Jun 16 2021 — Paul Withers — CBC — New research shows portions of Sable Island have shrunk dramatically in recent decades — at times by ten metres per year on the south side, where several freshwater ponds and a lake disappeared entirely amid storm surge, shifting sands and sea-level rise. Using aerial photos going back to 1959, researchers tracked the movement of the […]
May 26 2021 — Paul Withers — CBC — Canadian National said Wednesday it is confident it will win U.S. regulatory approval for its $33-billion purchase of the Kansas City Southern railway, a deal that has implications for two Maritime provinces with rival gateway ports. If approved, CN will own a single, north-south rail network connecting Canada, the United States and Mexico — positioning […]
May 19 2021 — Paul Withers — CBC — A year and a half after Canada’s new offshore fisheries science vessel, the Capt. Jacques Cartier, was delivered to its Halifax-area base, the coast guard ship has yet to complete sea trials or begin the training missions needed before it can become operational. CBC News has learned that equipment failures, delays receiving parts, and COVID-19-related […]
Apr 30 2021 — Paul Withers — CBC — An international expert on conflict resolution says there is “zero chance” the United Nations will provide a Nova Scotia First Nation with peacekeepers to police its contentious lobster fishery. The Sipekne’katik First Nation said last week that when it resumes an out-of-season lobster fishery in June, it will call on the UN. Chief Mike Sack […]
Mar 23 2021 — Paul Withers — CBC — Halifax-based consultants have filed an unfair trade complaint to stop the Canadian government from awarding an environmental services contract worth $20 million. The federal Fisheries Department refused to open a bid from Dillon Consulting in late January because the bid required Google Drive to retrieve attached financial and technical documents. The firm, which has offices […]
Mar 9 2021 — Paul Withers — CBC — One of the Canadian Coast Guard’s newer ships had both main engines completely fail last year, forcing the vessel to tie up for months awaiting replacement motors, CBC News has learned. The 42-metre, mid-shore patrol vessel CCGS G. Peddle, based in Halifax, is expected back in service later this year after the “complete failure” of […]
Mar 3 2021 — Paul Withers — CBC — Ottawa will not license any Indigenous fishery in Atlantic Canada unless it operates within the commercial season, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans said Wednesday, siding against Mi’kmaw bands in their ongoing dispute with commercial fishermen. The statement is a major development in the dispute over treaty rights-based fishing that sparked violence last fall when […]
Feb 18 2021 — Paul Withers — CBC — French multinational Michelin Tire has signed up to ship some of the tires it makes in Nova Scotia across the Atlantic to France on a cargo vessel powered mainly by sail. The agreement with Neoline, a startup shipping line based in Nantes, France, is being explained as an effort to reduce Michelin’s greenhouse gas emissions. […]
Feb 5 2021 — Paul Withers — CBC — One week after imposing air travel restrictions, the Trudeau government is still working on protocols to allow several thousand temporary foreign workers into Atlantic Canada where all airports have been closed to international flights. The border measures were taken to stop the spread of COVID-19, but have left Nova Scotia farmers and fish plant owners […]
Feb 2 2021 — Paul Withers — CBC — Maritime farmers and seafood processors who rely on temporary foreign workers are scrambling to understand how they will be impacted by new international air travel restrictions imposed to stop the spread of COVID-19. Ottawa is temporarily stopping commercial flights from Mexico and the Caribbean, and closing Halifax and Moncton airports to international charter flights as […]
Jan 26 2021 — Paul Withers — CBC — A decade-long warming trend in the Gulf of St. Lawrence continued in 2020 with deep waters reaching record highs, according to ocean climate data released Tuesday by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. Water temperatures at depths of 200, 250 and 300 metres were higher than any measured in the Gulf since records started in […]
Dec 4 2020 — Paul Withers — CBC — The Sipekne’katik First Nation called on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Friday to intercede in its fight to secure a moderate livelihood fishery as part of Mi’kmaw self-government. The call came in a news release criticizing a draft agreement for a moderate livelihood fishery that it received one week ago from the Department of Fisheries and […]
Nov 9 2020 — Paul Withers — CBC — Halifax-based Clearwater Seafoods announced a billion-dollar deal Monday to sell the company to a partnership between Premium Brands of British Columbia and a coalition of Mi’kmaw First Nations. It is “the single largest investment in the seafood industry by any Indigenous group in Canada,” said a news release jointly issued by the coalition and Clearwater.
Oct 21 2020 — Paul Withers — CBC — The Sipekne’katik band is seeking a temporary court injunction to end blockades, interference and threats over its lobster fishing in southwest Nova Scotia. The band applied to Nova Scotia Supreme Court Wednesday for an injunction to prohibit anyone from trying to stop members from accessing two wharves in the region, in Saulnierville and Weymouth, and […]
Aug 30 2020 — Paul Withers — CBC — The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has launched a trade investigation to assess the impact of Canada’s worldwide lobster exports on the U.S. lobster industry. It’s the latest election year overture aimed at Maine, where lobster, valued at $468 million US in 2019, is the state’s largest export, It is also where Republican Sen. […]