EXCERPTS

A lack of day-care services is preventing some new immigrants in the Halifax region from learning English, the head of a language school says.

Gerry Mills, executive director of the Halifax Immigrant Learning Centre, told a legislature committee Tuesday that some new immigrants may never get the help they need simply because they have young children.

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Mills said women who are trying to raise children on their own not only have to wait for a spot in the classroom, but that seat has to coincide with an empty day-care spot.

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When Liberal MLA Diana Whalen asked why Nova Scotia does not provide money for more day-care spots, the executive director of the province's Office of Immigration, Elizabeth Mills, said basic language training is Ottawa's responsibility.

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Elizabeth Mills later told reporters that her office hasn't asked for money specifically for day-care spots in the budget it has prepared for cabinet approval. She said she's willing to work with any agency that wants day-care money to help immigrants settle in the province.

- reprinted from CBC News Online