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February 15,
2009 - Chamber News
MacDonald for Breakfast
A Business Breakfast with Premier Rodney MacDonald and
his MLAs will be held on February 24, 2009 in Halifax.
Michelin, CIBC and the NS Chambers are giving chamber
members across the province and their guests a chance to
enjoy breakfast with Premier Rodney MacDonald and
members of the Nova Scotia Tory Caucus. This will be
followed by a question and answer session. The event is
from 8:00 am until 9:30 am at the World Trade and
Convention Centre. Tickets are $20.00 per person. Call
895-6329 or e-mail tim@trurochamber.com
West Hants
and Area News
2009 See & Do Guide Maps
Destination Southwest Nova Association is pleased to
bring See & Do Guide Maps to the entire region for 2009,
as the select information map guide. The maps will
feature the very best places to Eat, Shop, Stay & Play
in the Annapolis Valley with beautiful full colour ad
blocks and easy to read navigational maps. The maps will
be distributed throughout the Visitor Information
Centres and tourism outlets.
www.seeanddo.ca
A positive perspective
While Service Canada says employment fell again for the
fifth consecutive month in the Annapolis Valley, some
employment decline over this period is because of a
normal seasonal softening of activity among some
sectors. Impact from the recession causing job losses in
the Valley this month is not clearly evident in the
overall numbers. It is a normal seasonal occurrence for
employment declines to occur in January and this year’s
decrease is less than that of last year. The
unemployment rate is actually down from last January and
employment is higher than it was a year ago. Employment
is up most notably in Professional, Scientific &
Technical Services, Other Services, Public
Administration and Trade. Declines over the past year
were experienced in Education, Business, Building &
Other Support Services and Transportation & Warehousing.
The Service Sector saw a small loss in employment from
December but the sector is employing more than it was in
January a year ago. Employment is up most notably in
Professional, Scientific& Technical Services, Other
Services, Public Administration and Trade. Declines over
the past year were experienced in Education, Business,
Building & Other Support Services and Transportation &
Warehousing.
click to enlarge images...
Career Opportunities
Hart Stores is currently seeking candidates with at
least three years experience in retail for the positions
of Store Director and Assistant Store Director. Hart
Stores of Quebec recently confirmed they will be moving
into the retail space where the former SAAN store was
located. Hart also has stores in Port Hawkesbury and
Shelburne.
www.hartstores.com
Who else is hiring?
Windsor and area
Kentville and area
Service Canada Summer grants
Meanwhile, Service Canada's Summer Job grants for
non-profit organizations, public-sector
employers, and small businesses with 50 or fewer
employees is now taking applications until February
27th. If your organization fits the bill and wants to
create jobs for students between the ages of 15 and 30
looking to gain work experiences. For more information
go online to:
www1.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/epb/yi/yep/programs/scpp.shtml
A-nappa-lis Valley
The Winery Association of NS is looking to double the
number of acres dedicated for cultivating wine grapes in
the province, particularly in the Annapolis Valley.
Noted as being a young but developing wine region, the
association is aiming for upwards of 600 acres of grapes
growing in the province by 2020. It anticipates this new
growth will boost industry revenues from $7.2 million to
$23 million by then. "The wine industry is important to
Nova Scotia,” says Janice Ruddock, managing director of
the Winery Association of Nova Scotia (WANS). “We are
the third most recognized wine region in Canada, and
many Nova Scotians are not aware we have 10 operating
wineries in the province,” says Ruddock. Initiated by
the Kings Community Economic Development Agency (Kings
CED) a collaborated investment project launched this
past week between the Winery Association of Nova Scotia
with Foreign Affairs & International Trade Canada, Nova
Scotia Economic & Rural Development, Nova Scotia
Department of Agriculture, six Nova Scotia regional
development authorities, NS Department of Tourism,
Culture and Heritage, Grape Growers Association of Nova
Scotia and Eastern Kings Chamber of Commerce. “This
initiative provides the tools needed for growing and
strengthening our wine industry in Nova Scotia,” says
Colby Clarke, development officer for Kings CED. “It
adds to the diversification of our agricultural sector,
provides tourism opportunities and promotes job creation
in our rural communities.”
www.investinnovascotiawines.ca
Regional
and National Snippets
Dexter pledges tax break
Halifax business leaders found themselves nodding in
agreement with NDP leader Darrell Dexter during his
debut speech to the Halifax Chamber of Commerce last
week. Dexter said an NDP government would give
businesses a 10% tax break for investing in equipment. A
manufacturing and processing tax credit similar to one
the province had before 2002, would spur investment
during the economic downturn, he told a Halifax Chamber
of Commerce luncheon. "If a company is not investing, it
is withering away," he said. Mr. Dexter said the credit
would be 75 per cent refundable. He estimated that the
province’s price tag in the first year of the credit
would be $20 million to $25 million, with up to $18
million actually paid out in rebates. Afterwards,
Conservative MLA Jamie Muir said he wondered how the NDP
plans to pay for the promise. However, Dexter suggested
the trade-off is that less money could be available to
businesses in direct grants and loans through the
province’s Industrial Expansion Fund, which cabinet
controls. (You may recall the IEF has been controversial
in the past for the way it has provided selected
business’ money without the same accountability demanded
by Nova Scotia Business Inc., the Crown corporation
mandated to assist businesses. One incident resulted in
the resignation of former Tory Cabinet Minister Ernie
Fage while a similar multi-thousand loan provided to a
theme-park in John Hamm’s constituency was met with
raised eyebrows.) Dexter’s plan could create more than
2,000 jobs and give the province a return of at least 10
per cent through new economic activity, Dexter said, and
the credit should be part of any stimulus package that
comes forward. A similar 30 per cent non-refundable
credit on qualifying projects which worked positively to
encourage investment expired in 2002 during the Hamm
administration. The Chronicle Herald reported that
former premier John Hamm’s name came up three times in
Mr. Dexter’s speech — in compliments for reducing debt
growth and helping bring BlackBerry manufacturer
Research In Motion to Halifax and in a criticism of the
MacDonald government for apparently not following Mr.
Hamm’s debt reduction plan. Mr. Dexter’s office said it
was the first time the Halifax chamber had invited an
NDP leader to speak. Chamber president Valerie Payn said
the chamber has invited party leaders of all stripes,
both federal and provincial, to appear in recent months.
Provincial Liberal Leader Stephen McNeil is next up on
March 17. Meanwhile, Nova Scotians go on election watch
as the MacDonald government unveiled its election
strategy directed at the NDP earlier in the week.
Provincial budget watch
Now that the widely-anticipated federal budget has
passed with the blessing of Ignatieff’s Liberals, Nova
Scotian political and economic watchdogs are on the
lookout for the MacDonald government numbers. MacDonald
had indicated last month that he might delay the budget
until May or June, but now suggests it could be March or
April. The date has significant impact on when the next
provincial election might be held, as it is widely
anticipated Nova Scotians will go to the polls sometime
this spring due to either a lack of political support or
at government’s own call. Other provinces are indicating
they are facing declining revenues and higher spending
due to increased unemployment and have set earlier than
normal budget dates so that departments will have a
better idea of how to budget closest to the beginning of
the next fiscal year on April 1st. New Brunswick,
Saskatchewan and Ontario’s are scheduled for March.
Alberta and Manitoba’s are slated for early April.
British Columbia will release theirs earliest on
February 17th, after suspending its budget law that
requires them to introduce a balanced budget. The
suspension will allow BC to run a deficit for the next
two years. MacDonald has not confirmed whether he would
try to pass similar suspension legislation in NS, saying
he would try to ensure his government would do what it
could to ensure the province’s books stay in the black.
[All Nova Scotia]
Rail-road rail-roaded?
A consultant's report commissioned by the Province
states prohibitive land costs and insufficient political
will could derail a proposed truck corridor through the
Halifax peninsula, reports All Nova Scotia. The Delphi-
MRC report released last week says a preferred
configuration would cost $225 million to conversion part
of the CN railway cut to accommodate trucks travelling
from the Port of Halifax to Highway 102. However that
figure does not include what it would cot to acquire
land from CN rail or homeowners along the 6.9 km rail
cut that extends from the city's South End through to
the West End and Fairview. The report also notes that
neither governments nor CN seem to be on board either.
However, although CN did state last week it hasn't
formally taken a position either way. Halifax Regional
Municipal council studied the idea and dropped it in
2004. HRM South End councillor Sue Uteck has re-issued
her disagreement with the project upon the report being
released. The Chronicle Herald reported that Ms. Uteck
received her colleagues’ full support to schedule a
presentation on an alternative to the rail cut plan. The
alternative would involve putting the freight on
railcars at the Port of Halifax and transporting it to
an inland facility where it could be transferred to
trucks. "If it’s much more economically feasible to move
freight in and around the city (by train), then I can
imagine that council will say, ‘We’re not going to
participate (in the in the paved rail cut plan),’ " Ms.
Uteck said.
The current proposal was initiated a year ago when
Premier MacDonald issued a list of preferred Atlantic
Gateway projects. The Premier stated that the cost they
had originally anticipated was approximately $80
million. [The Chronicle Herald, All Nova Scotia]
Electronic Waste Recycling Expands
On February 1, 2009, the Atlantic Canada Electronic
Stewardship (ACES) Program will expand to include
additional regulated electronic products that will be
banned from Nova Scotia’s landfills. The Environmental
Handling Fees (EHFs) for the expanded list of
electronics products are now established and have been
approved by Nova Scotia Environment. These fees will be
charged on all new products effective on February 1,
2009 and are formulated to reflect the true cost of
collection, transportation and responsible recycling.
All residents and businesses in Nova Scotia can recycle
their unwanted electronics free of charge through an
ACES Drop-off Centre. In Windsor, Windsor Windsor, the
ACES Recycling Depot is located on 67 Albert St.
798-5636 Hours – Mon-Wed & Fri 8:30-5 & Sat 8:30-2 pm.
Cell phone recycling will be managed separately by the
Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA).
For your nearest location visit
www.RecycleMyCell.ca or
call 1-888-797-1740. The fees are as follows:
Personal/Portable Audio/Video Systems - $ 0.40
Vehicle Audio/Video Systems (Aftermarket) - $ 2.75 (vcr/dvd
players, clock radios, satellite and digital cable
equipment, speakers, amplifiers and receivers.
Home Audio/Video Systems - $
3.50
Home Theatre in a Box (HTB) Systems- $ 6.00
Non-Cellular Telephones - $ 0.85 (cordless or wire
telephones, answering machines)
The CRTC will be conducting a review of the internet
traffic management practices of local internet service
providers. A public hearing will be held in July.
Eastlink and Bell Aliant have responded to the
announcement by confirming they both use traffic
management systems.
Business
calendar of events:
Monday, Feb 16th - GED Course Registration
6:30 pm 117 Wentworth Road Please call Cathy on 472-3133
for more info. Course starts the week of Feb 23rd.
Tuesday, Feb 17th -: New business loan program
Information session on new business loan program for
immigrants, Old Orchard Inn, Greenwich 10 a.m. to noon.
Wednesday, Feb 18th - Nova Scotia CAN
Building the Creative Economy in Nova Scotia, Art
Gallery of Nova Scotia,
Windsor Lecture Theatre, 2 p.m.
Thursday, February 19th, 2009 at 6:30pm - The
Emperor’s New Threads
Mermaid Imperial Performing Arts Center (MIPAC) 106
Gerrish Street Windsor, NS $10 ($8 students & seniors).
Service charges apply.
Tickets @Moe¹s Place Music
Sales - (902) 798 5565
Friday Feb 20th - Small Business Essentials
Business Operation, Business Development Centre, Sobey
School of Business, Halifax
smubdc@smu.ca Tuesday Feb 24th – Premier’s
Breakfast
(see Chamber News above for details).
Chuckles:
The Onion.Com debates whether America should stop
dumping money into a giant hole.
http://www.theonion.com/content/video/in_the_know_should_the_government
And remember Band Aid? From the UK muli-media site iBall.
It calls itself “Band Aid at Lunch time.”
http://iball.iii.co.uk/2008/12/19/iball-presents-bank-aid-at-lunchtime
E-News info:
Our next issue of WHCC E-News will be published on Feb
27th. Please submit your business news, event or
announcement by Feb 22nd. Every two weeks, E-News is
distributed to - and read by – over 300 local business
contacts throughout the Windsor-West Hants area. If your
business has news or events you would like to share with
our readers, please call our Newsletter Editor, Heather
Desveaux on 790-4009 or email
info@whcc.ca
Chamber Newsletter Contacts:
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Heather Desveaux, Newsletter Coordinator,
(902) 790-4009
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Gordon Winstone,
President, West Hants Chamber of Commerce, (902) 798-
5106
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Deadline every 2nd Friday
at noon.
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