🗞 Students react to international student visa cap

Happy Groundhog Day!

Shubenacadie Sam stepped out bright and early this morning and despite the layer of snow covering the ground, did not see a shadow and predicted an early spring. You can watch it all play out here 🌸

Have a great weekend!

– Alyssa

🌡️ Traffic & Weather

Today: 🌨️ 1°

Tomorrow: 🌨️ -3°

Next Day: 🌨️ 2°

7-day forecast

🚗 Driving today? Check out the current traffic conditions and ongoing road closures.

EDUCATION

Canada’s cap on international student visas just scapegoats students, says CBU student

Navy Nguyen is a fifth-year student at Cape Breton University outside of Sydney, NS. When they moved here from Viet Nam at the end of 2018, Sydney was a lot smaller than they’d been led to believe.

In 2018, there were roughly 1,400 international students at CBU. Now that number is over 7,000 and Nguyen says even with two new bus routes added to serve CBU students, these routes are unreliable and often reduced or cancelled due to driver shortages. Nguyen says CBU’s administration has held “radio silence” since Canada announced its two-year cap on international study permits on Jan. 22, “even though CBU has such a different demographic than any other Atlantic university.”

Today, CBU’s population is about 76% international students.

Announcing the cap on visas, the federal government said the rapidly increasing population of international students “puts pressure on housing, health care and other services” across the country, an assessment Nguyen disagrees with. “The heart of this issue is to help ease the housing crisis,” says Nguyen, “but the narrative is that it’s international students that are causing the crisis, even though we’re just a scapegoat for this issue that’s been ongoing.”

Read Lauren Phillip’s full story at The Coast.

🤔 Need to know

⚖️ The family of Ryan Michael Sawyer, who died outside of the Halifax Alehouse on December 24, 2022, has filed lawsuits against the Halifax business. 

💔 Iconic radio host Rick Howe has died at age 69.

🎶 Live Music: Original ambient jazz, folk, and classical compositions by two artists with Caribbean and African roots. Celebrate the sounds of African Heritage month tonight!*

*Sponsored Post

SPONSORED BY NEPTUNE THEATRE

The Last Show on Earth

This post-apocalyptic dark comedy delivers sharp social commentary and oodles of sci-fi quirk. The story follows Eli, a beleaguered fruit roll-up factory worker trying to earn enough for a Fleedom Ticket off the planet.

The Last Show On Earth is a new play infused with film from the exciting multi-disciplinary artist, poet & playwright Breton Lalama and directed by Annie Valentina. Neptune audiences will remember Breton's on stage performances in Fully Committed, Pleasureville, In Lieu of Flowers and as Riff Raff in The Rocky Horror Show.

On stage at Neptune Theatre for a limited run from February 6 - 18.

Tickets start at $25 fees & taxes incl.

SURE THINGS

6 things to do in Halifax this weekend

February is here, which means two things in Halifax: Snow and rain. Thankfully, our fine Atlantic peninsula has enough going on through the dreary months to tide things over until Shubenacadie Sam—or one of his secret understudies—says spring is on its way.

This weekend is no different, with a full lineup of concerts, comedy nights and theatre shows on offer—and that’s just the silvery coating on Sam’s snowy shadow.

Allow us to be your weekend guide with these Coast picks.

🗞️ In Other News

🏒 In the hockey team’s 30th season, the Halifax Mooseheads are bringing in larger crowds to the Scotiabank Centre than ever before. 

🩺 Job vacancy rates in the Nova Scotia healthcare industry have increased by 200% since 2019, and continue to climb. 

🦾 A $1 million donation from Irving Shipbuilding Inc. to the QEII Health Sciences Centre is being used toward advancements in spinal robotics technology. 

⛪️ Weston Christian Fellowship Church in Berwick was recently fined $5,000 for breaking COVID gathering restrictions in 2021. 

🚨 A business on Highfield Park Drive in Dartmouth was caught selling cannabis illegally. 

🎭 A couple from Hong Kong is sharing traditional Cantonese stories with Halifax through their new theatre production Fai Studio.

SPONSORED BY SUPPORT4CULTURE

Support4Culture celebrates African Heritage Month

The theme this year is Our Smiles, Our Joy, Our Resilience as African Nova Scotians. This month is a time to celebrate and recognize the history and culture of people of African descent. Support4Culture supports culture and heritage through museum and artist funding to help keep these important stories alive.

🍴 Where To Eat & Drink

Special of the week: Vandal Doughnuts’ special of the week is an It’s Your Birthday Donut, dipped in a chocolate glaze and topped with an abundance of sprinkles. 

The smaller the better: Mini ice cream cakes are back at Dee Dee’s! Don’t forget to also try the shop’s new cinnamon heart-flavoured ice cream. 

Pickle Fingers: I need of a change-up from your usual pizza order? Try Rinaldo’s Pickle Fingers: A New York crust smothered in roasted garlic and dill butter, topped with mozzarella, pickles, parmesan and dill.

🛍️ Shop Talk

The end of an era: The Has Bin has announced it’ll be closing. Its last day of operation will happen sometime in mid-April. 

New openings: Kyo Kitchen has announced it will have its grand opening on February 14. In the meantime, the restaurant will be open for its soft launch until February 11. 

Walk-in Wednesdays: In the market for some new ink? Adept Tattoos has brought back its Walk-in Wednesdays on a first come, first served basis.

T(r)ea(t) yourself: Eastern Tea Bar is having a Valentine’s Day special. Enjoy 10% off everything until February 7. The sale is online only.

👀 In Case You Missed It

• In his most recent budget recap, Matt Stickland explores how Halifax uses value engineering to cause climate change.

• Heat up your winter and take The Coast’s annual Sex & Dating Survey. Get your anonymous responses in before the survey closes on February 7.

That’s it!

Thanks for reading The Coast Daily today ❤️ 

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