Mitchell Murphy, Minister responsible for Francophone Affairs today announced the appointment of Daniel Bourgeois to coordinate the Province's efforts in relation to the Sommet de la Francophonie which will be held in Moncton, New Brunswick in September 1999. Mr. Bourgeois will join the staff of the Francophone Affairs Division effective November 2. Mr. Murphy also announced the creation of an interdepartmental summit team whose goal it will be to support Francophone Affairs Division in their bid to encourage initiatives around the summit.
La Francophonie is an association of 52 participating governments which have the French language in common. The governments of New Brunswick, Quebec and Canada all participate. Francophone Affairs Division is the lead provincial agency in relation to the summit. They have been responsible for relations with New Brunswick in this area since the announcement of Moncton as host city during the Hanoi summit in November 1997
According to Minister Murphy, "Mr Bourgeois will be a significant addition to the Francophone Affairs Division. He possesses the skills we were looking for including significant work experience within the Acadian and Francophone community of the province coupled with training in the area of public policy." Mr. Bourgeois holds a Ph.D. in Public Policy Analysis from Université Laval in Québec, a Masters Degree in Public Administration from the Université de Moncton and a Bachelors degree in Political Science and Economics from the Université de Moncton. Mr. Bourgeois also studied for one year at the Institut d'études politiques at Aix-en-Provence, France.
"From his past work experience it is obvious that Mr. Bourgeois is results oriented. This will be key in coordinating the Province's efforts in relation to the Sommet de la Francophonie," said Mr. Murphy. While it is clear that Canada is the host country and that the summit is being held in New Brunswick, there are a number of opportunities which specifically interest the Province.
The Province has two objectives in participating in activities surrounding the Sommet. Firstly, to ensure the Acadian and Francophone community benefit from the hosting of the Sommet at a nearby location. These benefits may be economic, cultural or linguistic in nature. To assist in developing some of these initiatives Chester Gillan, Minister of Education; Don MacKinnon, Minister of Development; and Kevin J. MacAdam, Minister of Tourism and Fisheries have all assigned staff to these endeavours, through participation on the interdepartmental summit team. This team will work with the Francophone Affairs Division. The second objective is to ensure that the economy of PEI is favorably impacted. This may occur by the hosting on PEI of events peripheral to the Sommet or from increased tourism visitation.