NS TRANSPORTATION LINKS ERODING - RAYMOND

Michèle Raymond
Monday September 1, 2008

Nova Scotia, as the first mainland point of North American landfall from Europe, has a long history as a trading economy. The province is nearly an island, and has offered harbour to sailing ships from around the world, as well as being famed in its own right as a cradle of shipping and shipbuilding.

Yet Nova Scotia’s links with the rest of the world are coming under
increasing threat in the past few months. The ferries at the southern end of the province have been operating on a more and more uncertain basis for several years now, making tourist operators and shippers of perishables like fresh fish and Chrismas trees less and less willing to rely on this link.

Last month, Air Canada announced the closure of its Halifax flight base (which is actually the airline’s only Atlantic Canadian flight base). This means that flight crews must now travel from Toronto or Montreal to begin their day’s work, if they are on a flight originating in Atlantic Canada. It will no longer be practical for the 150-plus personnel and their families to live here, and the much-praised Halifax airport will no longer have specifically Atlantic Canadian crews working on the flights which first welcome many Europeans to Canada.

This week, Air Canada announced it will cut back daily service to London, meaning travellers and perishable goods will both need to fly to other, more distant airports before heading for Europe. This will actually require more flying distance on many occasions.

Cuts to CN Rail service into Nova Scotia over preceding years have also jeopardized Maritime transport links, and the Port of Halifax is currently strugggling with troubled rail-sea links that see it operating at only 30% capacity. Some significant shippers have decided they can’t afford to have their goods sit in port waiting for freight connections to more central destinations, and have moved to other jurisdictions. Yet, at the same time, the Atlantic Gateway
initiative is proposing a new terminal on the Strait of Canso, marginally closer to the mouth of the Saint Lawrence seaway, but facing the same rail challenges, and requiring major construction on the access roads.

The provincial government has also given initial approval for the operation of so called train-trucks on some of our highways; these are effectively 18-wheelers pulling another full trailer behind them. Because of significant safety concerns, it will be more critical than ever to twin Highway 104 between Antigonish and Port Hawkesbury to allow these trucks to serve a possible Melford terminal.

Nova Scotia’s economy depends on its transportation links, and its position as the first landfall from Europe. In this day and age, as we try to minimize energy use and distance travelled, there’s no point sending flight crews to Toronto and back before they begin their day’s work. there’s no point sending travellers to central Canada before they can begin their voyage to Europe. There’s even less point in losing ferry connections from the southern end of
the province, or in sending goods to northern Nova Scotia, to shorten sea travel time while lengthening road time, and in watching freight (and passenger) rail links erode while putting more and more fuel-intensive and pavement-pounding vehicles onto NS highways.

The provincial government needs to work with its federal partners to ensure that one of Nova Scotia’s greatest assets, its accessibility, isn’t wasted or overlooked, to the peril of the provincial and national economy, and the global environment. It only makes sense.

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