Mayor's Welcome
On behalf of Halifax Regional Council, I would like to take this opportunity to welcome you to the Atlantic Metropolis Conference, November 18 to 19, 2004. Our community is proud to host this event, which is the first pan-Canadian conference to focus on the issue of regional attraction, mobility and integration of immigrants in Canada.
Atlantic Canada lags well behind the rest of Canada when it comes to attracting and retaining immigrants. However, I assure you that the immigration issue is on our collective radar. Representatives of the Halifax Regional Municipality, The Province of Nova Scotia and organizations like the Greater Halifax Partnership, the Metropolitan Immigrant Settlement Association, the Halifax Chamber of Commerce and others all realize that attracting, integrating and retaining immigrants is fundamental to the long-term economic success of our region.
While the challenge in Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver is accommodating massive immigration flows, Canada's medium-sized communities face a serious immigration recruitment challenge. We are responding and we are working together to develop a comprehensive immigration strategy – the first step of which was working to change attitudes in our community.
As Chair of the Atlantic Mayors' Congress, I invited Immigration and Citizenship Minister Judy Sgro to our congress meeting last month to address the 17 Mayors from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador on the issue of making our communities more attractive to immigrants.
Improving our score on immigration is important to the Halifax Regional Municipality and is a priority for a host of business and social organizations in our community. Conferences, such as the Atlantic Metropolis Conference are an important part of the process – and I wish you much success with this important event.
Respectfully, I remain
Peter J. Kelly
Mayor
