Facebook to begin laying cable through fishing grounds off Nova Scotia
CBC
Installation of a transatlantic submarine telecommunications cable for tech giant Facebook on the seabed off southern Nova Scotia is set to begin as soon as this week.
The Canadian portion of the route will take the cable through fishing grounds and the Fundian Channel, an area being considered for designation as a Marine Protected Area because of its deepsea corals and sponges.
Fishing groups in Nova Scotia say their feedback was ignored, including a suggested routing that would avoid key fishing grounds.
"The consultation here was largely non-existent," said Kris Vascotto with the Atlantic Groundfish Council, which represents large fishing companies in the region.
He said industry talks with project consultants started in August 2021 and ended after about one month.
"Then it was radio silence," said Vascotto. "We had anticipated that there would be further discussions, either with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans or with the proponent themselves, and that's why we were so surprised by the communication that we received late last week advising that a vessel was going to be coming into the area and that gear should be removed from the area to facilitate the laying of the cable."
He said the original routing has not changed.
Mariners have been warned to stay at least one nautical mile away from cable-laying vessels from mid-February through March.
The offshore supply boat Maersk Clipper will start the installation by clearing the route of ghost fishing gear and other debris on the bottom.
Fishermen are being told to remove gear within half a nautical mile on either side of the route.
The CS Decisive, a cable laying vessel, will lay the 3.8-centimetre-wide fibre optic cable, which will be buried in some places and left on the seabed in others.
Nokia subsidiary Alcatel Submarine Networks is in charge of the installation.
The project received Canadian government approval in December. That included a "letter of advice" from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans on the implementation of appropriate measures to avoid and mitigate harm to fish and fish habitat.
DFO refused to release the letter to CBC News or explain what it expects from the company.
A group of Halifax residents is asking the Nova Scotia Supreme Court to look at a provincial decision to greenlight a controversial Fall River development.
Parkside Drive is closed in both directions following reports of a sinkhole, Toronto police say.
The Quebec government will present its fall economic update today.
Aggressive patients and lack of security are making nurses feel unsafe in a rural Western Manitoba emergency union, says the Manitoba Nurses Union.
Saskatoon resident Delynne Bortis knew her commute to work Tuesday morning would be particularly difficult.
WARNING: This story contains details of abuse and intimate partner violence:
The amount of money it takes for people to earn a living wage has increased across the province, according to a new report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA).
The new owner of Ontario steelmaker Stelco says his company "will not disappoint the people of Hamilton and Nanticoke," where the business's major facilities are based.
A Winnipegger is warning others about an intricate scam she says she almost fell for.
Fort William First Nation is opposing a planned redevelopment of the Ontario Power Generation's (OPG) 117 year old Kakabeka Falls Generating Station, which is located in their traditional territory.
A building that sits at the corner of Sussex Street and Brunswick Avenue has had many lives over the last century — being a church, a school and offices. Now it's set to become housing, at a time when the city sorely needs it.