| Location | Alberta |  |
| Organization | Conseil de développement économique de l'Alberta (CDÉA) |
| Description | Since May 2000, the CDÉA has been talking to businesses about the economic advantages of French signage and bilingual customer service. The CDÉA began by distributing Ici, nous parlons en français stickers to its members. In September 2007, to expand its scope, the CDÉA created a new generic Services en français disponibles sticker that will be available to all Alberta businesses who wish to use it.
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| Objectives | | • | Encourage businesses to offer bilingual services | | • | Promote the added value of offering bilingual services | | • | Enhance the visibility of Francophone businesses | |
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| A number of Francophones live in the community of Saint-Paul, Alberta. One day, to his surprise, a Francophone clerk in Future Shop was asked whether he spoke French. He answered yes, but having worked there for years and having always been spoken to in English, he automatically served all customers in English. He decided to make a badge stating Je peux vous servir en français. The clerk immediately discovered a whole group of people interested in receiving products and services in French. In addition, his sales went up. This incident was a contributing factor that led to the campaign for signage and services in French. | |
| Activities | | • | Raise awareness among businesses | | • | Identify participating businesses in Alberta's tourism guide | | • | Distribute stickers | | • | Control use of stickers with periodic checks to determine whether the services are being offered
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| Partners | • Service Canada
• Alberta's Francophone business community
• Western Economic Diversification
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| Funding | • The CDÉA assumes the cost of creating and printing the stickers
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| Results | | • | Possible increase in business | | • | A competitive advantage is achieved, especially in the tourism sector, since the businesses are identified in the tourism guide | | • | Francophones begin to discover Alberta as a tourism destination where services are offered in French in some places | |
| Ingredients
for success | | • | Low cost versus economic benefit | | • | Spot-checks help preserve the logo's credibility
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| Challenges | • Convincing businesses of the value of bilingual services and signage |
| For additional information | http://www.lecdea.ca/en/
780-414-6125
edmonton@lecdea.ca |
