I hope the New Year is getting off to a great start for everyone. I am very excited about the year ahead for people in the Waverley, Fall River, Beaver Bank area. After 20 years of the worst economic growth in Canada, Nova Scotia is finally starting to turn the corner after securing partnerships with employers like Irving, IBM, Michelin, large investments in offshore exploration and the Maritime Link.
Not only do these partnerships create jobs here in Nova Scotia now and for years to come, they also spur the economy creating benefits for us all. Evidence of the progress we have made to date came recently in the form of an update from the Dominion Bond Rating Service which drew attention to sound fiscal management by the NDP government. If we maintain our course, Nova Scotians can expect to see this continue.
In order to do this, Nova Scotia must continue to compete with other jurisdictions looking to create new jobs or else those jobs will end up somewhere else. The NDP government will continue to work with companies of all sizes, both inside of Nova Scotia and out, in order to keep us heading in the right direction.
I recently had an opportunity to speak with a number of residents in the area during a telephone town hall. I thank those of you who participated and I hope you found it to be a useful discussion. The telephone town hall is a great way for us to connect and for me to get an understanding of the issues affecting you the most. I was happy to hear people were pleased with our strategic investments in job creation and look forward to working more on skills training. I hope to do more telephone town halls in the future.
I also want to take this opportunity to remind you about the Home Heating Rebate program now available through the Nova Scotia Department of Finance. The rebate is available to residents whose adjusted family income in 2011 was $40,000 or less and have directly incurred costs to heat their home. For more information about this program you can visit http://www.gov.ns.ca/snsmr/access/individuals/heating-assistance-rebate-program.asp
I encourage you to stay in touch this new year and I look forward to keeping you up to date with information that matters to you. Please feel free to contact my office if you have any questions or concerns. I can be reached at percy@percyparis.ca or by phone, 902-860-4004.
