The ISANS vision is working to have a community where all can belong and grow. There are many pathways to build this vision.  

For the last four years, we have shared with you how each of our services and programs comprise distinct and important pathways to help immigrants build a future in Nova Scotia.  

Whether in person or at a distance, our services help newcomers achieve their immediate and long-term goals to get settled, learn English, connect with community, go to school, find employment, and do business. At the same time, they encourage employers to diversify their workforces; they support community members to embrace the principles of equity, diversity, and inclusion; and they help all of us strengthen our dedication to immigration in Nova Scotia 

Now, in our fifth year of exploring the pathways to possibility ISANS offers to immigrants in Nova Scotia, we couldn’t think of a better or more appropriate possibility to explore than the one that encompasses all our work throughout our history and that is most closely aligned to our organizational vision: community.  

Communities are important to all of us who call Nova Scotia home – regardless of when we arrived. Communities are not simply defined by our geography; at their core, communities are people providing support networks that protect us, uplift us, and allow us space to grow and flourish. 

Immigration is an integral element in our local, provincial, and national communities. It strengthens the weave of our collective fabric by encouraging resilience and innovation, and by fostering unique connections that enable us to create lasting change toward a future where we all have equitable opportunities to grow and belong. 

As Board Chair, along with my fellow Directors, our focus has been on continuing to have a strong organization where our excellent staff always feel engaged and valued within the ISANS community. It is only with a strong internal organization that ISANS can work more broadly to integrate and strengthen our communities by working with immigrants to help them call Nova Scotia home. 

Thank you to the many people who come through our door and who settle and stay in our province. Thank you to the incredible staff team at ISANS whose dedication, vision, and commitment makes such a difference for people settling here and for our communities.   

We are proud of the work we’ve done over the last year, and that we’ve always done, to help immigrants build their future here and bring us closer to our vision.