Nova Scotia population crisis...

I came across "At Issue: Report on Population Crisis" about the current population crisis here in Nova Scotia published by the Halifax Chamber. I was pleased to know that we were part of the 18, 553 people who moved here in 2007. My husband and I didn't make our decision lightly. After all, moving from Vancouver to the other side of the country isn't something you do on a whim. There were other cities we considered, but in the end we chose Halifax/Dartmouth because it made the most sense to us. My husband went to Dalhousie, two of his university friends lived here with their young families, it has the big city amenities but still small enough that you feel a sense of communiy. We absolutely love it here. There are lakes and beaches, parks and community events. People are friendly and motorists actually stop for pedestrians. For the first two months, I couldn't get over how polite everyone was. Even the Superstores are different here - they're neat and orderly and they pack your groceries!!! Wow! I know it seems bizarre that these little things would impress someone, but it does.

But for us, moving here was a much easier transition than an immigrant. We recently met a young family that moved here from Russia in September. They have two children under 4 and only the wife speaks English. I feel an obligation to help this family settle into Canada by providing community and neighbourly support. If we want people to stay and contribute to our community both economically and socially, we need to do our part. We can't always expect the government or agencies to help immigrants.