Immigration Forum Held in Port Hawkesbury

Immigrants can help Nova Scotia businesses remain competitive. This was the message Immigration Minister Carolyn Bolivar-Getson delivered today, Feb. 6, to Cape Breton and Antigonish business leaders.

The leaders gathered in Port Hawkesbury to hear about the benefits of immigration and to engage in a frank dialogue about potential barriers to hiring immigrants and to identify ways to overcome these barriers.

"Nova Scotia's growing economy requires that we have a more diverse workforce," said Ms. Bolivar-Getson. "Businesses that are looking to expand into worldwide markets will also benefit from having employees who have lived and worked in those places."

Immigration can hold many benefits for companies. Newcomers provide exposure to other cultures and opportunities to gain access to international markets and learn other ways of doing business and business thinking. Most importantly, immigrants can also address a business's need for skilled workers.

"Access to capital used to be the number one issue facing businesses," said Joe Shannon, president, Atlantic Corporation and chair of the local forum. "That issue has now been replaced by the need for access to skilled labour."

"Since 2003, we have seen a 75 per cent increase in the number of immigrants moving to Nova Scotia," said Ms. Bolivar-Getson. "While attracting more newcomers remains a priority, we must be able to keep them here. The primary reason why immigrants leave Nova Scotia is to find meaningful work."

The Port Hawkesbury forum was the first of eight the immigration minister is hosting across the province in February.