Labour Market Update - Annapolis Valley

Regular bus service may link Windsor and much of Hants County to Halifax before long.  Acting on a request from the Municipality of East Hants, Kings Transit is asking consultants to research the matter and report by March 15.  Kings Transit began with just two buses and six employees and now has 15 buses on the road and more than 30 full-time employees and the route the municipally owned bus company services has grown from the Kentville-Wolfville corridor to cover Windsor to Weymouth.  Hants Journal – January 26th

Canadian Tire retail communications manager Joanne Elson confirmed by email on January 21 that the company was currently looking at options in Windsor.   The Windsor-West Hants Planning Department said nothing has been approved on developments for a Canadian Tire in Windsor at this point.  Hants Journal – January 25th

2010 will be a significant year for Windsor’s Home Hardware. The store will undergo a major 7,000 square foot expansion which will see every section of the existing store get bigger according to dealer-owner Jeff Redden. There will also be a Bell Mobility Centre and a Kiosk for Just Us! To Go.  It is expected the new home accessories centre will be opened by late March 2010 while the other renovations and expansions are expected to be completed in May of 2010.  Staff numbers are expected to increase to close to 50.   Hants Journal – January 14th

Transcontinental Media recently announced plans to centralize all page layout and ad building operations of its Maritime newspapers at The Guardian in Charlottetown.  The transfer of all the newspaper pre-press operations will be starting in March and should be complete by the end of the year.   The new positions created will be offered to the employees of the local newspapers holding similar positions.   The centre will be taking over pagination and pre-press operations for six dailies in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island plus approximately 20 weeklies and specialty publications from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.  Transcontinental Media is the fourth-largest media group in Canada, with more than 3,000 employees and annual revenues of $648 million in 2008.  The Guardian Newspaper – January 21st

Acadian Lines has applied to the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board to discontinue its Kentville-to-Digby service, as well as reduce frequency and service on several other rural routes citing major financial losses.   The company said it lost $1.6 million on its Maritime routes in 2009 and plans to shift its focus to urban areas in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.   The Truro Daily News – January 13th