Please Click here to view this information in ASL.

Consultation

The Nova Scotia Accessibility Advisory Board(External link) has drafted recommendations on the following accessibility standards:

• Information and communication
• Public transportation

Accessibility standards, once approved, are regulations or laws that help make Nova Scotia accessible.

The Board would like your feedback on their draft recommendations. You can access the draft standards and learn more on the consultation website.

Online feedback sessions

You can give feedback at one of our online sessions between February 19 to March 6, 2026. The sessions will each be about 2 hours long. If you want to attend a feedback session, you need to register.

Please register by filling out this form: Click Here to Register

After you register, we will send you a Zoom link for your session. We will also send you the draft standard recommendations to review. We will include a summary of the recommendations in ASL, English, and French.

There will be one session just for the Deaf and Signing community. We will also have ASL/English interpreters and CART captioning at any other session if requested when you register.

There will be one session in French.

Please share this with anyone who may also want to give feedback.

Other ways to give feedback

If attending a session does not work for you, please let us know. You can give feedback in a different way:

• Phone call
• Video recording or vlog
• Written feedback

Thinkwell Research and Strategy is helping with the consultation. If you have questions or need help to register, please contact jaimie@thinkwellresearch.ca.

TEAM Work Cooperative is hosting the Ability to Rise: Celebrating Leaders in Disability Inclusion event on December 3rd in recognition of the United Nations’ International Day of Persons with Disabilities on December 3, 2025. To learn more, please visit https://www.teamworkcooperative.ca/ability-to-rise

The Human Rights Commission presents awards annually to Nova Scotians whose work advances human rights in the province. People can nominate individual Nova Scotians and groups who have demonstrated excellence in this area until November 1. For more information, please visit Call for Nominations for 2025 Human Rights Awards | Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission.

We are excited to share that the 2025-26 Community Network Grant was announced today!

As part of the Equity and Anti-Racism Strategy, funding is available for community-based organizations who support underrepresented and underserved communities to undertake project that empower community organizations to deliver initiatives that challenge hate, reduce barriers, and strengthen equity across Nova Scotia.

With a total of $400,000 available - grants are flexible and support a wide range of projects, including education, cultural programming, capacity building, research, and community engagement. Each project is eligible for funding of up to $40,000. For more information, please see the Community Network Grant Guidelines.

Applications can be submitted through the online application portal or submitted as a document to OEAengagement@novascotia.ca by Friday, October 31, 2025, at 4:00 p.m. (ADT). If submitting through the portal or by email doesn’t work for you, please reach out to us to discuss alternative arrangements that better meet your needs.

To learn more about projects previously funded through the Community Network Grant Program, please visit the Community Network Grant Stories section on this page.

The Government of Nova Scotia is modernizing how the Human Rights Commission works, both in protecting and promoting people’s rights and in resolving human rights complaints. As part of this review, we’re asking Nova Scotians to share their experiences and ideas. If you’ve filed a human rights complaint or have thoughts about how the process could work better, we’d like to hear from you.

The Department of Justice is working with Narrative Research to gather feedback from individuals and organizations across the province. Your input will help shape possible updates to the law and how the Commission operates.

You can participate by taking a survey or sending feedback to Narrative Research. Information about the engagement and the online survey is available at: https://novascotia.ca/human-rights-commission-review-engagement/

The deadline to provide feedback is October 10, 2025.

If you have any questions, please contact Narrative Research at: info@narrativeresearch.ca.

The Multiculturalism and Anti-Racism Program (MARP) is launching a new call for proposals as part of Canada’s Action Plan on Combatting Hate. This new Anti-Hate Call is intended to fund initiatives to address and prevent hate in Canada with the following objective:

Empower communities to prevent and address hate by fostering inclusion, resilience, and unity through community-led, intersectional projects that will contribute to reducing social isolation and fragmentation, and reinforce collective identity, building a more inclusive, socially cohesive and united Canada.

Initiatives funded under this objective have the following expected results:

• Improved community-led strategies to address and prevent hate, promote safety, reinforce a collective identity and a sense of belonging.

• Improved support networks and resources for individuals and communities affected by hate, reinforcing a collective commitment to dignity, healing, and resilience.

To be eligible for funding, organizations or groups must be:

• Canadian not-for-profit organizations, associations, and unincorporated groups;

• Non-federal Canadian public institutions such as boards of education, schools, colleges and universities, chambers of commerce, law enforcement and police agencies, hospitals and other health care institutions;

• Provincial, territorial, regional and municipal governments and their agencies;

• Indigenous not-for-profit organizations (First Nations, Inuit, and Métis); or

• Indigenous governments, band councils and tribal councils.

For more information, visit the Multiculturalism and Anti-Racism Program Anti-Hate Call website.

Affaires acadiennes et Francophonie collaborent avec l'Université Sainte-Anne (professeur Roger Gervais) pour mener une recherche visant à mieux comprendre les perceptions et l'utilisation des services gouvernementaux par la population acadienne et francophone de la Nouvelle-Écosse.

Critères pour participer :

• Avoir 18 ans ou plus.
• Être un membre de la population acadienne et francophone de la Nouvelle-Écosse, que vous soyez né ici ou nouvellement arrivé.

Le questionnaire s’intitule L’UTILISATION DES SERVICES GOUVERNEMENTAUX EN FRANÇAIS. Il a pour objectif de mieux comprendre les perceptions des services offerts dans votre région et de l’utilisation que vous en faites en tant que membre de la communauté acadienne et francophone de la Nouvelle-Écosse. À sa complétion, il y a la possibilité de gagner un iPad Air 11" (d’une valeur d’environ 900$) ou 1 de 5 prix de participation (certificats-cadeaux de 100$ pour une épicerie locale).

Vous pourrez trouver ci-contre le lien qui vous amènera au questionnaire en français : https://sociosainteanne.limesurvey.net/566847?lang=fr

Vous pouvez aussi partager ce lien pour le questionnaire en anglais : https://sociosainteanne.limesurvey.net/235548?lang=en

Acadian Affairs and Francophonie has partnered with Université Sainte-Anne (Prof. Roger Gervais) on research to better understand perceptions and use of government services by members of the Acadian and francophone population of Nova Scotia.

Participation criteria :

• 18 years of age or older.
• A member of the Acadian, Francophone, or French-speaking immigrant population of Nova Scotia.

The survey is titled STUDYING THE USE OF FRENCH GOVERNMENT SERVICES. This research is intended to better understand your perceptions of services offered in your community as well as your use of these services as a member of the Acadian and Francophone population of Nova Scotia. An iPad Air 11" (estimated value of 900$) and five participation prizes (five 100$ gift certificates from a local grocery store) will be drawn at random among those who complete the survey.

You can access the French survey by clicking on this link : https://sociosainteanne.limesurvey.net/566847?lang=fr

You can access the English survey by clicking on this link : https://sociosainteanne.limesurvey.net/235548?lang=en

Online Information Session
Monday, September 8 at 2:00 - 3:00 pm ADT

On September 8^h, join us for a one-hour webinar at 2:00 p.m. ADT to learn about the Atlantic Immigrant Career Loan Fund (AICLF). This ISANS-led initiative can help immigrants with permanent resident status or Canadian citizenship obtain training and certification in their chosen fields or related fields in their new home provinces.

During this event, you will learn:

• Who is eligible for the AICLF
• What costs the AICLF can cover
• The kinds of programs the AICLF can help pay for
• How the AICLF is funded and how it is administered across Atlantic Canada
• Why the AICLF is a better choice for immigrants in Atlantic Canada than funding through a private institution on their own

During and after the presentation, you can also ask any questions you might have about AICLF.

Registration and attendance details:

• Register for the event by filling in this form.
• The registration deadline is 5 pm ADT September 5th.
• You will receive a link to the meeting before the event
  

For more information, please contact: Ken Partridge | kpartridge@isans.ca

Funded in part by the Government of Canada's Foreign Credential Recognition Program

🗓️ Date: Thursday, July 24, 2025

🕐 Time: 1:00 PM Atlantic Time (12:00 PM Eastern)

📍 Location: Online via Zoom

🎧 Accessibility: CART (live captioning) and ASL interpretation will be provided

 💻 Join the panel here: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87916769178?pwd=yab1MIYPkLPSg2pZC1IurnESEiJOBB.1

This panel lifts the leadership, resilience, and contributions of disabled 2SLGBTQIA+ people in nonprofit and community work. Panelists will explore how lived experience informs more equitable, accessible, and inclusive organizations—while challenging systems that often overlook or erase complex, intersecting identities. From advocacy and policy to program design and organizational culture, this conversation centers first-voice leadership at the intersections of disability, queerness, and trans experience.

🔗Event details also available at: https://humanrights.novascotia.ca/news-events/events/beyond-visibility-leading-pride-and-disability-non-profit-sector