NEWS

1. Reporting

I woke up this morning and stared at a blank computer screen for a couple of hours before realizing I wasn’t getting much work done.

There’s been a whirlwind of significant life events among my journalism colleagues. Some are positive — one found a better paying job and moved on, another got married and took two weeks off. Some are not good — two have had health issues, one has a spouse with health issues.

My health is good.

I got my fall/winter COVID vaccine yesterday morning. It was as painless and simple as always (this was my fifth shot), and I went about my day as usual and even worked out yesterday evening, no problems. But boy howdy, in the later evening every joint in my body was sore, and then in the middle of the night there was a sharp pain at the site of the injection in my upper arm, such that I had to sleep on my other side. The joint soreness is mostly gone now, and I assume the arm will be fine later today. Just, I hadn’t experienced that before. (Wifi reception is great, tho.)

In the scheme of things, my post-vaccination soreness is nothing at all.

But as I wrote yesterday, I have some stresses related to the proposed publication ban, and ever since I’ve had a swarm of related emails and other correspondence to attend to, which is a good thing, but time- and energy-consuming.

All of which is to say, my mind is elsewhere, and in the interest of my continued good health and chipper demeanour, I’m not spending much effort on today’s Morning File. So sue me. No, wait, don’t sue me, that’s expensive.

It’s taken 40 years to learn that I can’t be at my best professionally unless I’m taking care of myself. But here we are.

Have a great weekend.

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2. Crayfish

“The Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) is exploring control and containment options after trapping more than 70 live red swamp crayfish in a Halifax area lake,” reports Yvette d’Entremont:

The invasive freshwater species is indigenous to the southern U.S. and eastern Mexico. Over the summer, DFO and Saint Mary’s University researchers trapped and removed 70 live red swamp crayfish from Three Mile Lake, located next to Windsor Junction. 

During a media presentation along the Cobequid Road shore of the lake on Thursday, DFO aquatic invasive species biologist Sarah Kingsbury told reporters this type of crayfish has “severe or potentially severe” impacts on ecosystems. It preys on fish eggs, competes with native species for available resources, space, and calcium in the water. It can also alter the physical habitat structure and impact other species through its burrowing.

Click or tap here to read “DFO: Red swamp crayfish trapped in Halifax area lake could have ‘severe’ impact on ecosystems.”

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3. Trades

“The population is growing in Nova Scotia and builders can’t keep up with the demand for housing. One of the reasons is the shortage of skilled tradespeople; we can’t produce enough carpenters, welders, electricians, bricklayers, and HVAC technicians fast enough,” reports Jennifer Henderson: 

A demand survey of construction companies and unions by the Nova Scotia Apprenticeship Agency showed the province will need 11,000 new certified tradespeople by 2030. That’s roughly 1,000 additional Red Seal professionals a year — a 38% increase over today’s workforce numbers. Premier Tim Houston said training for skilled tradespeople is taking too long.  

“Nova Scotia is a growing province, and we need even more skilled trades workers to build our homes, hospitals, roads, and other infrastructure projects important to Nova Scotians,” Houston said in an announcement on Thursday. 

“The way we are currently training these skilled professionals can’t keep up with the level of demand. That’s why I’m pleased to announce a plan to accelerate the growth of the skilled trades workforce.” 

The goal of what Houston calls a “bold” plan is to generate 5,000 new apprentices and 1,000 additional journeyman mentors in three years’ time. The government intends to spend $100 million to get there. Forty million dollars of that will provide a suite of incentives to support people while they spend three to four years getting the hours they need on-the-job to move through several levels of apprenticeship.  

Click or tap here to read “Nova Scotia to spend $100 million on recruitment, retention for skilled trades.”

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Government

Province

Legislature sits — 9am

On campus

Dalhousie

Thriving Futures 2023: Community Contributing to the World (Friday, 9am, Halifax Central Library) — program event is focused on enabling inclusive sustainable development at Dalhousie and connected communities to co-create positive micro impacts that can contribute and co-inspire thriving futures in our communities — more info

Pop Music Ensemble Noon Hour (Friday, 11:45am, Strug Concert Hall) — free performance by students from the Fountain School of Performing Arts

Theatre Masterclass (Friday, 1pm, Dalhousie Arts Centre, Studio 2) — Demystified Creation; A Fictional Self In partnership with Prismatic Arts Festival more info

2023 MacKay Lecture Series: Our Aesthetic Possibilities (Friday, 7pm, in the auditorium named after a bank, Marion McCain Arts and Social Sciences Building) — Canisia Lubrin, University of Johannesburg will talk

King’s

Universities Studying Slavery Conference – (Friday, all day) — more info 

Writing and Publishing Open House (Friday, 10:30am, Lower Level A&A, Room 261) — more info

Classics in the Quad (Friday, 5pm,King’s Library Steps) — King’s Theatrical Society performs the ancient Greek comedy Aristophanes’ The Birds more info

In the harbour

Halifax
07:15: One Falcon, container ship, sails from Pier 41 for New York
07:30: Silver Shadow, cruise ship with up to 466 passengers, arrives at Pier 23 from Charlottetown, on a 10-day cruise from Quebec City to New York
08:30: Don Pasquale, car carrier, arrives at Pier 9 from Göteborg, Sweden
08:30: Norwegian Escape, cruise ship with up to 5,218 passengers, arrives at Pier 22 from Saint John, on a seven-day cruise out of New York
08:30: NYK Meteor, container ship, arrives at Fairview Cove from Saint John
10:30: High Wind, oil tanker, sails from anchorage for sea
11:30: Don Pasquale moves to Autoport
14:00: SLNC Magothy, cargo ship, sails from Pier 9 for sea
15:30: CMA CGM Jules Verne, container ship (176,435 tonnes), arrives at Pier 41 from Tanger Med, Morocco
16:00: Silver Shadow sails for Portland
16:00: NYK Meteor sails for Southampton, England
16:45: Nolhanava, ro-ro cargo, sails from Pier 42 for Saint-Pierre
17:00: Oceanex Sanderling, ro-ro container, sails from Fairview Cove for St. John’s
19:00: Rossi A. Desgagnes, chemical tanker, sails from Irving Oil for sea
19:30: Norwegian Escape sails for New York
20:00: Don Pasquale sails for sea
Cruise ships this weekend:
Saturday: Europa 2 (516 passengers)
Sunday: MSC Meraviglia (5,386 passengers); Star Pride (343 passengers)

Cape Breton
17:00: Pearl Mist, cruise ship, transits through the causeway, en route from Pictou to parts unknown (to us)
Cruise ships this weekend:
Saturday: MSC Meraviglia (5,386 passengers); Star Pride (343 passengers)

Footnotes

Twitter is now a vehicle for the monetization of hate. This is always bad, but it’s worse in times of war, and it could be catastrophic as fascists prepare to take control of governments.