Winnipeg, Manitoba – The Honourable Raymond Simard, Member of Parliament for St. Boniface, on behalf of the Honourable Stephen Owen, Minister of Western Economic Diversification and Minister of State (Sport), today announced $100,000 from Western Economic Diversification Canada (WD) towards the establishment of eight ongoing internship positions at Le Collège universitaire de Saint-Boniface. “Ensuring our youth can access academic and economic opportunities that support our language duality will enable our minority official language communities to remain productive and sustainable,” said Simard. “Through the Action Plan for Official Languages, the Government of Canada is committed to fostering Canada’s linguistic duality and increasing opportunities for youth to remain in their communities.” “Today’s announcement is another crucial step in the process of building a brighter future for our community,” said Léonard Rivard, Director of Research at Le Collège universitaire de Saint-Boniface. “We are pleased that WD is a partner in this effort.” The internships are each supported by professors in arts, education and science. The interns will be pursuing research in the following areas: Literary creation by the Francophone Métis of Western Canada : the internship will review existing Métis literature in Western Canada, and itemize and classify works that are published as well as those that are archived but not published. In addition, the project will include the retrieval of non-recorded stories, songs and legends, which continue to be part of oral tradition. A study of the Métis ethos, their distinctive ways in relation to the story of the Métis insurrection of 1885: the internship will review historical publications, archives and records, analyze the thinking of that era. A study of all Métis lexical data : the internship will review all English texts on the Métis heritage, classify the terminology contained therein, identify equivalent French language terminology and develop a bilingual glossary. A study of the drop-out rate of Métis students in post-secondary institutions: this internship will consist of reviewing data/reports developed by professors on the subject, conducting interviews with Métis graduates, collecting data. A research project to determine the antibacterial effects of coffee, tea and a variety of peppers: this project includes a team of three microbiologists, two chemists and a statistician. Three interns will study bacterial growth using pure extracts of different peppers, teas and coffees. Once the anti-bacterial elements are determined, the anti-bacterial molecules will be identified and quantified using high performance liquid chromatography. Le Collège de Saint Boniface is one of the oldest post secondary establishments in Canada. It was initially founded by Archbishop Norbert Provencher in 1818 as a school for boys and was incorporated as the Collège in 1871. For its first 150 years, Catholic clergy, particularly the Jesuits from 1885 to 1969, led the institution. WD is the federal department mandated to develop Western Canada’s economy through initiatives that advance innovation, entrepreneurship and sustainable communities. Federal funding for this initiative is included in the fiscal framework. For additional information, contact: Mark Gale Communications Manager Western Economic Diversification Canada Tel: (204) 983-6243 E-mail: mark.gale@wd.gc.ca Renée Gillen Press Secretary Office of the Minister of Western Economic Diversification and Minister of State (Sport) (613) 954-1110 WD Toll-Free Number 1 888 338-WEST (9378) World Wide Web Site: English: http://www.wd.gc.ca French: http://www.deo.gc.ca Backgrounder Canada’s Action Plan for Official Languages In March 2003, the Government of Canada adopted a new Action Plan for Official Languages entitled New Momentum for Canada’s Linguistic Duality. The new plan consists of three axes for action: Education, Community Development and an Exemplary Public Service. The Plan allocates resources to six federal departments to undertake activities that foster Canada's linguistic duality. Industry Canada, one of the participating departments, has been identified as the lead department for increasing the capacity of official language minority communities to participate in the knowledge based economy.
