Magic Statistics

Analysis of 2006 Census data from major Canadian cities shows that Halifax is second only to Calgary in the proportion of residents who have moved there from other provinces.  I must admit I am surprised.

Halifax is a city of come-from-aways. It's widely known that Nova Scotia's capital lags behind larger Canadian cities in attracting immigrants from other countries. But few realize Halifax is near the top for drawing people from other provinces.

According to the latest census, 7.5 per cent of citizens of Halifax Regional Municipality moved here from other parts of Canada between 2001 and 2006.

It's second only to Calgary among major cities for drawing people from out-of-province.

At the same time, Halifax ranked low in the proportions of international immigrants and of residents who moved there from elsewhere in the same province.

The comments box for this story at the Halifax Daily News features a verbal brawl between those who think this proves Nova Scotia is a great place to live, those who insist it proves nothing, and those don’t believe the data.  Nova Scotians figure prominently on all sides.

h/t: e-mail from the See of Pisiquid, which is located not far from Halifax.

Previous related post: Atlantic Canada cities predominate in quality of life survey

Ancient France, that is.

Amber Fossils Reveal Ancient France Was A Jungle

Research on a treasure trove of amber has yielded evidence that France once was covered by a dense tropical rainforest with trees similar to those found in the modern-day Amazon. The 55-million-year-old pieces of amber was discovered in the Oise River area in northern France.

They must have had humongous SUVs back then.

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Mohammed Elmasry, President of the Canadian Islamic Congress, is cheesed off because the Conservative government has made a point of ignoring his organisation’s views on Middle East policy.  So, of course, he whinges to the press.

The Canadian Islamic Congress says it has been continually snubbed by the Conservative government and says it has abandoned trying to influence Canada's efforts to play a role in the Middle East peace process until the next federal election in Canada.

"We gave up on having a constructive dialogue with the current government on any foreign policy issue," Mohammed Elmasry, president of the CIC, said in an interview Tuesday as [Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime] Bernier began a six-day trip that was to start today in Saudi Arabia.

Both the present Foreign Affairs Minister, Maxime Bernier, and his predecessor, Peter MacKay, have refused to meet with the CIC.  Maybe that has something to do with Mr Elmasry’s statement that every Israeli citizen over the age of 18, in military uniform or not, is a legitimate target for Palestinian terrorists.

The CIC has been in the news recently, of course, for giving material support to the four Muslim law students in their effort to intimidate Maclean’s magazine for publishing a Mark Steyn article that the students found insensitive and offensive.

"We tried to communicate our position on Afghanistan, on the Middle East on U.S. interference in Lebanon, the threat of the U.S. on Iran," said Elmasry. "It is either following the lead of the U.S. or it doesn't have a policy of its own.

"Either way, it is really bad for Canada and for the people of the area."

That sounds very insensitive and offensive.  Canada’s current and former ministers of foreign affairs have grounds for a human rights complaint; certainly, grounds more substantial than the four Muslim law students have for theirs.

h/t: Dust My Broom

Previous related posts:

• Steyn critics prove they don’t understand freedom of speech
• I support Mark Steyn, Maclean’s, and free speech
• Hamas warns Canada: Don’t be an enemy, or else
• Canadian Islamic Congress supports Abdul Rahman, sort of

h/t: The Occasional Christian, Reaching for the Cross

Previous related post: StatGuy announces retirement