As part of the celebrations organized for Francophonie Day, the Francophone Center had the opportunity to produce a radio report on the theme of bilingualism. 

Since October 2018, the Francophone Center has taken over the radio program “Samedi de Parler français” broadcast every Saturday between 12:30 and 2:00 pm on CILU 102.7 FM. Thanks to this, the university radio station Lu Radio in collaboration with the “Rendez-vous de la francophonie” gave us the opportunity to make the voice of Thunder Bay’s francophonie heard by producing a report on the importance of bilingualism for a community like Northwestern Ontario.

Louise Boderé, Economic Development and Marketing Officer for the Centre francophone and host of the program “Samedi de Parler français”, was able to interview Michelle Lavoie-Pintar, President of Autism Ontario, and give the floor to Claire Thiébaut, Manager of the Centre francophone.

In her interview, Michelle Lavoie-Pintar emphasizes the importance of having access to bilingual services and training for people with autism spectrum disorders and their families. She also demonstrated the advantage of bilingualism in the professional setting.

Claire Thiébaut, for her part, gave us some figures concerning the Francophone presence in the region while presenting the various services offered to them at the Centre francophone. The manager emphasized the importance of the Francophone and Francophile community’s sense of belonging and the

Center francophone to reach out to this large community through the “Community Links for Isolated People in Thunder Bay” project funded since 2018 by the Ontario Trillium Foundation. The manager also tells us about the Franco-Festival organized each year by and for the community. In 2019, the Franco-Festival will take place on September 12, 13, and 14.