HILC and MISA worked for many years as partners to serve immigrants, sharing values and goals as well as many clients. Then in August 2003, the two organizations began to also share offices at Chebucto Place as they had outgrown their previous spaces. By sharing, money was saved on rent, … Read more
Since the establishment of MISA’s Employment Services Unit in 1998, staff have recognized that clients in regulated occupations face special difficulties. For internationally educated pharmacists, lawyers, architects, physicians, social workers and myriad others, the requirement to become licensed or certified is an enormous challenge. Our excellent pre-employment programs & services … Read more
Immigrants often need interpretation and translation services when they first arrive in Canada. In the early days of MISA, this need was met in several different ways. Clients would often bring a community member to help them, and sometimes staff were themselves able to interpret. Staff would also recruit former … Read more
“Hey doc, I’ve got a frog in my throat and I’m stuffed up.” If you were an internationally-educated healthcare professional starting work in Canada, you might wonder what your patient means. Does she really have a frog in her throat? Stuffed up with what? ISANS first identified the need for … Read more
It all started with one instructor and one class in early 2004. Recognizing the need for higher level language skills, a new initiative – Enhanced Language Training – began to develop high level workplace-specific language classes. The first class was Communication for Work and Business, a 12-week course focusing on … Read more
For many years, HILC and MISA worked as partners to serve immigrants and shared values and goals as well as many clients. In August 2003, the two organizations began to also share space at Chebucto Place. Both organizations had outgrown their previous space and finding appropriate new office space in … Read more
In the early 2000s, stakeholders were more and more interested in immigration and its implications for our province. Provincial government responsibility for immigration in Nova Scotia was split between the Department of Education and the Department of Economic Development. Nova Scotia signed a Provincial Nominee agreement with the federal government … Read more
In the year 2000, to meet the urgent needs of single male refugees, a group of MISA staff and community members formed the MISA housing committee. The situation was critical: after their one year of support, many Government Assisted Refugees (GARs) found themselves alone and unprepared for the realities of … Read more
HILC’s first computer lab was set up in 2000 in a small (“cozy”) room at the office on Alma Street. There were 8 computers and Mark Larson was responsible for the lab from 2001-02. Each language class would spend some time during the week in the lab with Mark. As … Read more
In spring 1999 the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) asked several countries to provide safe haven for some of the 350,000 Kosovar refugees who had fled the fighting in their homeland. Canada agreed to take in 5,000 people and the Canadian military airlifted them from Europe to military … Read more
Immigrant entrepreneurs have made many contributions to the economy and business community in Nova Scotia. In the early 1990s, the federal Immigrant Entrepreneur Program attracted a large number of applicants to Nova Scotia. Newcomers found their way to MISA, looking for support in understanding the local business environment and establishing … Read more
English in the Workplace, or EWP, was first offered by Halifax Immigrant Learning Centre (HILC) in 1993, with one instructor, Cathy Vaughn. Soon after, Darlene MacInnis and Joanna Wine joined the team. At the start, most of the classes were for basic English and many of the clients worked in … Read more