Finance committee  Certainly Nova Scotia has been at the forefront of rapid testing. That said, we are speaking directly about distributing rapid tests. The Chamber of Commerce is speaking directly with the federal government about distributing rapid tests. We have learned recently that we will have to work more closely with our public health department.

Finance committee  Thank you.

Finance committee  Yes, there has been discussion. We are in discussion with the federal government now about receiving some of those rapid tests. It is my understanding that the Province of Nova Scotia is about to add to the emergency order, though. That would require public health to approve any businesses that might want to participate in rapid testing.

Finance committee  I think that to some extent that's already happening. We work closely with a local group called the Black Business Initiative. I know they're working on a Black entrepreneur fund that's recently been announced. They're working to roll that out, and we would love to partner with them to at least raise awareness more broadly among our members.

Finance committee  It's extremely important.

Finance committee  I have to give a lot of credit to the municipality. The City of Halifax has developed a plan called HalifACT. It focuses on sea rise, which, as you can imagine, is or will be a significant issue for Halifax. We have, again, partnered with the city and tried to raise awareness among our members, and it's clearly something we need to focus on as a community.

Finance committee  If you mean by “data-driven” that we could have clarity on what the expectations are for fully reopening the economy and fully reopening the borders and what the levels of virus need to be to allow for the economy to reopen more fully, clearly our members need that kind of information, and they need it soon.

Finance committee  Clearly, Nova Scotia and much of Atlantic Canada are in a slightly different position than other areas of the country. That said, any businesses that rely on crowds or on travel or tourism are suffering at a significant level and expect to continue suffering well into the fall.

Finance committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Chair, and thank you very much to the committee. Good evening. I apologize in advance; I have a cold. It's just a cold. I've been COVID tested a number of times. I apologize if I cough during my presentation. I've decided to make my presentation rather short tonight, so I don't believe I will take anywhere close to five minutes.

Finance committee  I don't know that I could give you specific statistics. However, what I would say is that we know there's a much greater likelihood for someone who has a co-op work term, an internship. If they begin to work for an employer in Halifax or Atlantic Canada they are much more likely to get a job offer from that individual, and then much more likely to stay.

Finance committee  It wouldn't impact the sale of a business but it would impact their expected return on the business in the future. Given the tax proposals that were on the table, they would have expected less income. I hold a private corporation with my wife. Before I joined the chamber of commerce just a year and a half ago, I earned income and I used the tax laws as they exist to minimize my income.

Finance committee  That is a difficult question, I will say. I think part of it is the rationalization. Part of it is directing that towards jobs that will provide future longer-term benefits. To use your example, I know that in my previous role the federal government provided funding for visitor information centres and for folks to work in visitor information centres.

Finance committee  I think we have some—I don't know if I'd call them natural advantages—advantages. We have the education facilities. We have a large number of post-secondary institutions. I actually think it's close to.... Well, it's a lot. There a lot of universities in Halifax and across Nova Scotia.

Finance committee  We were a beneficiary of the Syrian refugees, and that certainly helped to bump us up. We did have the largest increase in population growth in Halifax since World War II, so it was significant growth. Halifax is a bubble in Nova Scotia. In Nova Scotia, we are experiencing population declines overall.

Finance committee  You've heard it.