The CCNB receives more than $2
million to support international Francophone students in
New Brunswick
DIEPPE,
NB, July 5, 2024 /CNW/ - Today, the Honourable
Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate
Minister of National Defence, announced funding for the
Collège communautaire du Nouveau-Brunswick (CCNB). She made this
announcement on behalf of the Honourable Randy Boissonnault,
Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Official
Languages, accompanied by the Honourable Greg Turner, New Brunswick Minister of Post-secondary
Education, Training and Labour.
The governments of Canada and
New Brunswick are each
contributing $1,035,278 to the CCNB's
project to adapt the support model for international Francophone
students. This brings the total investment to $2,070,556.
This project aims to maximize access, development and skills
enhancement for the CCNB's international students, enabling them to
integrate into the job market and New
Brunswick's Francophone community. The CCNB recognizes the
need to adapt its service model to better meet the specific needs
of its rapidly growing international student population.
Thanks to this major investment, the CCNB will be able to
enhance the experience of international Francophone students,
promote their social and professional integration, and strengthen
their sense of belonging to the New
Brunswick and Canadian communities.
Quotes
"New Brunswick is home to a
diverse Francophone community. We are committed to strengthening
and promoting the French language, including through education and
professional development. This measure will enable the Collège
communautaire du Nouveau-Brunswick to better meet the needs of its
international Francophone students and help them integrate into our
province's workforce."
—The Honourable Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Minister of Veterans
Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence
"Everyone should have the tools and resources they need to
express themselves and be served in the official language of their
choice. The funding announced today for the Collège communautaire
du Nouveau-Brunswick gives international Francophone students the
support they need to access services in French and better integrate
into the workforce and the Francophone community here in
New Brunswick."
—The Honourable Randy Boissonnault, Minister of Employment,
Workforce Development and Official Languages
"Attracting and retaining French-speaking students from other
parts of the world is critical to maintaining New Brunswick's bilingualism and to meeting
the province's labour market demands. This initiative will help
international students better adapt to their new surroundings and
better prepare them to stay and work in New Brunswick upon graduation."
—The Honourable Greg Turner, New
Brunswick Minister of Post-secondary Education, Training and
Labour
"The CCNB thanks the Government of Canada and the Government of New Brunswick for this joint investment. In
recent years, the CCNB has made growing investments to support a
major increase in the international student clientele, which
directly contributes to the growth of the demographic weight of
Francophones in the province through immigration and to the
training of future generations in key sectors that are dealing with
labour shortages."
—Dr. Pierre Zundel, CEO, Collège
communautaire du Nouveau-Brunswick
Quick Facts
The Collège communautaire du Nouveau-Brunswick is the province's
only Francophone college-level institution. It has an urban campus
in Dieppe and four rural campuses
in the north of the province (Bathurst, Campbellton, Edmundston and Shippagan).
Francophone international students currently represent 50
percent of the CCNB's clientele.
The project to adapt the CCNB's support model focuses on two
priorities. The first priority is continuing education, which aims
to help international students transition to the Canadian higher
education system and support their academic success. The second
priority is career plan management, which aims to enhance job
search assistance services and set up job match projects with
regional employers.
This funding stems from the bilateral agreement between the
Government of Canada and the
Government of New Brunswick, supporting French-language
educational activities and official second-language instruction.
Canadian Heritage also supports complementary projects related to
the province's multi‑year action plan.
The Action Plan for Official Languages 2023–2028:
Protection-Promotion-Collaboration provides for a total investment
of $4.1 billion to support 7
departments and 33 new or enhanced initiatives aimed at protecting
and promoting the country's official languages.
On June 20, 2023, An Act for the Substantive Equality of
Canada's Official Languages
received Royal Assent. The Act aims to address the decline of
French in the country and to clarify and strengthen the promotion
of official languages, while supporting official-language minority
communities.
Associated Links
Action Plan for Official Languages 2023–2028:
Protection-Promotion-Collaboration
Budget 2021
Official Languages Support Programs
Collège communautaire du Nouveau-Brunswick (French only)
SOURCE Canadian Heritage