|
FACTS ABOUT NOVA SCOTIA
COMING TO NOVA SCOTIA
COST OF LIVING
HEALTHCARE
EDUCATION
BASIC
FACTS ABOUT NOVA SCOTIA
Nova Scotia is one of the 10 provinces and three territories
of Canada. It lies on the east coast and is almost completely
surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean. Part of Nova Scotia
is actually an island, called Cape Breton Island.
Most of the province is covered with forests and lakes.
The larger towns are mainly along the seacoast.
The neighbouring Canadian provinces are New Brunswick
(which is bigger) and Prince Edward Island (which is
smaller). Nova Scotia is about 53,000 square kilometres
(25,000 square miles), which makes it about twice the
size of the American state of Massachusetts and just
a bit smaller than Ireland.
The nearest American state is Maine. It takes about
four hours to drive from Nova Scotia through New Brunswick
to the Maine border.
Nova Scotia is in the Atlantic standard time zone,
so our clocks are one hour ahead of eastern standard
time (for example, New York and Toronto), and two hours
ahead of central standard time (for example, Chicago
and Winnipeg). So, when it is noon in Chicago, it is
1 p.m. in Toronto and 2 p.m. in Halifax.
Like the rest of Canada, Nova Scotia uses the metric
system.
The capital city is Halifax, an international seaport
and transportation centre.
The name of our province, Nova Scotia, is Latin and
it means New Scotland. It was given this name by the
Scots, who were the first British settlers to come here.
In January 2002, Nova Scotia was home to 940,000 people
TOP
COMING TO NOVA SCOTIA
If you are thinking of visiting Nova Scotia, or moving
here, visit Citizenship and Immigration Canada's website
(in both English and French) at www.cic.gc.ca . Among
other things, areas covered include the rules for:
visiting Canada (for example, as a tourist or on a business
trip);
nationalities who are required to have Visitor Visas;
students (in 1998, there were over 100,000 foreign
students studying in Canada);
working temporarily in Canada as a foreign worker;
immigration (obtaining Landed Immigrant status), refugee
status and citizenship; and
application kit and guides.
Citizenship and Immigration Canada also has offices
throughout Canada that can be contacted for information
on immigration and settling in Nova Scotia. Their main
office in this province is in our capital city of Halifax;
call: 1-888-242-2100.
The Canadian government maintains immigration offices
at its embassies, consulates and high commissions in
many countries and cities around the world. These offices
can provide any of the information referred to above,
as well as information on such matters as employment
and business opportunities in Nova Scotia.
Citizenship and Immigration Canada maintains a complete
contact list of their domestic and foreign offices,
at www.cic.gc.ca/english/offices/index.html . This list
can also be supplied by mail or fax upon request.
For information on Business Class Immigration to Nova
Scotia, visit www.cic.gc.ca/english/business/index.html
or contact Frances Wolfe, PO Box 519, 7th Floor 1800
Argyle St., Halifax, N.S, Canada, B3J 2R7, phone 902-424-6864,
e-mail wolfefm@gov.ns.ca.
For a complete list of Canada's Business Immigration
Centres, visit www.cic.gc.ca/english/business/bicc.html
. This list can also be supplied by mail or fax upon
request.
Settlement Association: Even though Nova Scotia has
fewer than one million residents, it is home to people
from a wide variety of ethnic roots from all parts of
the globe. For settlement information, contact the Metropolitan
Immigrant Settlement Association of Nova Scotia at www.misa.ns.ca,
suite 200, 2131 Gottingen St., Halifax, N.S., Canada,
B3K 5Z7, phone 902-423-3607.
An organization that reflects our broad cultural life
is the Multicultural Association of Nova Scotia. Contact
them at www.mans.ns.ca , 1113 Marginal Road, Halifax,
N.S., Canada, B3H 4P7, phone 902-423-6434.
TOP
COST OF LIVING IN
NOVA SCOTIA
Income taxes: As in all Canadian provinces, income
tax is levied by both the federal and provincial governments.
Nova Scotia does not actually collect its own income
tax; instead, it has a tax-collection arrangement with
the federal government. Your federal income tax filing
counts as your Nova Scotia income tax filing as well.
This saves people from having to make two completely
different income tax filings. For more on Canadian (federal)
Income tax, see: www.ccra-adrc.gc.ca/tax/ .
Sales taxes: In Nova Scotia, sales taxes are levied
by both the federal and provincial governments. Traditionally,
the revenues (or their equivalents) were used to finance
the provincial health care system. Today, these two
sales taxes are blended so that you only pay one amount.
This shared sales tax is called the HST (Harmonized
Sales Tax) and each government gets roughly half of
it. Currently, the HST in Nova Scotia is 15 per cent
and it applies to most goods and services purchased
in the province.
Property taxes: In Nova Scotia, most property owners
must pay a yearly tax on the assessed value of their
property. This tax is the main source of revenue used
by municipalities in providing services such as maintenance,
fire protection, garbage collection, etc.
While the municipal governments decide what the actual
tax rate will be, they do not make the property assessments.
Instead, the provincial government, through Service
Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations, is responsible
for producing the assessments for all properties within
Nova Scotia. In short, the province performs the assessments
and the municipal governments set the tax rate and collect
the property taxes.
For more on the assessment process, see: www.gov.ns.ca/snsmr/asmt/tax
For more about Nova Scotia Municipalities, see: www.gov.ns.ca/snsmr/muns/contact/
or contact the Service Nova Scotia Call Centre.
Automotive fuel: Generally speaking, Canadian prices
for gasoline are moderately above prices in the U.S.
and significantly below those in Europe. The price of
regular unleaded gasoline in the Halifax metro area
in April 2002 was about 78 cents per litre.
Telephone: Most telephone services in Nova Scotia are
provided by MTT, an Aliant company. After installation,
the monthly rate for a standard, private telephone (touch
tone service) in April 2002 was $25 (plus $3.75 sales
tax) Electricity: In Nova Scotia, with the exclusion
of eight small remaining municipal utilities, all electric
power is supplied by a private-sector company called
Nova Scotia Power Inc. In April 2002, the cost of electricity
(domestic rate), in the Nova Scotia Power service area
for a two-month billing period was:
Basic Charge: $21.00 (plus 15 per cent sales tax) Energy
Charges: $ .0835 per kwh
Heating fuel: Most homes in Nova Scotia are heated
by oil, with electricity and wood also in use on a smaller
basis. Nova Scotia has large deposits of natural gas,
but a residential distribution system is not yet in
place. In April 2002, furnace oil in the Halifax metro
area cost about 45 cents a litre (plus 15 per cent sales
tax). Fuel prices do vary considerably throughout Nova
Scotia. Generally, the lowest rates are charged in the
Halifax metro area and the highest rates in the extremities
of the province (Cape Breton and southwestern Nova Scotia).
Housing: Housing costs vary from one area to another
in the province. In general, new house prices and rental
rates increase with the size of the community, with
the central sections of the Halifax-Dartmouth area having
the highest costs. The following selected housing statistics
represent an average scale of purchase and rental costs
as of the last quarter of 2001.
TOP
HEALTH CARE IN NOVA
SCOTIA
Like all other provinces in Canada, Nova Scotia --
with the assistance of the federal government -- provides
a publicly-funded health services program. The Nova
Scotia plan, called MSI (Medical Services Insurance)
insures eligible residents of Nova Scotia for all medically
required physicians' services provided in the doctor's
office, at home or in hospital. All necessary surgical
services are insured, including the services of anaesthetists
and surgical assistants where necessary, as well as
obstetrical care, the treatment of fractures and dislocations,
referred specialist services and all diagnostic services.
MSI also insures certain dental-surgical procedures
performed in a hospital.
In the Nova Scotia system, patients select their own
family physician (usually called a general practitioner).
If in the course of a treatment a visit to a specialist
is required, that appointment is made by one's family
doctor, not by the patient directly. The same applies
to admissions to hospital, visits to clinics for various
types of lab tests, X-rays, physiotherapy, etc.
Private medical plans (such as Blue Cross) are available
to supplement the provincial plan both for hospital
care and extended health services.
Landed immigrants or Canadians returning from living
outside Canada who establish permanent residence in
Nova Scotia become eligible on the day they become a
resident of the province. A Canadian citizen or a landed
immigrant from inside Canada is eligible for MSI on
the first day of the third month he/she became a resident
of Nova Scotia. (This is because they continue to be
covered during their transition by the province where
they were living.) People on a work permit can usually
apply for MSI on the first day of the seventh month
of residence as a worker and coverage will be backdated
to the date of arrival. International students are eligible
to apply the first day of the thirteenth month following
their date of arrival as students, providing they have
not been absent for more than 31 consecutive days.
For more information on Nova Scotia's MSI Program,
call 902-468-9700.
Nova Scotia has an optional prescription drug insurance
plan for seniors. This program, called the Nova Scotia
Seniors' Pharmacare Program, is available to residents
of Nova Scotia who are registered under the MSI program,
are 65 years of age or over and are not covered under
another drug plan. Participants in the program who do
not receive a Guaranteed Income Supplement pay a yearly
premium of $336. Participants must also pay 33 per cent
of the cost of each prescription (or at least $3), but
no more than $350 a year. Once the senior has paid their
pharmacy $350 in co-payments in a given year, Pharmacare
pays 100 per cent of further eligible drugs for the
remainder of the year. Seniors may pay more than the
$350 yearly co-pay maximum in cases where the drug is
not covered by Pharmacare; the senior wants a more expensive
brand of drug than the generic brand; or the brand of
drug the senior wants costs more than the maximum cost
paid by Pharmacare.
For more information on Pharmacare, call 902-429-6565
or 1-800-544-6191.
TOP
EDUCATION IN NOVA SCOTIA
Grade School and High School: Nova Scotia has more
than 450 public (tuition free) schools for children.
The public system goes from Primary (sometimes called
kindergarten) through to Grade 12. There are also some
private schools in various areas of the province.
In Nova Scotia, children normally begin school at age
five, but that is optional. However, once a child reaches
the age of six, the law requires that they attend school
until they turn 16. Parents are allowed to do home schooling
if they wish.
In our public school system, the most common language
of instruction is English; however, there are numerous
French-speaking schools as well. In some English-language
schools, students can enroll in a program in which many
of their classes are taught in French.
Community College and University: A comprehensive range
of post-secondary education facilities is available
in Nova Scotia. The Nova Scotia Community College system
has 13 campuses around the province. Together with the
Collège de l'Acadie, they provide education and
training programs in the trades, technical, technological
and applied arts fields at campuses across the province
in both English and French. Programs are designed to
help students acquire the skills, knowledge, attitudes
and habits necessary to enter and progress in their
chosen occupations. Collège de l'Acadie provides
community college services for French speaking students
through the use of distance education technology and
learning centres across the province.
In Nova Scotia and throughout Canada, a degree-granting
institution is usually called a university. Our province
has 11 universities and colleges, most of which are
somewhat small by American or international standards.
They include Dalhousie University (the largest), University
of King's College, Saint Mary's University, Mount Saint
Vincent University and the Nova Scotia College of Art
and Design, all in Halifax; Acadia University in Wolfville;
St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish; the Nova
Scotia Agricultural College in Truro; Université
Sainte-Anne (Francophone, near Digby); and the University
College of Cape Breton in Sydney.
Nova Scotia's universities offer a full range of undergraduate
and graduate programs in all the liberal arts and basic
sciences, business, education, child studies, computer
science, engineering, medicine, dentistry, nursing,
law, public administration, public relations, oceanography
and so forth. Some have developed specialty niches --
for example, the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design,
the only degree-granting facility of its kind in the
Atlantic region for fine art and graphic design; and
the Nova Scotia Agricultural College, which enjoys a
special relationship with the Nova Scotia Department
of Agriculture.
For more on information, see: www.ednet.ns.ca and international.ednet.ns.ca.
TOP
NOTE: All content on this page courtesy of The Government
Of Nova Scotia
|
