Megantic English-Speaking Community Development health & community services organize social activity

Internship information

Profile of the English-speaking community

The English-speaking population served by MCDC is estimated at approximately 1050 and is located in the following three MRC’s (Municipalité rurale de comté): Amiante, Lotbinière and L’Érable. These three regions are located in the heart of the province of Québec, in the middle between Montreal, Quebec City and Sherbrooke. This is rural and semi-rural region, whose economic centre is Thetford Mines, a mid-size town of approximately 35,000 people. The Centre de Santé et Services sociaux de la Région de Thetford (CSSSRT) provides medical care and social services to the population and the Collège de l’Amiante (French Cegep) is the only institution that offers post-secondary education. St.Patrick’s Elementary School and A.S.Johnson High School provide education in English. As for the majority of rural and semi rural communities, our community is struggling with the issue of youth out-migration. When their high school education is completed, most of our youth leave the region to pursue post-secondary education and do not return once their education is complete. Although the region is not geographically isolated, the English-speaking community represents only 1% of the overall population of the territory we serve. Access to services in English is an important component of the community’s ability to live in their own language but constitutes an important challenge for the service providers, due to the size of the English-speaking community.

For students studying in the health and social services sector

In order to insure easier access to health and social services in English for our community members, we do our very best to encourage and support young bilingual post-secondary students to come to the region to do their internships. With this special “Retention and Support” programme, MCDC seeks to partner with McGill University to present concrete internship opportunities for students at either the Centre de santé de la region de Thetford (CSSSRT) or Hôtel-Dieu de Lévis (HDL).

The CSSSRT is the largest service provider in the Greater Thetford Mines region. The HDL is the designated hospital by the Agence régionale to serve the entire Chaudière-Appalaches region. It provides medical care to all Chaudière-Appalaches residents when specific services or treatments are unavailable at local hospitals throughout the region. Each institution can offer 15 to 20 internship opportunities in various health related sectors.

The internship offer covers the period of the spring semester 2007 to spring semester 2008. Unaccredited summer internships are available upon request. If you are interested in finding out more about these internship opportunities, please click on the following link.
pdf View the internship grid offer (8 Ko)

Housing & transportation

Financial help will be available to students who wish to do an internship in a region outside Montreal. This fund will cover transportation, housing and living expenses.

In Thetford Mines:

On-campus lodging at the local Cegep is available at very reasonable prices. Quite understandably, the full-time Cegep students have priority during schooling months. However, in general, there are rooms available during those months even for short stays. The majority of Cegep residents are from Quebec but there is also a group of students from l’Ile de la Réunion representing approximately 15% of all residents. They have experienced harmonious cohabitation for the last two years. A large range of nearby off campus housing is also available round the year and we are working hard at finding low cost housing facilities with local families.

Depending on where internships take place, we will help you find lodging near health facilities in an effort to reduce transportation costs as there are no public transportation services in Thetford Mines. Otherwise having a car and/or bicycle would be handy.

Housing cost examples
At the Thetford Cegep:

On-campus residences offer a room in an apartment shared with 2, 3 or 4 students: $180 - $250 per month depending on accommodations.
On-campus bachelor apartments: 260$/month.

Off campus near the Thetford Cegep:

Off campus room rented in a private home: $30- $45/week ($120-180$/month)
One-room in an appartment for 2 located in a senior residence: 120$/month Meal and laundry services are available at extra charge.

In the Old Lévis area:

On-campus residences at Collège de Lévis offer lodging at the Lévis campus of the Rimouski Université du Québec. Costs are similar to those of Thetford Mines and follow the same principle that allows priority to university students. In general there are vacancies and they accept renting on a weekly basis. However, there is a waiting period in getting confirmation for a reservation. For example, a request in November for a place in April will only receive confirmation in mid-January. This residence hosts Quebec and international students (mostly from Marseille, France). In terms of transportation to l’Hôtel-Dieu de Lévis, it couldn’t be easier since both buildings are located next to one another so you can walk to work! The city of Lévis also offers public transportation.

Housing cost examples
At the Collège de Lévis:

On-campus residences offer individual rooms in a building shared with 20 students: $50/week for a small room ($200/month) or $69/week for a studio apartment ($276/month). For more information, visit the following website: www.uqar.qc.ca/hébergement/lévis

Off campus

Off-campus room rented in a house: $70 - $110 per/week ($280 - $440/month, some. Some rooms are also available at $180/month
Apartment for rent: prices vary between $300 to $570 per month, depending on number of rooms and whether utilities are included or not.
House for rent: 1500$/month.

Main sporting, cultural, and economic attractions

Thetford Mines

The Thetford Mines area is an inviting region that offers a wide variety of attractions such as Mount Adstock for down-hill skiing, Mount Grand Morne and Coleraine’s “Trois Monts” for hiking trails, and numerous lakes for aquatic sports and fishing. The Frontenac National Park which borders the large natural Lake St-François, offers great recreational equipment that attracts tourists from around the province. Those who live in the region know that they are very fortunate to have close access to such a wealth of recreational activities and natural wonders. In addition to all the attractions available in the immediate surroundings of Thetford Mines, the region is just one hour away from Quebec City and Sherbrooke where other great natural attractions are available.

Love winter? Here, snow is always abundant which stretches the winter sports season to its maximum. Whether it’s down-hill or cross-country skiing, snow boarding, snow shoeing, skating, curling, hockey, vtt or snowmobile riding, we have it all !

You’re partial to summer? Again, water sports are just a few minutes away from your residence: swimming, water-skiing, fishing, boating, sailing, you name it, we’ve got it !. You love golf, hiking, para-sailing, playing baseball or softball? It’s all here, and the beauty of it is that no matter where you live in our region, you’re never more than 15 minutes away from your favourite activity.

We don’t want to boast but in terms of quality of life, our region offers the best possible combination of country living and the finer more sophisticated luxuries that life can offer: all essentials are available in Thetford Mines but for fancy dining, shopping for trendy articles or a greater variety of entertainment, we’re just one hour away from Quebec City and Sherbrooke and three hours from Montreal. When driving back home from your outing, enjoy the beautiful rural scenery through wonderful historical country roads such as the Gosford and Craig roads. And let’s not forget low housing cost, which is greatly appreciated by young families.

Newcomers are surprised by the number of options that the region has to offer: the Cegep’s Sports Centre, the Cegep’s Library, concerts, festivals, theatre plays, choir singing, painting, sculpture or Spanish-conversation classes, just to name a few. You can even learn the tango or Irish square dancing ! That’s what we mean by high quality of life. And most important of all: the people who live in this region. You will be welcomed with open arms!

Career prospects are also growing. In the health and social services sector alone, within the next three to five years, the Centre de santé de Thetford Mines will be recruiting 300 health professionals to replenish the diminishing work force due to baby boomers retirements. The private sector also registers encouraging statistics of 1500 new jobs created in the last 10 years, all generated by small businesses of 5 employees or less.For all these reasons, Thetford Mines is a great place to live, to play, to work and to raise a family.

Lévis

The city of Lévis, with its 125,000 citizens, is the economic center and the regional capital of Chaudière-Appalaches. Chaudière-Appalaches is the top entrepreneurial region of Québec. Manufacturers such as Frito-Lay Canada, Groupe Brochu, Ultramar ltée, Teknion are well known for their success. Lévis is also an important centre in the development of the new economy in sectors such as: agrobiotechnologies, nutraceutics, functional foods and environment. Fifteen industrial parcs house 500 manufacturers. In terms of innovation, research and development, the Lévis and Quebec City region have set up a network of private and public laboratories and research centres that hire 6000 scientists and specialized workers. Cegep Lévis-Lauzon (with its two research centres), the CRI, TransBIOTech and Ag-Bio Centre offer a unique expertise in the development of products.

Hôtel-Dieu de Lévis, with a staff of 2018, is the designated regional health centre of Chaudière-Appalaches. It also offers a wide variety of career opportunities in the health and social services sector as well as in other sectors.

On another level, Lévis offers a high quality of life that is the envy of many. Its urban sector takes advantage of many beautiful natural spaces that have been planned so that residents can practise many activities. The “Parc des Chutes-de-la-Chaudière” and the “Parcours des Anses” bicycle trail along the St-Laurence River are two of the best examples.

Along with complete sporting and tourist recreational structures (for example, there are eight golf clubs in the immediate vicinity), Lévis is a privileged site for the arts. Cultural events and visual art displays are presented at the ‘’Centre d’art de Lévis’’, at the well known “L’Anglicane” concert hall, with its unique cachet, and at the “Old Post Office”. In terms of architectural attraction, many buildings and sites of historical interest can be found in the area of Old Lévis, as well as in certain burroughs of Saint-Romuald and Saint-Nicolas.

For those who enjoy skiing, famous Mount Ste-Anne, Stoneham, le Massif, “Le Massif du Sud” park, and the regional “Parc des Appalaches” can all be reached within one or two hours. These sites offer various activities in addition to downhill skiing such as cross-country skiing, hiking, snow-shoeing and nautical activities in summer.

Want to know more?

Contact Myriam Gayrard, our Internship Coordinator for more information or to inquire about internship opportunities. Internships are available on a first come first served basis and the following information will be required: name, coordinates, field and level of study, the name of your educational institution, and your e-mail address.

E-mail: mcdcinterns2@hotmail.com
Tel: 418-332-4966
Tel: 418-332-3851 (on Friday)

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