Labour Market Monitor - Annapolis Valley NS
December 2011
The Labour Market Monitor is a monthly report providing a summary of labour market news events for the Annapolis Valley Region. The Annapolis Valley Region includes Hants, Kings and Annapolis Counties.
Labour Market News By Industry
Construction
Kings County council has awarded the contract for infrastructure upgrades for Clements Park in Greenwood to a local firm B. Spicer Construction Limited for $1,853,041 plus HST. The work involves capital redevelopment of certain municipal systems in and around 14 Wing, Greenwood's former married personnel quarters. (Kings County Register - December 22)
Retail Trade
Swinamer's TIM-BR Mart has a new name and look, after becoming a member of the Home Hardware family. Owner Brian MacDonald says little will change at the familiar TIM-BR Mart, located at 4060 Hwy 1 in Currys Corner, aside from the look and name. The building supplies carrier, founded in 1954, is now called Swinamer's Home Building Centre. The transformation of the former TIM-BR Mart is expected to take about two years. (Hants Journal - December 29)
Blomidon Nurseries recently replaced their greenhouse that was destroyed in the December 2010 windstorm with a new retail store and café. The adjoining Stems Café reflects current trends in the garden centre industry and the business employs up to 40 people during the peak season including 13 through the winter. (Kings County Advertiser - December 13)
Pete Luckett expects his new Pete's Frootique grocery store to open in Wolfville by April or May 2012 with renovations currently well underway. The new location will be on two levels and will also include a café. Luckett also expects production at the Luckett's winery to more than double next year to 7,500 bottles. Plans for the future include the construction of a 50-70 seat restaurant and an amphitheatre built into the hillside as an outdoor entertainment centre. www.luckettvineyards.com ( Kings County Advertiser December 22)
Transportation and Warehousing
Halifax Investment firm Clarke Inc. has acquired the operating assets of Select Transport Inc. of Windsor - a refrigerated transport business that primarily transports produce, a very large proportion of which is apples. Clarke Road Transport Inc., a Clarke Inc. subsidiary, purchased the freight company through a bankruptcy sale. The Select Transport fleet will operate under the Clarke Road Transport banner. Some Select Transport staff, including drivers and others, will be offered jobs with Clarke Road Transport. Select Transport Inc. was owned by J.W. Mason & Sons Ltd., a family-owned apple business. (Chronicle Herald - December 2)
Annapolis County has stated its plans to withdraw from their current service arrangement with Kings Transit Authority and go with Trans County, which currently provides point-to-point service in Annapolis County. The municipality is trying to save money and ridership has decreased in the western end of the Valley. Most Kings Transit riders from Annapolis travel in an easterly direction. However, Digby County, another service partner, is expanding service into the Town of Digby on a trial basis to the west. Kings Transit is planning to work with Annapolis to integrate services of the two providers. The proposed name of the new scheduled-stop transit provider is Annapolis Transit. There is no plan to change fares or the current Kings Transit route but additional routes may be explored using smaller vehicles such as vans to address decreasing ridership and bring more passengers to the main line. The change is still several months away, as Nova Scotia Utilities and Review Board approval is required. (Annapolis County Spectator - December 28)
Health Care and Social Assistance
We Care Home Health Services, a national provider of in-home care and support services, is setting up a new office in Kentville that will provide resources for local Nova Scotians in need of homecare services. www.wecare.ca (Kings County Advertiser - December 20)
Members of Valley Families for Midwifery are heading to the Nova Scotia legislature at Province House on December 7 to support the Midwifery Coalition of Nova Scotia. The group's members, hope to hear some kind of response from the Minister of Health to the latest evaluation and a timeline or action plan for the future of midwifery in the province. Valley Families for Midwifery has been advocating for a return of midwifery service in the Annapolis Valley Health authority since the introduction of provincially regulated midwifery in 2009. Introduction of midwifery care at three pilot sites - the IWK, Bridgewater and Antigonish - has had mixed results and an evaluation report released in August proposed several changes to the program. (Kings County Register - December 6)
Arts, Entertainment and Recreation
Annapolis County council voted on December 20 in favour of the Fundy YMCA establishing its roots in the County of Annapolis. To date, the Fundy YMCA Capital Campaign has raised 94% of its goal of $500K with the remainder to be raised throughout the regions of Annapolis and Digby counties. Next steps involve the development of building plans and the construction stage. It is hoped to have the YMCA operating in the spring of 2012, with the Grand Opening celebration sometime in June. (Annapolis County Spectator - December 22)
The Annapolis Valley Macdonald Museum in Middleton is closing its doors for the winter and reopening in April. The Annapolis Valley Historical Society, which has operated the museum for almost 30 years, voted to interrupt operations over the next few months in an effort to reduce operating expenses during these tough economic times. In making this decision, the society has followed the lead of several other museums in the Valley and the province. www.macdonaldmuseum.ca (Annapolis County Spectator - December 8)
Other Services (except Public Administration)
H. C. Lindsay Funeral Home's Kentville location was demolished on December 8, 2011 following extensive damage from the December 2010 windstorm. Kentville clients are being served out of the Berwick and Wolfville locations for the foreseeable future. (Kings County Advertiser - December 13)
Public Administration
Municipal leaders have signed an agreement to begin working together on a comprehensive planning project for Kings County - Kings 2050. Berwick, Wolfville, Kentville and the Municipality of Kings County signed the memorandum which involves working their individual municipal planning strategies together. The municipality budgeted $75K in the current fiscal year for an infrastructure inventory, and another $107K towards floodplain and groundcover mapping, a GIS planner for a seven-month term, and for consulting work. A visioning study contract was also awarded to Stantec for $52K. (Kings County Advertiser - December 13)
Note: In preparing this document, the authors have taken care to provide clients with labour market information from reliable sources that is timely and accurate at the time of publication. Since labour market conditions are dynamic, some of the information presented here may have changed since this document was published. Users are encouraged to also refer to other sources for additional information on the local economy and labour market. Information contained in this document does not necessarily reflect official policies of the department.For more information please contact: glenn.mcmullen@servicecanada.gc.ca
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