Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia: If anything, thats an understatement. Small business forms the backbone of Nova Scotias economy: more than 97 per cent of businesses in this province employ under 50 people. Together with the provinces mid-sized firms the companies that have up to 500 people on their payrolls our small-business community is responsible for over half of the provinces employment, according to The Chronicle Herald. Just as important, small businesses help create a communitys identity and attract visitor traffic. Just think: How different would Truro be in October without the local farms and their wildly popular pre-Halloween corn mazes? Or downtown Halifax without the many independently owned galleries and artists spaces that transform the city during the celebrated annual Nocturne event? These are just two examples of how small, independently owned businesses not only generate employment, but also help forge community identity. Yet small business in Nova Scotia is struggling. A recent Canadian Federation of Independent Business CFIB survey found that 40 per cent of respondents were pessimistic about the future of their business in Nova Scotia, and that over 60 per cent were also pessimistic about the future of the Nova Scotia economy and With a hotly contested election well underway in Nova Scotia, theres been much political talk about the importance of small business. But the importance of small businesses goes beyond just the numbers. In communities all across Nova Scotia, they re most often the ones supporting local charities, sponsoring kids sports teams and providing volunteers to help pull off signature community events. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

scotia: The college is there to talk about licensing and answer questions of can you work in Nova Scotia ' The Nova Scotia Health Authority will be there basically to talk to them about the jobs that they have available, and we are there as the Nova Scotia office of immigration to tell them how they can get here to Nova Scotia from the new stream we have devised that is a faster, more simple, process, Diab said, according to The Chronicle Herald. Events will be held in both cities with the aim of attracting more doctors as part of recruitment efforts targeting the U.K., Ireland, Australia and the United States, Diab said. Diab, as well as representatives from the Nova Scotia Health Authority and the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia, will head to Dublin on Wednesday, followed by London, before heading back on Sunday. Physicians licensed to practise in those countries have credentials already recognized by Canada. The four doctors will work in Cape Breton, Antigonish and Halifax, and a fifth application is being processed and is expected to be finalized this month. The province launched a physician-specific immigration stream in February aimed at making the immigration process faster for physicians with Canadian-approved credentials, and has brought in three family doctors and one specialist who are on a path to permanent residency. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Premier Stephen McNeil: But McCallum later told Nova Scotia Immigration Minister Lena Diab the number for 2016 would return to 1,050, according to CBC. While Diab was in Ottawa Monday night, a return to the previous 1,350 was negotiated. "We're certainly pleased that he McCallum recognized that the 300 bump that we got last year shouldn't have been a one-time bump," Premier Stephen McNeil said on Tuesday. "There a commitment by them to recognize the work that Nova Scotians have been doing in and around retention and allowing us to lead in Atlantic Canada to make sure that immigrants who arrive in Atlantic Canada stay here, not just here but in our sister provinces." Lobbying efforts Just two years ago, the province was allowed 700 immigrants through the program. At the Halifax Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday, federal Immigration Minister John McCallum confirmed Nova Scotia would get an additional 300 nominations for the program — one of the streams through which immigrants land in the province. "Nova Scotia, because of its aging population, is desperate for immigrants, so I get it," McCallum told CBC Radio Mainstreet. "So what we are hoping to do in the time between now and the fall is to hold these discussions, for me to be able to generate large numbers of immigrants overall and for me to be able to agree to Nova Scotia to receive significantly more. "But we're not there yet, we're in the early stages." McNeil 'pleased' In September 2015, the Canadian government approved Nova Scotia request to increase the number of new immigrants for the nominee program from 1,050 to 1,350. The Nova Scotia Office of Immigration says it been lobbying the federal government to bump the number beyond 1,350 all year. Her office says McNeil also raised the same question with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in January. In an emailed statement to CBC News last week, Nova Scotia immigration spokeswoman Kelly Bennett said: "Ideally, we'd like to receive 5,000 individual nominations per year like Manitoba ." In October 2015, Diab announced she would ask Ottawa to permanently remove the cap on the nominee program. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Nova Scotia Dept: I considered a number of factors, personal and work-related, cabinet minister Marilyn More told reporters Friday, according to The Chronicle Herald. A former teacher, the NDP MLA for Dartmouth South-Portland Valley was first elected to the legislature in 2003. Back in 1978, she was the first woman in Nova Scotia to win a school board seat, the NDP caucus website said and Another Nova Scotia New Democrat has decided not to run in the next provincial election. But this is my 20th year of elected service in Nova Scotia, three terms back in the 1980s as a school board member and three terms as an MLA, and it is time for me to retire and move on to other things. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Nova Scotia: Economically, immigrants in Nova Scotia are doing better than those in other parts of Canada. Immigrants here have higher average incomes, lower unemployment rates and depend less on employment insurance. In addition, immigrants in Nova Scotia are more likely to work in their fields than those in other regions. Over the last several years, the immigrant retention rate has continued to rise, with about 75 per cent of all immigrants to Nova Scotia staying here. This is a significant improvement over the previous decade, when only about 48 per cent stayed, according to The Chronicle Herald. There are also other reasons for our improved retention rate. The Nova Scotia Office of Immigration has always focused on retention and has carefully designed programs to attract those who will be able to settle and integrate in our province. In addition, for several years, it has been funding more targeted settlement programs both onsite as well as online across the province and around the world, pre-arrival. These programs provide very specific and practical support for improving English and pre-employment skills and With a new provincial government prepared to make immigration a priority for Nova Scotia, just what is the current situation? The answers may be surprising. Clearly, this is a good-news story that is not told often enough. Most people prospective immigrants included expect that newcomers would do better economically in larger centres with significant ethnic communities. However, research shows that immigrants in small centres may in fact benefit from not being part of large ethnic groups. Those in small centres improve their English language skills more quickly, as they are more immersed in the language. While immigrants in large cities often find work quickly through their ethnic networks, that work is frequently in the form of survival jobs with low pay and not much chance of advancement. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

economic development report: The economic development report, written by a five-member panel led by Acadia University president Ray Ivany, says the province is in such bad shape that it is barely able to support its current standard of living. More Related to this Story, according to Globe and Mail. Federal budget Tory budget #039;s job-training measures set stage for turf war with provinces Nova Scotia is doomed to endure an extended period of decline unless population and economic trends are reversed and suspicious attitudes about business are changed, a report released Wednesday says. Nova Scotia Nova Scotia predicts $481.7-million deficit, citing pension liability (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

cent: While this is lower than other provinces and the national rate of 22 per cent, the number of newcomers to Nova Scotia is growing, according to The Chronicle Herald. From 2011 to 2016, Nova Scotia saw a 15 per cent jump in immigration, which was fuelled in part by Syrian refugees who have settled in the province. Nationwide immigration numbers collected from the 2016 census and released Wednesday shows the number of landed immigrants and permanent residents in Nova Scotia is now at 55,675, or 6.1 per cent of the overall population. More than 20 per cent of Nova Scotia's immigrant population landed in the last five years. Elizabeth Eustaquio-Domondon, the Philippines' honorary vice-consul in Halifax, says Filipinos immigrate to Nova Scotia and Canada for the same reasons she came here in 1999 family and opportunity. So where are these newcomers coming from The Statistics Canada data shows that the majority of recent immigrants from 2011 to 2016 came to Nova Scotia from the Philippines 12.7 per cent the United Kingdom 9.2 per cent and China 8.4 per cent . In that five-year period, 885, or 7.5 per cent, of the immigrants came from Syria. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Nova Scotia government news: Theodore Tugboat television program was a CBC hit for much of the 90s, according to CBC. Aboard Theodore — a tugboat with eyes and a ballcap — visitors can learn about the history of the waterfront as a multicultural port. According to a Nova Scotia government news release, Theodore will "help welcome visitors, including new Nova Scotians, to the community and serve as a mascot for the new Welcome Aboard program for school groups." Welcome Aboard The Welcome Aboard program includes a guided orientation of Halifax for newcomers from the Immigrant Services Association of Nova Scotia, a family pass for several Nova Scotia museums and an optional harbour tour. The program is meant to foster a welcoming relationship between newcomer families and the broader community. "We are becoming a more diverse city and we need to be as welcoming as possible," Halifax Mayor Mike Savage said. "It doesn't mean saying 'Nice to see you,' but actually 'How can we help you and help people get settled '" Capt. It had millions of viewers in dozens of countries. Matt Conlin called Theodore the "happiest person in the harbour." "I'd say he right up there with Peggys Cove as one of the things that people say, 'If you go to Halifax, you have to see it,'" he said. "He probably the backdrop of every photo on the waterfront." Big star Theodore Tugboat, which ran from 1993 until the early 2000s, was produced in Halifax and featured several miniature tugboats plying the water of Halifax Harbour. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

HALIFAX Nova Scotia Dept: More on Nova Scotia Travel, according to The Star. The provincial entertainment scene is equally busy and diverse, ranging from open-air theatre like Shakespeare-by-the-Sea and Two Planks and A Passion ; to the Dutch Mason Blues festival; folk festivals in Lunenburg, Halifax, Canso; Halifax Jazz Festival; and the five-day Rock Explosion, which spotlights new and emerging talent. For spectacle, forget Vegas, the Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo 2,000 performers makes this North America largest show and HALIFAX Nova Scotia is the party province. The tradition started in 1605 when Samuel de Champlain established a dining society, the Order of Good Cheer, as a way to break up the boredom of winter in Port Royal. Nova Scotians have been partying ever since. In the 400 years since Champlain launched his dining club, residents have crammed the provincial calendar with over 700 fairs, festivals and special days. There are festivals for every fruit and fish harvested, as well as events like the Seaport Beerfest in the new arts district on the Halifax waterfront, next to Pier 21 , which is Canada immigration museum think of it as our Ellis Island . (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Nova Scotia Dept: But 28-year-old Muhammed Ngallan, a recent im migrant to Nova Scotia, is undaunted, according to The Chronicle Herald. Q.How did you become involved with the Nova Scotia-Gambia Association and the loss of a major source of federal government funding and a still-urgent need in an impover ished West African nation shad ow the new executive director of the Nova Scotia-Gambia Associ ation. One month into the job, but with 12 years experience with the associ ation, he said he won t rest until Nova Scotians, and Canadians, know the life saving differences their dollars are making in his homeland. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.