Mr. Roger Lavoie

Director General

Roger Lavoie has spent 12 years as the director general of the National Committee of Economic Development and Employability (NCEDE), which is currently known as RDÉE Canada. Established in 1997 following negotiations between representatives of Francophone and Acadian communities and the Government of Canada, the NCEDE is made up of representatives of 10 federal departments and agencies with an economic focus and 10 representatives of business in Canada’s Francophone and Acadian communities.

Roger Lavoie is a key player in the economic development of Francophone and Acadian communities across the country. From 1993 to 1997, Mr. Lavoie was the secretary general of the Comité d’adaptation des ressources humaines de la francophonie canadienne (CARHFC), predecessor to the Comité national de développement des ressources humaines de la francophonie canadienne (CNDRHFC). As part of his duties, he sat on the special committee that negotiated the memorandum of agreement with Human Resources Development Canada that led to the creation of the support fund for the development of minority communities.

In 1980, Mr. Lavoie obtained a bachelor’s degree in administrative sciences from the Université de Moncton in New Brunswick and, in 1985, obtained a bachelor’s degree in social sciences from the same university. Mr. Lavoie went on to do his master’s degree in sociology at the Université de Montréal from 1990 to 1993 on an FCAR fellowship and did his doctorate in social sciences at the Université de Montréal from 1993 to 1997, again on an FCAR fellowship.

He was also the executive vice-president of STOP magazine in Montreal from 1987 to 1990 and production designer at the Télé-université du Québec in Montreal from 1991 to 1992.

Mr. Lavoie’s involvement in the Francophone and Acadian communities has never wavered. He has worked on studies on work-study integration, youth co-operative and business development, the Citizenship Act, the future of Société Radio‑Canada in a multichannel environment, reforming the social security system and Bill C‑111 (reforming employment insurance). He is the father of four children.