Island Youth To Serve As Pages At Francophone Summit

The four Island Francophone pages who will participate in the Francophone Summit to be held in Moncton, September 3-5 as part of the Young Pages of Canada Project, attended a training session today at Province House in preparation for the event. The Island pages are Rhonda Boulter, Cornwall; Mathieu Arsenault, Meadowbank; Michel Arsenault, Charlottetown; and Rémi Thériault of Wellington. The young people will serve as Pages during the official meeting of the heads of state from the fifty-two states that make use of the French language.

Mitch Murphy, Minister of Technology and Environment and Minister responsible for Francophone Affairs, congratulated the Pages. "We are very proud of these young people who take the initiative to go to a French school or follow the Immersion program and are pleased our youth have the opportunity to represent PEI at this major international event." The Francophone Affairs Division of the Department of Technology and Environment organized the training to help the Pages learn more about the Island Government and its agreements with other Francophone countries.

After a guided tour of Province House, the Pages met with representatives from the PEI Multicultural Council, Société Saint-Thomas-d'Aquin, a Francophone working group on development and economic ties, and Canadian Heritage. Each gave a short presentation on their organization and their ties to the Francophone Summit. The Pages also met with MLA Elmer MacFadyen who spoke to the Pages about the role of elected members to the Legislature.