🗞 Halifax's container pile up

HARBOUR REPORT

What do the floods mean for Halifax’s shipping industry?

There is some irony in Monday’s arrival and departure of the Atlantic Sun container ship, given how little sun Halifax—and most of Nova Scotia, for that matter—saw this past weekend. Friday and Saturday’s torrential rain and flash floods washed out roadways, destroyed bridges and prompted a provincewide state of emergency. It also threw a sizable wrench into Nova Scotia’s shipping economy, as the floods rendered a key portion of CN Rail track linking the Port of Halifax to the rest of Canada unusable. Speaking with reporters on Sunday, Nova Scotia premier Tim Houston said there was “extensive damage” to the railway near Truro and Millbrook First Nation.

What does that mean for the province? In the meantime, container ships and cargo ships are still arriving at the South End Container Terminal and Fairview Cove Terminal. But it only takes looking at Nova Scotia’s coastal counterpart for what can happen when floods disrupt rail lines and highways: In November 2021, the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority saw a backlog of 54 ships after a pair of atmospheric rivers prompted flooding and mudslides in the Fraser Valley and BC’s interior. Some shipping companies opted to send containers back to Asia empty, rather than wait to fill them with Canadian exports.

Containers are already piling up in Halifax.

Coast reporter Martin Bauman has more on the shipping squeeze, and other arrivals and departures from the harbour this week.

Need to know

💻 The HRM has launched a registry to help get supplies to individuals who remain stranded due to flooding.

💵 The Province has announced financial assistance for individuals and small businesses whose properties suffered damage due to flooding.

🏊 Due to high bacteria levels Saunders Beach, Birch Cove Beach, Shubie Park Beach and Long Pond Beach are closed to swimming.

🧶 Visit #HopeandHealingCanada, a live installation, using thousands of meters of red yarn, by Métis artist Tracey-Mae Chambers. Check it out at the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21.*

*Sponsored Post

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On The Coast

SPONSORED BY DOWNTOWN HALIFAX

Enjoy the Halifax Waterfront this Summer

The Halifax Waterfront is a bustling hotspot during the summer months.

Stroll the 4.4 km Harbourwalk from the Halifax Seaport to Casino Nova Scotia. Browse local shops, dine on a waterfront patio, chill on a hammock, or just enjoy the view of Georges Island and the Halifax Harbour.

For more ideas of what do to this summer in Downtown Halifax, click here.

In other news

🧑‍🌾 Flooding left New Caledonia Farm owner, Noah, without a place to sell his locally grown produce. Luckily, Springhouse Market Halifax is lending a helping hand and selling Caledonia Farm produce at 2290 Gottingen Street.

🔥 East Preston residents are raising concerns about tree trimming and the potential fire risk that comes with it.

😔 It’s been a good 70-year run but the iconic CJCB-TV television tower in Sydney is coming down. CTV has the story.

🦠 Experts are calling for an independent review of Canada’s pandemic response in order to better prepare for a similar future situation.

🧠 CBC spoke with grief counsellor Roy Ellis on the rise of climate disasters in the province and how these events affect our mental health.

🚨 The search for the man who went missing while tubing in Lunenburg’s Gold River has been called off. It’s believed the 31-year-old drifted into the ocean.

🎥 Have you spotted any camera crews around town? A new indie film, Monica’s News, is being shot in the HRM this summer.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Halifax film festival jumps on the rebrand wagon

It's been a busy few days for rebranding, with a struggling social media network changing its name on Sunday, followed by Halifax's major film fest following suit Wednesday. But unlike Elon Musk's dopey move—an X-tinction level event according to much of the Twitterverse—the Atlantic International Film Festival went in the right direction.

Rebranders of the world, take note: This is how it's done.