About

Our services:

• Recruitment
• Employment
• Immigration
• Entrepreneurship
• Investment
• Tourism

15 YEARS OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN FRENCH

CDETNO was started in 2001 by a group of Francophones interested in expanding opportunities in French in the NWT.  The next year they developed a three-year plan for economic development within the NWT Francophone community.

They presented that plan at the Fédération Franco-Ténoise annual general meeting in Hay River in November 2002. There, it was decided the group should become an independent non-profit organization. CDETNO held its founding meeting and elected its first board of directors on March 7, 2003.

Frederic Deschenes, Crowe Mackay

Fred moved to Yellowknife in August of 2010 to join Crowe MacKay LLP as an assurance manager, after 11 years of experience with national firms operating in northern Ontario. He became partner in January of 2013 and currently provides expertise on a variety of audits, specializing in those for not-for-profit organizations, municipalities, school boards, hospitals, and co-operative organizations.

Jean-François Pitre, Pido Productions

As one of the founders of CDETNO, Jean-François Pitre has made a major contribution to the development of Francophones in the Northwest Territories since moving to Yellowknife in 1982. From 1998 to 2003, he was involved with la Fédération Franco-Ténoise. As the owner of the successful Pido audiovisual production company, he is an acclaimed philanthropist of the arts community across the Northwest Territories.

Rolland Éric Rakotomena, Explorer Hotel

Rolland-Eric Rakotomena is well involved in Yellowknife’s community and cultural life. He has a long presence in the hotel industry with international experience, Eric completed a diploma in Hotel & Restaurant Management. Since arriving in Yellowknife in 2016, he is the Director of Banquets and Events at the Explorer Hotel Yellowknife.

Ghislain Tatem, Avery Cooper & Co

Originally from Cameroon, Ghislain Tatem studied corporate accounting and worked for many years as a financial manager before deciding to immigrate to Canada with his family. He is an auditor with the firm Avery Cooper and is involved in Yellowknife community activities, mainly with Francophones. He created the Wolf Foundation which helps abandoned and out-of-school children in Cameroon and Africa, and he also runs his cleaning business with his wife.

François Afane

Executive director, 867-873-5962 ext. 102, direction@cdetno.com

Trained in business administration and project management, François has over 17 years of experience in community, private (entrepreneurship) and government sectors. Before taking the helm of CDETNO, he was the connector program coordinator at Conseil économique et coopératif de la Saskatchewan (CÉCS), a sister organization equivalent to CDÉTNO in Saskatchewan and a member of RDÉE Canada. Today, he actively works with his team to expand CDETNO’s positive impact on the community and to support and promote the economic development of the Northwest Territories.

Nadine Cantin

Administration coordinator, 867-873-5962 ext. 101, admin@cdetno.com

Having obtained her diploma in office automation at O’Sullivan College in Quebec City, Nadine has more than 18 years of experience in administration and accounting. She has acquired her experience in several types of companies. She has been in Yellowknife since September 2018 and is discovering the Northwest Territories. 

Lambert Baraut-Guinet

Communication and Marketing Officer, 867-873-5962 ext. 105, communication@cdetno.com

Lambert arrived in Yellowknife in January 2022. He has a PhD in Earth and Planetary Sciences and a diverse experience in writing and editing science content. Originally from France, he has worked with renowed editorial brands, taught in high-school, and written for various newspapers and science magazines. Passionate about the north, science and communication, he tries to always bring rigor and fresh ideas into the discussions. Some of his strengths are verbal and written communication, project management, and popularisation. With CDÉTNO, he is the Communication and Marketing Agent.

Christian Fure

Economic Development Officer and Innovation, 867-873-5962 ext. 104, services@cdetno.com

Originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Christian has a university degree in business administration. He has several years of experience in finance, accounting, and community development. Christian is attentive to the needs of customers and has a humane and attentive approach allowing him to meet their expectations. He is a researcher with a keen interest in studies. He has served on several boards of directors and provincial committees.

Muriel Essebou

Environmental Project Officer, 867-873-5962, environnement@cdetno.com

Muriel was born in Cameroon, and decided to moved to Canada to have better opportunities. She is a Francophone however, wanting to perfect her bilinguism, she opted to do her studies in English. She studied Business Administration at northern Alberta Institute of Technology. Muriel has experience working in accounting, finance and in human resources. After living in Edmonton for over 10 years, she is relocating to Yellowknife in hopes to challenge herself and acquire new skills. She is very excited to join the team at CDETNO as the Environmental Project Officer.

Ghyslain Letourneau

Immigration, Recruitment and Career Officer, 867-873-5962 ext. 106, emplois@cdetno.com

Ghyslain is originally from France. He arrived in Yellowknife for the first time in October 2014 for 6 months. After traveling around the world, Ghyslain came back and settled in Yellowknife in August 2016 with a Working Holiday Visa. He is now close to becoming a Canadian citizen. Because of his personal experience in the NWT and his ability to adapt, Ghyslain is well placed within CDETNO to help Francophones immigrants with their Job search and to provide guidance with their immigration process.

Caroline Fotsin

Youth Entrepreneurship Coordinator, 867-873-5962 ext. 107, jeunesse@cdetno.com

Caroline is a graduate of the University of Regina with a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting and Business Management and a Bachelor’s degree in Public Relations. She has over 9 years of experience in accounting, both in Europe and in Canada. She is also an entrepreneur with experience in launching businesses. She is currently working as a Coordinator for the Youth Entrepreneurship Project.

Gordon Ross

Manager NWT Career Centre, 867-873-8790 ext. 111, career_manager@cdetno.com

With 12 years of local, provincial and national experience in recruitment, facilitation and labour market activities (including diversity & inclusion initiatives), Gordon has returned to Yellowknife to support and enhance the collaborative work ongoing within the NWT labour market. He has studied Business Administration & Marketing through Seneca College and holds certificates in advanced communication, leadership and career development.

Mercy Beilem

Career Coach NWT Career Centre, 867-873-8790 ext. 116, career@cdetno.com

Mercy Beilem holds a Bachelor of Arts in English. Before joining the NWT Career Centre, she worked as an administrative secretary and counselor with the Society for Women and AIDS in Africa (SWAA-Cameroon) for ten years. 

She is skilled at advising and coaching individuals on resume, cover letters and labour market information to enable you to advance in your career. To enhance her abilities to assist job seekers, her journey continued with Career Development courses. She is a Certified Career Development Professional (CCDP) through the Career Development Association of Alberta and also a member of Career Professionals of Canada (CPC).

Junior Mantla

YESS Program Coordinator NWT Career Centre, yess2@cdetno.com

Trained in Office Administration at Aurora College, Matla joined CDETNO first this summer as an intern at the NWT Career Centre, before joining the team as the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy (YESS) Coordinator.

Prior to his post-secondary education, Matla was a Community Health Representative with the Gameti Community Health Centre, where he is originally from. Outside of work, Matla enjoys reading mystery novels and walking around Yellowknife.

Andrea Fowler

Administration officer NWT Career Center, 867-873-8790 ext. 110, nwtccadmin@cdetno.com

A member of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation residing in the community of Dettah, Andrea brings over 10 years of experience to the NWT Career Centre. As a graduate of Grant MacEwan’s Mental Health Aboriginal Connections Program, her work in the Community for both Private and Government organizations (Restorative Justice and Youth worker), her knowledge will help to advance support for job seekers in the North Slave and beyond.

Anh Thu Bui

NWT Career Center Training Coordinator, 867-873-8790 ext. 115, nwtcccoord@cdetno.com

Anh Thu Bui is a Training Coordinator with the NWT Career Centre. She has five years of experience in waste management and northern mine sites. Originally from Vietnam, Anh Thu pursued her master’s degree in environmental sciences at Memorial University in Newfoundland in 2017 before moving to Yellowknife.

Anh Thu is passionate about helping northerners by supporting training opportunities that meet their diverse needs. Her expertise in environmental sciences and management enables her to assist individuals and organizations in achieving their training goals and making a positive impact in their communities.

Sunil Sriram

Administration assistant NWT Career Center, 867-873-8790 ext. 114, nwtcc@cdetno.com

Sunil is the administrative assistant for the Career Centre. Born and raised in Yellowknife, he studied Business Administration at Aurora College before joining the GNWT Finance department as a summer student. He is now using his experience at the Career Centre to gain first-hand experience and knowledge about our community’s needs. 

Sunil has a long-time connection with the Career Centre. He attended the School to Work program in high school, so his addition to our team was long due.

Malini Sengupta

Yellowknife Immigration Partnership coordinator (YIP), 778-318-6198, lip@cdetno.com

A progressive Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant (RCIC) and HR Professional with diverse international experience spanning many industries such as Technology, Banking, Education; from corporate start up environments to government agencies.

Holding a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant license and two master’s degrees focused in Human Resource from the University of Hertfordshire, UK and Global Management from Royal Roads University, Canada. Further strengths include fundraising, marketing campaigns and new initiatives management for community education and support new immigrants.

Presently, working as Yellowknife Immigration Partnership Coordinator (YIP); YIP is a community partnership focused on the development of settlement strategies for newcomers. These strategies will bring together and support service delivery to newcomers, while promoting positive relationships, opportunity, and use of local resources effectively.

Audréanne Bertrand-Danjou

Settlement Worker in Schools (SWIS), 866-823-3866, swis@cdetno.com

Arrived in the Northwest Territories in the fall of 2022, Audréane is passionate about the outdoors and adventure. An avid traveler, she is very involved in water activities, from paddle boarding to scuba diving.

In her role as the coordinator of the SWIS program, Audréane is looking forward to providing the best services to newcomer families in Yellowknife after the COVID-19 pandemic which had a significant impact on the school system.

Céline Dewez

Settlement Advisor, 867-680-0610 ext. 101 or 867-446-4539, settlement@cdetno.com (English service)

Céline arrived in Yellowknife at the end of January 2020, in the middle of the pandemic. She is originally from Belgium (French part), but has lived in several countries since 2010 (Taiwan, France, Spain, and New Zealand). She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Translation and Interpretation (trilingual program, Belgium) and a Master’s degree in Social and Cultural Anthropology (English program, Belgium). She is bilingual FR-EN but also speaks Spanish. Until now, she worked in the restaurant industry (13 years in total, the last few years as a restaurant manager and manager in New Zealand). She is very happy with the career change with CDETNO because it brings her back to fields closer to her initial training.

Sonia Kouakou

Settlement Advisor, 867-873-5962 ext. 108 or 833-688-1549, etablissement@cdetno.com (French service)

Sonia arrived in Yellowknife in June 2019 after living in Quebec for 7 years.

She has a background in Sales Force Management and has worked in customer service for over 15 years in Ivory Coast and Canada. She also has a certificate in Human Resources Management from the University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM). 

She comes to us from the Fédération Franco-Ténoise (FFT). She joins the CDETNO team which now houses the Welcome and Settlement Service for Francophone newcomers. Her role is to support and direct newcomers to the various resources and services available in our community. It will therefore be a challenge for her to work and participate in the settlement and retention of Francophone newcomers to the Northwest Territories, in a minority setting. 

Together, we will spread the message that it is possible to live in French in English-speaking Canada.