then see Marcelle coming out of her house carrying a backpack. Next is an image of Marcelle walking along a lake. The video transitions to two people taking a picture close to the canyon. Next, an aerial image of the footbridge that crosses the river. We then see two people crossing the footbridge. We then see an aerial image of the mountains. The following text appears over the image:

“Around 70% of the Yukon’s population lives in Whitehorse”

Marcelle fressineau: The moon and stars always give off an incredible light, the sunsets last forever, and so do the sunrises.

We again see images of the canyon. This is followed by Marcelle walking along the lake.

Marcelle fressineau: Nature is truly wild here, and it’s also so vast that it makes the landscapes that much more vivid.

The video closes with an image of a mountain. The following text appears over the image:

“Find out more about services in French:
afy.ca.”

The music stops. On a white background, the Department’s signature appears, a small Canadian flag bearing the words: “Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada Immigration, Réfugiés et Citoyenneté Canada”. We see the signature of the Government of Canada: the Canadian flag floating on a white background.