Neighbours is partnering up with Y4Y Quebec. They are a youth based non-profit organization in Montreal. Their goal is to create a sense of community amongst the English-speaking youth and a strong sense of belonging to the community, so that all youth will feel a part of Quebec society. Y4Y wants to inspire their peers to become involved and active members of the society, to meet and engage with the French-speaking community as well as to mobilize the broader English-speaking community around issues that impact the community’s vitality.

On Thursday, February 28th, 2019, we were greeted with a visit from Y4Y’s Board of Directors President– Malcolm Lewis-Richmond. He came and gave an information session at Neighbours, where he explained what was the purpose of Youth for Youth and took the opportunity to discuss with them about their upcoming Youth Forum in Montreal taking place at the end of March 2019. He also interacted with the youth to get a sense of what it is like to be an English-speaking youth here in Rouyn-Noranda. Following the group discussion, we played bingo and got the chance to win different prizes.

On Friday, March 1st, 2019, Malcolm and Neighbours staff, Jessica and Vanessa, went to Golden Valley School in Val d’Or, to talk to the youth there about what Y4Y Quebec is and what their goals are. During the discussion the students had a few questions they had to reflect on such as: where do they see themselves in 5 years and what do they have to do to achieve those goals. Following the discussion, we proceeded to playing a basketball game in the gymnasium.

All in all, the sessions were a success and we look forward to do different activities with Youth for Youth Quebec in the near future!

Visit Neighbours’ website and Facebook page for daily updates www.neighbours-rouyn-noranda.ca

https://www.facebook.com/neighbours.rouynnoranda

NEIGHBOURS REGIONAL ASSOCIATION OF ROUYN-NORANDA

Neighbours Newsletter April 2019

Y4Y Quebec Sessions

(Youth for Youth)

Our youths enjoying an evening of games with Malcolm Lewis-Richmond from Y4Y Quebec.

Source: https://y4yquebec.org/

Written by: Vanessa Barrette

NEI GHBOURS NEWS LE TT ER Page 2

New Horizons Project “Sharing Our StOrieS” Tuesday February 26 — As part of Neighbours New Horizon project funding, we were honoured to have Montreal-based author, musician, and actor Nisha Coleman drop by our office to deliver a writing workshop for our senior members.

Entitled, “Sharing our Stories”, the project aimed to present members with the tools and techniques they need to write down their memories of growing up in the English Speaking Community of Rouyn-Noranda. The project sought to respond to a need to preserve the stories and memories of our community for our family, friends, and future generations, while at the same time seeking to reduce isolation within our senior community.

While the idea of committing stories to paper seemed daunting to our members initially, Nisha’s exercises, tips, and examples soon had participants enthusiastically recalling and writing down their experiences. Questions such as “what do you remember about your earliest memory, first day of school, first date” etc. provided a good base for people to pick a story that they wanted to tell. These questions also prompted much laughter and spirited discussion as memories and stories were exchanged.

As the event moved along participants were asked to select one particular memory to write about and turn into a story to share and save. During this part of the session tips on how to expand on details and nuance in a story were introduced. The avoidance of vague words and terms were forgone in favour of concrete images and members were encouraged to write using the word choice and voice of the author. The positive benefits of these techniques were immediately noticeable as was evidence when towards the end of the workshop, when members were asked to share what they had written with the group.

What a treat it was to hear all the different styles of writing ,thought and speech in the stories that were shared.

Originally from Huntsville, Ontario, and after graduating from university, Nisha spent three years busking on the streets of Paris playing violin. These years and experiences were turned into her memoire: Busker: Stories from the Streets of Paris, published by Hagios Press in 2015. Nisha’s solo show Self -Exile won Montreal’s Centaur Theatre Best of the Fringe Award in 2016. She is a frequent participant at storytelling events in Montreal and Toronto and her work has been featured on PBS.

If you were a participant at our “Sharing Our Stories” event and if you would like some helping editing or finishing your stories, you can send them to Neighbours Communication Agent, Matt, at the following email address:

neighboursinfo@cablevision.qc.ca.

If you attended or missed this event, fear not, we are currently working on hosting another session in the near future. Stay tuned to our Health Bulletin, Newsletter, or Facebook page for updates on this and many other events at Neighbours.

Written by: Matt Cartmell

From left to right: Valerie Comisso, Celine Labonté. Nisha Coleman, Linda Marion, Suzanne Chevrier, Rejeanne Renaud, Judy McCormick,

Mitch Lariviere.

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How to Train your Dragon:

The Hidden World- Review Received 91% on Rotten Tomatoes (review site)

Critical Consensus:

The rare trilogy capper that really works, How to Train your Dragon: The Hidden World brings its saga to a visually dazzling and emotionally affecting conclusion.

Nathalie’s Review:

This third installment story concludes the journey of a boy and his dragon. Now that Hiccup is chief, he must protect his clan and his beloved dragons from dragon hunters.

I personally loved the trilogy, all the movies were well done and the stories flow well into the next chapter. This final one, however,

captured my heart and touched me emotionally. Of course for those of you who know me, I adore all creatures, therefore to see Toothless (Dragon) set free and have to say goodbye to Hiccup made me tear up.

The animation is breathtaking and I found myself captivated by every frame. If you were a fan of the previous How to Train your Dragon, you’ll enjoy this one.

Captain Marvel- Review

79% on Rotten Tomatoes

Critical Consensus:

Set in the 1990’s, The story follows Carol Danvers as she becomes one of the universe's most powerful heroes when Earth is caught in the middle of a galactic war between two alien races.

Packed with action, humor, and visual thrills, Captain Marvel introduces the MCU’s latest hero with an origin story that makes effective use of the franchise’s signature formula

Natalie’s Review:

Captain Marvel is an origin movie about a powerful woman becoming a superhero, she is a formidable force and the newest addition to the MCU.

I enjoyed the movie because you have the opportunity to follow the story of a younger version of Nick Fury and Agent Coulson, which provides much of the movie’s humour.

It’s nice to see a new female superhero make its solo debut in MCU, since the DC World had such success with its female superhero, Wonder Woman.

All in all the movie was enjoyable.

Written by: Nathalie Chevrier

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Canada’s Official Languages Act at 50: Review and Modernization This year marks the 50th anniversary of

Canada’s Official Languages Act which was first

adapted into law on September 9th 1969. The adoption

of the Act gave equal status to English and French

within the government of Canada and made a number

of new provisions to speakers of English and French

throughout the country. Among a number of key items

were: the right to receive services from federal

departments in either official language, (health and

education among them); Parliament will adopt and

publish laws in both languages with equal weight

accorded to each, and the right to heard in federal

court in the language of their choice.

Reaction to the Act in the English– speaking

community in Quebec was one of strong support, with

Francophone reaction ranging from support to

skepticism as it guaranteed French language rights

outside of Quebec, but was felt not to do enough to

support the survival of French within Quebec. The

province’s adoption of Charter of the French Language

(“Bill 101”) in 1977 made French the official language

of the provincial government and has provided either

complementary or oppositional results and / or

reactions, depending on one’s own viewpoint and

experience.

As part of the 50th

anniversary of the Act,

Minister of Official

Languages, Mélanie

Joly, will be hosting a

series of forums across

Canada to identify key issues as it seeks to modernize

the law and bring them into accord with the realities of

Canada in the 21st century. A recent press release

from the Department of Canadian Heritage indicates

that as part of the government’s review, the following

topics will be part of the national discussion:

Official languages and Canada in the digital age

Promoting culture and bilingualism

Federal institutions that embody official

languages

Official languages and Canada's place in the

world

The mobilization, development and vitality of

official language minority communities

The forums will take place between March 12th and

April 24th and the schedule is as follows:

Moncton on March 12

Ottawa on March 18

Sherbrooke on April 15

Edmonton on April 23

Vancouver on April 24

The results of these forums and review of the

Act will be used by the government to guide the

modernization of the law, while the results themselves

are expected to be returned by June of this year.

Members of the public are invited to comment and

makes suggestions regarding the review of the Act, for

more information you can visit the following website:

Minister Mélanie Joly

MPs discuss the Act, 1969

www.canada.ca/talking-official-languages

Page 5 NEI GHBOURS NEWS LE TT ER

Ensuring the rights of the English Speaking

Community to access health and social services in

English is a core mandate for Neighbours Regional

Association of Rouyn-Noranda, and to assist in fulfilling

that mandate Neighbours is a member of the Quebec

Community Groups Network (QCGN). The QCGN is a

non-profit organization that links organizations like

Neighbours located throughout Quebec in order to

explore, identify, and communicate issues within

Quebec’s English Speaking community to government.

Reacting to the news regarding the Act’s review,

QCGN President Geoffrey Chambers said, “It is the

only law that protects the linguistic interests of English-

speaking Quebecers as a community. Having said that,

after 50 years, the Act is somewhat antiquated and is

in serious need of an update. We are particularly keen

that English-speaking Quebec participates in the

forums and town halls announced by the Minister

today. We must make sure our voices are heard.”

In recent years the QCGN has been working

closely with it’s French language equivalent, “La

Féderation des Communautés Francophone et

Acadienne du Canada” (FCFA), to explore and

ameliorate the Act for linguistic minority communities

throughout Canada. Speaking in regards to this

partnership Chambers explains that, “The interests of

Quebec’s English-speaking community align

strategically with those of Francophone linguistic

minority communities across the country.”

To this effect, the QCGN fully endorsed the principles

put forward by the FCFA in a proposed bill released the

week of March 4th. A summary of the four principle

changes to the Act as recommended by the FCFA are

as follows:

Make a central agency responsible for the

implementation of the Act

Define the right of minorities to participate in the

implementation of the Act

Modernize oversight and accountability

mechanisms

Expand the scope of rights and obligations

For more detailed information on the FCFA’s proposed

changes to the Official Languages Act, you may

consult their website at: http://fcfa.ca

QCGN Director General Sylvia Martin-Laforge

summarized both organizations positions on the nature

of language in Canada stating, “linguistic duality has

truly become a fundamental value in Canada.” The

50th anniversary of the Act allows us a moment to

pause and celebrate the unique nature of Canada’s

linguistic landscape”, but Laforge further notes that it is

time to, “rebuild the foundations of this cornerstone

legislation so that if reaffirms linguistic duality and

reinforces official language minority communities,

taking us into the next half-century.”

Stop Sign in Nunavut. Status of Native languages is expected to be part of the review of the Act.

Source: Department of Canadian Heritage, QCGN, FCFA

Page 6 NE I GHB OU RS NEW SLET TE R

You are cordially invited to Neighbours 15th Anniversary Gala

April 20, 2019

Reserve your place by April 11, 2019

Page 7 NEI GHBOURS NEWS LE TT ER

Most people join an organization because it meets their needs, and in turn, it often leads them to volunteer.

These volunteers give countless hours to help out the organization and support a cause they care about. It’s a win-win situation for both parties: the organization benefits from the volunteer’s expertise and enthusiasm, and the volunteer benefits from meeting people and giving a helping hand.

The City of Rouyn-Noranda recognizes the importance of volunteering and will be hosting its 19th Annual

Edition of Volunteer Recognition to honor and celebrate our local volunteers’ commitment to non-profit organizations.

The Volunteer Recognition award ceremony will be held on April 18th as part of a 5à7.

We would like to thank all volunteers that passed through Neighbours doors, without you, many of our activities, events and workshops would not have been a success.

Often we set out to make a difference in the lives of others only to discover we have made a difference to our own.

—Ellie Braun-Haley

Rouyn-Noranda’s 19th

Annual Volunteer Recognition

Call for Focus Group Participants

The Community Health and Social Services Network (CHSSN) will be in

Rouyn-Noranda the week of April 15th to conduct a series of focus groups on the

nature of English language health and social services in our area. Neighbours is

looking for members of our English-speaking community in Rouyn-Noranda to participate in focus groups.

This is an opportune chance for you to voice your opinions and concerns on your experiences with

English language health and social services in our city and region. If you are interested in participating

please contact Neighbours via Phone at: 819-762-0882 or Email at: neighboursinfo@cablevision.qc.ca.

The CHSSN is a major core funder for Neighbours and has the mandate to identify issues in English

language services in the province of Quebec in an attempt to improve service for members of the

English speaking community.

NEI GHBOURS NEWS LE TT ER Page 8

Earth Day April 22 2019

What is Earth Day?

The very first Earth Day was organized and held on April 22, 1970 throughout over 2000 university and college campus’ in the United States. Initiated by organizers Denis Hayes and Senator Gaylord

Nelson (Wisconsin), the first Earth Day was part of an organized response to the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill off the coast of California. At the time the oil spill was the largest oil spill in United States waters, but has since been surpassed by the 1989 Exxon-Valdez and 2010 Deepwater Horizon spills. Accord-ing to current Earth Day President Kathleen Rogers, the first Earth Day attracted over 20 million Ameri-cans to take to the streets and protest the negative environmental impacts caused by 150 years of industrial development. Senator Nelson imagined Earth Day as a “national teach-in on the environ-ment” and all subsequent Earth Day events and activities has sought to included education and action as their primary mandate for positive environment changes.

From 1970 onwards, Earth Day spread through the United States, North America, and eventually the world via networks of concerned citizens and institutions like universities and community organizations. By Earth Day 1990, 200 million people worldwide in 141 countries took part in activities and protests aimed at reducing pollution and other industrial practices harmful to the environment.

Founded at that historic 20th annual Earth Day in 1990, Earth Day Canada has sought to “support people across the country to connect with nature and build resilient communities”. Activities that year included a boost to recycling efforts throughout the country, as well as improved marketing access to large audiences via television and radio audiences.

What Can I Do for Earth Day?

Many Earth Day activities have been created and suggested for both adults and children. One of the most popular is Earth Hour, organized by the World Wildlife Fund, which aims to raise awareness of electricity usage and pollution. Starting as a lights off event in Sydney, Australia in 2007, the event encourages people and business to shut off their

lights for one hour at night.

This year Earth Hour will be held one week after Earth Day, on April 30th from 8:30—9:30pm.

Suggested activities to help children and young people begin to think about the environment and how human activity can have an impact on the earth include:

Staring a compost bin in your home or garden. A large scale project may not be feasible, but small composting experiments with plastic bags or bottles take up less space and allow children to see the process of organic decomposition

Picking up garbage and recycling materials that have been thrown on the ground in your neighbourhood or school yard

Plant flowers in your garden or neighbourhood that attract bees and other pollinators. This is issues is especially pertinent in the face of dwindling bee populations and a major theme of Earth Day 2019 is a campaign to Protect Our Species

Learn about how carbon footprints are generated and see if you can’t figure out your annual carbon footprint with the intention of reducing it throughout the course of one year.

Source: Earth Day Network, CBC,

Page 9 NEI GHBOURS NEWS LE TT ER

“Staircase to Seniors”

CHEP Video Conference

Presented by: Jennifer Hobbs-Robert

Date: Wednesday, April 17th, 2019

Time: Starts at 10 a.m. and Ends at 12:15 p.m.

Followed by a Subway Lunch!

If you would like to participate in this event or if you have any questions regarding this information session, please call Neighbours and ask for Vanessa at 819-762-0882 or

you may also contact us through our Facebook page.

English Health Access & Advisory Committee

of Abitibi-Témiscamingue

Access committees for Anglophones have been around since the mid-eighties but advocates claim they had been diluted over time by public servants and union leaders and were no longer run by members of the English-speaking community.

Bill 10 reform wiped out many institutional boards of directors and in many cases, silenced the voices of Quebec’s English-speaking minority.

But now the newly revamped advisory committees are tasked with monitoring healthcare services in English and providing recommendations of what’s needed and where, as well as, keeping an eye on the quality of the care provided.

Under the new regulation, the Quebec Community Groups Network (QCGN) and the Community Health and Social Services Network (CHSSN) both of which Neighbours is a member, made recommendations to the minister on appointments to the provincial committee; now it is Neighbours turn to make recommendations to our regional committee.

The composition should be the following: 3 members from Rouyn-Noranda, 3 members from Val d’or, 3 from Témiscamingue/Ville Marie, and 2 members of interest. The committee is scheduled to be appointed and functional by June 2019!

So if you have a special interest in this type of Health Board; please speak with the office or a member of Neighbours Health Committee.

NEI GHBOURS NEWS LE TT ER Page 10

Spring cleaning might sound boring, but it is important for everybody as it offers you the perfect chance to freshen up

your home and get out the dust of the winter months for the sunny months ahead.

1) Make a Plan: For any job to be efficient, you fir st need a well-planned schedule. When it’s about spring

cleaning, scope out your home and list down what rooms and areas need the most work. When making your plan, it is

a smart idea to first list down every room from most important to least important. When you focus on one room at a

time, you’ll be able to stay focused and work more efficiently, making your spring cleaning a whole lot easier.

2) De-clutter your home: One of the most important

things to do during your 2019 spring cleaning is to de-clutter.

Get rid of old and useless items and tidy up your home.

Decluttering does not only make your home more livable, but it

also helps you to stay organized. Recent studies show that,

when you live in a messy home, your brain finds it difficult to come to rest. The reason behind this lies in the fact that

clutter sends an indirect signal to your brain, showing that work is not done. This, in turn, adds to your stress levels

and psychological pressure. First, try to see what items really no longer have value and get rid of them. After that,

organize the items that you have left and store them away out of sight.

3) Work from top to bottom: When you start cleaning, work from the ceiling down. By doing so, left-over

debris will fall downward which you can then clean again while you’re working your way down. This method will

save you a lot of time and cleaning stress. After this, work your way down and dust off your regular furniture and

items before vacuuming the floor.

4) Do not forget the walls: It’s important to realize that not all dust settles on the floor. As such, it is

essential to keep your walls and windows clean as well. To clean your walls all you need is a damp cloth to wipe them

down. Windows can be done in the same manner or with a rag and commercial window-cleaning product.

5) Do not skip any rooms or places: When we do our spring cleaning, most people only focus on the main

living areas such as the living room. It is, however, important to pay close attention to every room in your home. If

you don’t do this, the dust will simply travel from one place to another and all your cleaning has been for nothing.

Therefore, remember to clean every room and don’t skip areas such as your kitchen or bathroom. Clean out the

cabinets, change shower curtains, empty the refrigerator, clean your kitchen appliances, and throw away old

cosmetics. In some cases, you might even want to consider cleaning or upgrading your old bathroom and kitchen fan.

Also, one of the most overlooked yet important part of spring cleaning is the condition of your air filters. Check your

filters and air conditioners and make sure to replace furnace and HVAC filters as required. You can even consider

getting yourself an air purifier to cleanse the air in your room.

Spring Cleaning Tips

Source: https://www.langria.com/blogs/style/spring-cleaning-tips-2019

Keep Sell Donate Toss

Page 11 NEI GHBOURS NEWS LE TT ER

Huskies Tie CHL Record with 25 Consecutive Wins

Our Huskies 25 game win streak came to end on

March 8th with their 2-1 loss to the third place

Voltigeurs on the road in Drummondville. Falling one

game short of setting a new CHL record, the Huskies

tied the 1973-74 Sorel Epreviers, and the 1983-84

Kitchener Rangers for the longest CHL win streak. In

a Tweet published just after the match, the QMJHL

reminds us that in the fifty year history of the league,

the Huskies have joined only four teams to have won

20 plus consecutive games over the course of the

regular season.

The habitually high-scoring Huskies had a hard time on

offense that night with their only goal coming in the

third period by forward Tyler Hinam, while

Drummondville’s goalie Anthony Morrone made 33

stops and the offense outshot the Huskies 16-4 in the

third period to seal their victory and steal the Huskies’

chance at breaking the 45-year old record. The

low-scoring Huskies loss stood in stark contrast to their

previous meeting with the Voltigeurs when they

soundly defeated them 6-1 in a home game on March

1st and 3-2 on January 25th.

Reflecting on the end of their win streak, head coach

Mario Pouliot told La Citoyen, “The players

accomplished this record with their tireless work and all

the credit is theirs. They should be proud of it.”

The Huskies season has been pushing records though

out the course of their entire 2018-2019 season. They

set a new franchise win record with 55 wins and

allowed only a total of 132 goals with four games

remaining in the regular season. The record for lowest

total goals allowed by a team in a season currently

belongs to the 2008-09 Moncton Wildcats. In total over

the course of the 25 game win streak the Huskies

outscored all opponents 139-48, with the Huskies

power play converting goals nearly 30% of the time.

With the Huskies on top of the QMJHL’s table, they are

poised to have another excellent chance to capture the

President’s Cup for the second time in three years.

This of course means that the boys are also in an

excellent position to compete for and secure their first,

and heretofore elusive, Memorial Cup.

Stay tuned to our Facebook page throughout the

course of the playoffs, because televised playoff

games will once again be presented in the Neighbours

ARC. Go Huskies! Go!

Source: CHL, QMJHL

Did You Know???

While hockey is undoubtedly the national pastime (or more accurately, obsession), the official sport of Canada is lacrosse. The oldest continually played sports team in North America originated with Native American tribes using the game as means to prepare for war. The influence of lacrosse on the development of hockey remains a contested issue among sports historians. Earliest mention of the word “lacrosse” is attributed to 17th century French Jesuit Jean Brebeuf.

139 avenue Murdoch PO BOX 2277 Rouyn-Noranda, Québec J9X-5A9 819-762-0882

April 2019 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1

Daffodil week

2 3 4 5 6

7 8

9

10

11

Savvy Seniors

@ 1:30 p.m.

12

Teen Game Night @6:30

13

14 15 16

17

CHEP VC “Staircase to

Seniors” @ 10 a.m

18 19

Office is Closed

Good Friday

20

Neighbors 15th

Anniversary Banquet and Laugh Attack

21 22

Office is Closed

Easter Monday!

23

No campfire club today!

24 25

Savvy Seniors

@ 1:30 p.m.

26

27

28 29 30

In partnership with

Campfire Club

Every Tuesday 1:30pm to 4:30pm