Networking / training / other

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Networking / training activities

The Wellington Chamber of Commerce and Rural Action Centre regularly organize, often in collaboration with other organizations, networking and information-sharing opportunities (including workshops, webinars, training sessions, luncheon meetings, conferences and receptions, as well as social and recreational activities) for entrepreneurs, business people and managers of community organizations.

 

Some of the topics covered in the workshops/trainings include :

  • Recruitment and retention
  • Marketing and promotion
  • Social networks
  • Human rights
  • Succession of companies and organizations
  • Financial planning
  • "Self-Employ" program
  • Performance evaluation
  • Company management

 

See the list of upcoming activities.

Upcoming activities

Past activities

Over the years, the Chamber of Commerce and RDÉE ÎPÉ have organized a host of unique activities, often to celebrate special occasions. Here are just a few examples:

Fishermen's dinner

Wanting to recognize the vast contribution of Acadian fishermen to the provincial economy, the Chambre de commerce acadienne et francophone de l'Î.-P.-É. organized the Dîner des pêcheurs pionniers francophones at Abram-Village on November 29, 2016, specifically targeting fishermen aged 50 or over with at least 20 years' experience on the sea. The 32 fishermen (including one fisherwoman) from the Evangeline and West Prince regions who attended the ceremony were treated to a delicious seafood meal. The organizers and sponsors of the dinner gave them nothing but thanks and praise, before presenting them each with a handsome certificate of recognition for their many years of contribution to the fishing and tourism industries. The fishermen present ranged in experience from 23 to 71 years.

Farmers' dinner

Wanting to recognize the enormous contribution of the Island's francophone farmers to the local and provincial economy, the Acadian and Francophone Chamber of Commerce of PEI hosted a very special recognition dinner for them on November 29, 2017 at Abram-Village. The 21 farmers from the Charlottetown, Summerside and Evangeline regions who attended the party received a handsome certificate of recognition as their biographies were presented to the 62 people in attendance. Seven other farmers who were unable to attend the ceremonies also received certificates. In turn, ceremony organizers and sponsors offered praise to the assembled farmers and their families, focusing particularly on their tireless efforts and economic contributions.

4E Evening

We organized the «Economy, Entrepreneurship, Employment and Environment» Evening on March 10, 2025 at Abram-Village to discuss four interesting and important themes. The special guest speaker was the Honorable Gilles Arsenault, Minister of Environment, Energy and Climate Action. A presentation was given on the IMPACT Développement durable project, and the «Promotion des métiers et emplois verts» program was officially launched. Over 30 people attended.

RDÉE 25th anniversary and CCAFLIPE 15th anniversary

RDÉE Prince Edward Island celebrated its 25th anniversarye anniversary, while the CCAFLIPE celebrated its 15the anniversary of its re-establishment on June 14, 2024 in Summerside, in front of some 65 people. Following a delicious banquet, RDÉE Canada Board Chair Julie Tremblay congratulated RDÉE ÎPÉ and CCAFLIPE, and helped several past presidents cut the birthday cake. CCAFLIPE founding president Léo-Paul Arsenault recounted how the Chamber came to be, and manager Raymond J. Arsenault showed a number of photos from the past 25 years on the big screen. The evening ended with a wonderful performance by comedian Hughie Batherson.

20th anniversary of RDÉE and 10th anniversary of CCAFLIPE

Over 100 current and former employees and advisors, members, partners and friends gathered at Abram-Village on June 8, 2019 to celebrate in style the 20th anniversary of RDÉE Prince Edward Island and the 10th anniversary of the reestablishment of its CCAFLIPE. Participants in this «cocktail and comedy» evening enjoyed a delicious and hearty snack, heard and saw a brief history of the two economic development organizations, and took part in a fantastic show by comedian Ryan Doucette. Of course, big, beautiful birthday cakes were cut and distributed, and certificates were handed out to several people who have contributed so much to the development of both organizations. 

Past initiatives

Exploratory missions

RDÉE team members have organized and/or participated in several exploratory missions to other provinces and countries over the years. The purpose of these visits was always to explore the possibility of partnerships and economic exchanges that would benefit the Island's businesses and economy, or to encourage businesses or people from elsewhere to settle here. For example, the RDÉE has participated on several occasions in Destination Canada, a job fair in France and Belgium. The RDÉE has also organized exchanges between tourism and other entrepreneurs from Prince Edward Island and the Magdalen Islands, as well as from St-Félicien, Quebec.

Youth Transition

This pilot program was set up to help young people from the Island's French-speaking high schools make the transition to post-secondary education by offering them ongoing support in areas such as academics, social adaptation, finances, counseling and more. Program facilitators followed the young person's progress to ensure success in every respect. The Ministry of Education took charge of this fine program. 

Les bons travaillants" youth service cooperative"

This cooperative was re-established each summer to provide small-scale summer employment for teenagers from the Evangeline area (and, in some years, from Charlottetown). After learning the principles of cooperation and management, the young people managed their workers' cooperative themselves, through a board of directors and operational sub-committees. They would then offer a series of small services to the community: lawn mowing, child care, residential cleaning, painting, cleaning, etc. Unfortunately, fewer and fewer young people were interested in working there, and fewer people were hiring the co-op's services. We therefore made the difficult decision to discontinue its operation as of 2024.

PEI Career Focus

This internship program, for young adults aged 30 or under with post-secondary education, offered placements of up to 24 weeks. The idea was to help these people launch a career in their field of study. Employers were offered a wage incentive and encouraged to keep the employee permanently after the placement. This project ran for 18 months, ending at the end of summer 2019.

LIENS

Several years ago, the RDÉE set up a major project called «Liant l'immigration économique à nos succès» or LIENS, to support the integration of newcomers into the job market or into entrepreneurship. The project offered a variety of initiatives, including work placements, workshops on job hunting and the various skills required, language courses, entrepreneurial mentoring, etc. Responsibility for supporting immigrants and newcomers was transferred to the Coopérative d'intégration francophone (CIF) in 2020.

CANA

The Centre d'aide aux nouveaux arrivants (CANA), located in the Carrefour de l'Isle-Saint-Jean in Charlottetown, was set up jointly by the LIENS project and the ICF. It was a small center equipped with computers, printers and other technological tools enabling newcomers to prepare and submit applications for jobs, funding or other opportunities, or simply to access their e-mail. The Centre was also a starting point through which newcomers could access LIENS and ICF services.

Newcomer's kit

We had developed a bilingual kit to help orient newcomers, including workers and entrepreneurs. The kit was an attractive tool available in paper and digital (PDF) formats, and comprised eight booklets. The main booklet explained the importance of recruiting skilled workers from abroad, as well as the province's attractions and opportunities. The second booklet offered a general overview of the province's needs, with statistics on the different sectors of the population. The other six booklets presented a brief overview of the economic situation, advantages and specific workforce needs of each of the Island's Acadian and Francophone regions. These booklets, in particular, helped immigrants choose the region best suited to their needs and interests.

Talkshow "Let's talk business"

In the spring of 2020, RDÉE Prince Edward Island began producing a virtual talkshow (produced using Zoom recordings) to promote its programs and activities, as well as francophone or bilingual economic activities or initiatives on the Island. Our communications manager, Raymond J. Arsenault, a former journalist, would informally interview the guest of the day. Each interview was then posted on our Facebook page as well as on our YouTube channel.

Video series on PERCÉ

To further promote our PERCÉ post-secondary internship program, we produced two series of video clips. The first series featured testimonials from former interns to encourage others to apply. The second series featured clips of employers who had taken on interns, to encourage them in turn to take on interns. They can still be seen on our YouTube channel.

Tourist video series

In collaboration with the Association touristique Évangéline, a few years ago we were awarded a summer project to hire a young videographer (Eddie Arsenault) to produce a series of promotional clips on various local tourist attractions. They can still be seen on our YouTube channel.

www.ilebranchee.ca

Le Carrefour de l'Isle-St-Jean had developed an online newsletter called «ilebranchee» over 20 years ago. It was decided to transfer the daily bulletin to the RDÉE and develop this website into a provincial portal of French-language services (community and government) for the entire Acadian and francophone community of the Island. This one-stop shop had been revamped with the help of Canadian Parents for French PEI to inform parents of French-second-language children about activities happening in the francophone community. But the site was getting old and no longer had any users, so we shut it down. 

DVD "Portrait of economic development"

This 67-minute documentary paints a portrait of PEI's Acadian and Francophone economic development from 1720 to recent times. It is intended for educational and awareness-raising purposes. The film's narrator is Georges Arsenault, a well-known Acadian historian from Charlottetown. Denis Robert of Mont-Carmel, a film producer for many years, was director/producer of the DVD.

DVD "J'peux le faire"

Actions Femmes Î.-P.-É. produced a DVD to raise women's awareness of entrepreneurship and other personal and professional options for taking charge of their lives and developing greater economic autonomy and security. Serving as a tool for training, valuing, encouraging and supporting women, the film was distributed to women's groups and other stakeholders working to improve the economic situation of Atlantic women. The film features captivating professional and moving personal testimonials. RDÉE supported the process of obtaining funding for this project.

DVD "Notre-Dame-du-Mont-Carmel"

Paroisse Notre-Dame-du-Mont-Carmel, wanting to further position its magnificent Catholic church as a tourist attraction, produced a video and CD simply named «Notre-du-Mont-Carmel» to tell its story. Two French versions of the video were produced, a 15-minute version and a 28-minute version. English versions were also available. The RDÉE helped finance the project.

Infrastructure

RDÉE ÎPÉ has supported numerous organizations in developing projects and funding applications for various community infrastructures over the years. Here are a few examples:

 

  • Évangéline Recreation Centre
  • Center Goéland
  • Egmont Bay wharf/Fish market
  • Carrefour de l'Isle-Saint-Jean
  • Center Acadien Grand Rustico
  • Farmers' Bank of Rustico Museum
  • The Doucet House
  • Wellington Cooperative

Organizations and events

Over the years, RDÉE has supported numerous organizations with a wide range of projects and events. Here are a few examples:

 

  • Société de développement de la Baie Acadienne
  • Cooperative Development Council
  • Evangeline Tourism Association
  • North Cape coastal circuit
  • Commission du tourisme acadien du Canad atlantique
  • World Acadian Congress 2020
  • Evangeline Region Agricultural Fair and Acadian Festival
  • Francofolies de Charlottetown
  • Festival de la chanson du Grand Ruisseau
  • Fiddlers' Jamboree
  • Festival jeunesse de l'Atlantiqe
  • Grand Rassemblement
  • Jeux de l'Acadie Final
  • Canada Games
  • Jeux de l'Acadie 50 ans +

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