RDÉE Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador
The Réseau de développement économique et d'employabilité Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador (RDÉE TNL) (Economic Development and Employability Network of Newfoundland and Labrador) makes available a wide range of services to individuals, businesses and local organizations in order to stimulate economic development in the province.
More than 2,000 residents of Newfoundland and Labrador are native Francophones, and more than 24,000 people can speak French. The Francophone community therefore adds certain value to the province’s economy by providing economic diversity and strengthening the community fabric.
RDÉE TNL is a partner of RDÉE Canada, which was created by ten federal departments and the Francophone communities outside Québec. This pan-Canadian network opens to the door to Francophone economic development throughout the country.
RDÉE TNL strives to create a favourable climate for economic growth by seeking funding, making available resources, offering skill development and helping to overcome the employment challenge.
RDÉE TNL works in four sectors: Knowledge-Based Economy, Tourism, Integration of Youth in Business and Rural Development.
It has offices in the three regions of the province with Francophone populations: Avalon Peninsula (head office in St. John’s), Port au Port Peninsula on the West coast of the Island (office in La Grand’Terre), and Labrador West (office in Labrador City).
Services
RDÉE TNL coordinates the creation of the French Language Travel Guide for Newfoundland and Labrador & Saint-Pierre et Miquelon. This guide is the perfect complement of the Provincial Government Traveller’s Guide. This promotional tool not only helps reach the province’s Francophones, but also visitors from the rest of Canada and a few European countries including France, through the French archipelago of Saint-Pierre et Miquelon, located near Newfoundland.
RDÉE TNL economic development officers help community groups and business people determine and plan their projects, establish partnerships and identify sources of funding. They also encourage working with the officers of different government departments to ensure the conformity and viability of the projects.
Tourism
Francophone tourism in Newfoundland and Labrador is a rapidly growing and highly promising sector. Some of the objectives of this sector include promoting the added value of French in economic development and the importance of the tourism industry in creating and maintaining jobs, and helping the Francophone and Acadian communities develop their tourism capacities.
In this respect, RDÉE TNL started a major project to create various sustainable tourism infrastructures. Some of its initiatives in this sector include:
- SuperHost workshops
- French Language Travel Guide for Newfoundland and Labrador & Saint-Pierre et Miquelon
- Historical trails in the Port au Port Peninsula
- Snowmobile trails
- Émile Benoît Resource Centre
- Shelters for hiking trails
- Development of the tourism potential of Île Rouge
Integration of Youth in Business
RDÉE TNL tries to counter the migration of young people from the province by instilling an entrepreneurial culture in them to encourage their integration into the world of entrepreneurship. Together with the RDÉE’s partners, the economic development officers offer the province’s young Francophones and Acadians a variety of tools, information, references and services related to employability. Some of its initiatives in this sector include:
- Science, Technology and Safety Youth Camp
- Place aux jeunes TNL Initiative (Make Way for Youth)
- Involvement of the local cadet corps to create trails
- Active participation of young people in Small Business Week
- Involvement in the Atlantic-wide Portal Entrepreneurship Youth Project
Rural Development
RDÉE TNL supports rural Francophone and Acadian communities by developing activities to create long-term jobs in the sectors of agriculture, agri-food, fishing or any other type of socioeconomic development. Some of its initiatives in this sector include:
- community profiles of the three Francophones regions
- support for the creation of the New Comers Guide
- support of the Projet Vision involving local strategic planning
- improvements to the wharf at the Rouzes Brook port
- development of the port at La Grand’Terre – Trois Cailloux
- prefeasibility study in aquaculture
- agricultural development study
Knowledge-Based Economy
RDÉE TNL informs the Francophone and Acadian communities of opportunities to share knowledge, particularly in the area of information and communications technologies, in order to develop their capacities and skills. For example, the economic development officers are taking advantage of the partnerships they established with various economic development organizations in Western Newfoundland and Labrador to bring high bandwidth services to their rural and northern Francophone regions. Some of its initiatives in this sector include:
For more information on RDÉE TNL and its services, please contact RDÉE TNL:
RDÉE TNL
Centre scolaire et communautaire des Grands-Vents
65, chemin Ridge, bureau 233
St-John’s, NL A1B 4P5
Tel.: (709) 726-5976
Fax: (709) 722-9657
Email: info@rdeetnl.ca
Web site: www.rdeetnl.ca
