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TRURO, NS – Nova Scotia’s latest “buy local”’ initiative is coming from an unlikely source – the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE).

CUPE Nova Scotia has launched a new “10% Shift!” website at www.novashift.ca and is urging its 18,000 members and their families to shift just ten percent of their weekly spending to locally-produced goods and services.

CUPE Nova Scotia President Danny Cavanagh says, “Our province has a workforce of around 400,000 women and men. If each of us shifted just $50 dollars a week of our spending that works out to $2,500 a year each, or $1 billion annually.

“I believe Nova Scotians are ready to make a $1 billion-a-year difference,” suggests Cavanagh. The CUPE website launch comes on the heels of a new goal set this week from the provincial government that 20 percent of the money spent on food by Nova Scotians be spent on locally produced items by the year 2020.

Says Cavanagh, “We applaud the provincial government for setting this goal. We think it’s realistic and long overdue. As Nova Scotians, we have to be able to rely on each other to make sure our local farmers, food producers and other businesses prosper. That’s how we build strong communities.”

The union will be promoting the new website with its 160 locals across the province and at all union functions. It will also be promoted on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter.

Cavanagh says, “If we can get 18,000 families across the province taking the pledge to shift ten percent of their spending, I believe we can have a powerful impact on the province’s economy.”