NS Daily Stats: Community Profile – Oxford

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Nova Scotia Community Counts provides users with the ability to view data relating to their Community. Not only can data be viewed in a tabular format, but also within a profile format which displays data using a combination of text and graphs. Below is a sample of the Oxford Community Profile provided on the Community Counts website. To view the complete profile, click here.

Population
Based on the 2011 Census of Population, Oxford has a population of 2,115 which is 11.3% lower than in 2001. In 2011, 20.9% of the population was under the age of 20 and 20.3% was 65 years or older.
In comparison, Nova Scotia has a population of 921,725 which is 1.5% higher than in 2001. 21.2% of the population was under the age of 20 and 16.6% was 65 years or older.

Median and Average Income
In 2011, the median income for individuals in Oxford was $23,191 a year, compared with the median of $27,570 for Nova Scotia. Families in Oxford had a median income of $59,013, compared with the median of $68,102 for Nova Scotia.

In 2011, the average income for individuals in Oxford was $28,980 a year, compared with the average of $35,478 for Nova Scotia. Families in Oxford had a average income of $63,496, compared with the average of $79,838 for Nova Scotia.

Employment
In 2011, the employment rate for Oxford residents aged 15 and over was 43.6%, and the unemployment rate for Oxford was 11.2%.
In Nova Scotia, the employment rate for residents aged 15 and over was 56.8%, and the unemployment rate was 10%.

Thiel Group sues over Nova Centre planning exemption

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The development of the $500-million Nova Centre complex under construction in downtown Halifax has taken a new litigious twist.

The Thiel Family Group of Companies, owners of the Bank of Montreal Building, the TD Centre and the downtown block of buildings proposed to be redeveloped as 22nd Commerce Square, has launched a Nova Scotia Supreme Court action, alleging that the provincial government broke its own laws by granting Argyle Developments Inc., owner and developer of Nova Centre, an exemption from municipal planning rules.

Read more.

Electrical Contractors and the PCB Regulations

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Environment Canada has released an information document regarding PCB regulations. This document outlines the following:

  • What are polychlorinated biphenyls?
  • Why are PCBs harmful?
  • Do the PCB Regulations affect me?
  • Identification of equipment containing PCBs
  • Building renovations, relamping, equipment
    servicing/removal

Download the PCB_Electrical Sector Info Sheet

Fall Protection Safety Bulletin

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Are you in compliance?

The new Workplace Health and Safety Regulations (WHSR)  have come into effect. These regulations replaced the current Fall Protection and Scaffolding Regulations; Temporary Workplace Traffic Control Regulations, and Occupational Health Regulations. In addition, the Occupational Safety General Regulations have been amended to make them consistent with the WHS.

Learn more about the new regulations and how to get updated.

 

Nova Scotia Apprenticeship Agency Board

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Get involved with the new Industry-led, Industry-driven Nova Scotia Apprenticeship Agency. The Minister will appoint a small, inaugural Apprenticeship Board to advise the new Agency in its early days. This Board will then serve as a recruitment committee to fill the remaining seats on the Board.

A complete listing of the Agencies, Boards, and Commissions will be posted at www.novascotia.ca/exec_council/abc/ . Non-Adjudicative submissions are accepted at any time, but consideration begins May 12, 2014.

IWK CANS Campaign

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CANS was proud to announce at the 2014 De-Icer that it is, along with the generous support of the industry, supporting a monumental fundraising campaign for the IWK. Our contribution will help re-build a state-of-the-art neonatal intensive care unit.

Together, CANS members have committed to raising $1.5 million for the NICU.

To date, we have raised close to ONE MILLION DOLLARS to date!

This is about building a better community for our families, our neighbors and our friends.

We encourage you to become a champion for the CANS campaign for the IWK and experience how great it feels giving these children a brighter future.  Learn more about the IWK CANS Campaign.

DeIcer

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The 2014 CANS De-Icer was a huge success! Thank you to all the sponsors who made the night possible and to all of those who came out to kick off the season!

We’d love your feedback on the event!
Fill out the De-Icer Experience Survey

CANS Launches Executive Certificate in Construction Leadership Program

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CANS is partnering with Dalhousie University’s Faculty of Management, to deliver the Executive Certificate in Construction Leadership, a five month long cohort made based experience consisting of 15 courses where participants will develop critical leadership and industry specific behaviours, skills and attitudes.

Learn more and apply for the program today!

 

PRESS RELEASE
A new Executive Certificate in Construction Leadership will be introduced at Dalhousie’s University in the fall of 2014

The new professional development program is the result of a partnership between the Construction Association of Nova Scotia (CANS) and the Faculty of Management’s Executive Education Program.

The Executive Certificate in Construction Leadership is designed to support high potential candidates in Nova Scotia’s construction industry, developing the knowledge, behaviours, skills and competencies demanded from leaders in the sector. The program consists of 15 courses designed to develop leadership skills delivered through a blend of on-line and face-to-face learning. The program will also satisfy 25 educational credits for qualified candidates seeking to obtain their Gold Seal Accreditation, a nationally recognized level of experience and competence.

Dalhousie brought its innovative approach to the field of executive education in the fall of 2012 with the launch of a cohort-based leadership and management development program, which is adapted specifically to the needs and context of organizations in order to enhance productivity, efficiency and profitability.

“With the success of our first four cohorts from the Halifax Port Authority, IMP and Lindsay Construction, we have continued to refine our programming, enabling their teams to contribute to the success and long-term sustainability of their organizations and for individuals to enhance their professional profiles. Through our relationship with our partners at CANS, we’re pleased to open the doors to a different kind of cohort – individuals who are associated with the construction industry. What they have in common is not their company, but the vertical in which they work,” said Peggy Cunningham, Dean, Dalhousie Faculty of Management.

CANS partnered with Dalhousie University to further its mandate to deliver world-class leadership development training. “At CANS we work with organizations to help them become more productive and efficient, to develop their capacity and the capabilities of their people, and to attract and retain the future leaders of our industry,” said President Duncan Williams.

The Executive Certificate in Construction Leadership program was officially launched at a ceremony held in the Rowe Management Building on Feb. 10. Premier Stephen McNeil and a wide range of representatives from the construction industry were in attendance along with Labour and Advanced Education Minister Kelly Regan, and Dalhousie University President Richard Florizone.

“The partnership we have established with CANS is just one of many examples of how we intend to work to be an integral part of the growing prosperity of our province, our region and beyond. We look forward to welcoming the first cohort to the Executive Certificate in Construction Leadership to Dalhousie in the fall of 2014 – they represent the future of a more competitive, productive and efficient construction industry in Nova Scotia,” said Florizone.

(CANS represents over 760 large and small companies that build, renovate and restore non-residential buildings, roads, bridges and other engineering projects. As an industry trade association CANS represents the interests of contractors, suppliers and service providers throughout Atlantic Canada and across the country.)

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For more information contact:

 

Janet Tobin
Communications & Marketing Lead
jtobin@cans.ns.ca
(902) 468.2267 x. 713
cell: (902) 818.0835

Apprenticeship Agency Industry Briefing – February 26th

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Industry representatives are invited to attend an update on the changes underway to Nova Scotia’s Apprenticeship system, and participate in identifying the priorities for the new agency. This event will take place on Wednesday, February 26, 2014, from 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Westin Halifax Hotel. (Download invitation.)

Visit  http://nsapprenticeship.ca/agency/ to find the discussion paper and to register.

First Contract Arbitration

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The Construction Association of Nova Scotia (CANS) believes Minister Regan’s announcement today amending Bill 102 is delivering on a pre-election promise and is a step in bringing the certification and first contract negotiation process back in to balance. Minister Regan introduced amendments to the Trade Union Act that will ensure the Labour Board can only impose a first agreement if it determines there was bad faith bargaining.

“CANS has always supported the long-established principles and practices of businesses and their employees engaging in free collective bargaining,” says Duncan Williams, CANS President. “While ultimately we would have liked to see the Bill repealed, today’s announcement helps bring that process back in to balance.”

“CANS’ position on First Contract Arbitration, one shared by many industry groups in Nova Scotia, is that its introduction was unnecessary and disrespectful to long standing labour relations best practices,” adds Williams. “Further, its aggressive nature was a potential deterrent to potential business investment in our province.”

“It also introduced unrealistic levels of uncertainty that businesses could view as significant exposure to uncontrollable risk,” adds Williams. “Today’s amendments will remove much of that uncertainty.”

“Currently parties do not have to prove that anyone is bargaining in bad faith and can simply run out the clock,” says Williams. “This is not in the spirit of true collective bargaining and does not encourage true negotiation and communication between parties.” In a pre-election survey CANS questioned each Party on the issue of First Contract Arbitration, the Liberal Party response was: A Liberal government will amend First Contract Arbitration legislation to ensure that parties have to prove that one party is bargaining in bad faith in order to go to arbitration.

“We are happy to see that this administration keep their election promise to amend First Contract Arbitration,” says Williams. “With these amendments Nova Scotia’s legislation is brought more in line with the federal government and other provinces.”

The amendments also remove the 120 day timeline and the Labour Board can choose to allow parties to continue to bargain, allow a strike or lockout, order more conciliation, or impose a contract.

“These amendments place far more obligation on each party to reach first contract before a third party arbitrator – potentially unfamiliar with the industry and a given firm’s structure – imposes a contract.”

CANS represents more than 760 large and small companies that build, renovate and restore non-residential buildings, roads, bridges and other engineering projects. We are an industry trade association representing the interests of contractors, suppliers and service providers throughout Atlantic Canada and across the country. Construction is a $2.8 billion a year industry in Nova Scotia and employs nearly 30,000 men and women from across the province.

 

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For more information contact:

Janet Tobin
Communications and Marketing Lead
Construction Association of Nova Scotia
Ph: (902) 468.2267 x. 713
Cell: (902) 818-0835
jtobin@cans.ns.ca