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148-684: The Canadian National Institute for the Blind was incorporated on March 30, 1918, to provide food, clothing and sheltered residences for blind veterans returning from World War I as well as the 850 people blinded by the Halifax Explosion in 1917, the largest mass blinding in Canadian history. It began with 27 employees serving 1,521 people who were blind, primarily in Toronto, with two "home teachers" providing rehabilitation training in other parts of Canada. During

296-482: A 2.6-kilometre (1.6 mi) radius, over 12,000 in total, was destroyed or badly damaged. Hundreds of people who had been watching the fire from their homes were blinded when the blast wave shattered the windows in front of them. Overturned stoves and lamps started fires throughout Halifax, particularly in the North End , where entire city blocks burned, trapping residents inside their houses. Firefighter Billy Wells, who

444-606: A business, it is hindered by the fact that it was created by an Order in Council and not from legislation passed by Parliament . Had Via been enabled by legislation, the company would be permitted to seek funding on the open money markets as other Crown corporations such as CN have done in the past. It is largely for this reason that critics say Via—like Amtrak in the United States—is vulnerable to federal budget cuts and continues to answer first to its political masters, as opposed to

592-571: A card good for 5 years. Regardless of their participation in the program, some theaters will still accept the CNIB ID card. Halifax Explosion On the morning of 6 December 1917, the French cargo ship SS  Mont-Blanc collided with the Norwegian vessel SS  Imo in the harbour of Halifax, Nova Scotia , Canada. Mont-Blanc , laden with high explosives , caught fire and exploded, devastating

740-512: A connection to a second Via train had been missed. As such, compensation costs were factored into Via's 2018 budget. By the end of 2018, the full route time on the Canadian had been increased twice to absorb freight delays. The second extension – to five days – has been mostly successful in decreasing delays, and also allowed for a daytime transit of Hells Gate in BC, previously transversed overnight in

888-500: A contract since 31 December 2006. Full service resumed on 27 July. An additional strike by the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) union, representing around 2,200 employees, was planned to begin on 4 July 2010, but was called off after the union and Via reached a three-year contract. Via experienced more service cuts at the dawn of the 2010s. In March 2011, the daily Victoria–Courtenay The Malahat RDC service on Vancouver Island

1036-589: A fleet of unused passenger cars which had been built for planned Nightstar sleeper services between locations in the United Kingdom and Continental Europe via the Channel Tunnel were purchased and adapted following the cancellation of the Nightstar project. The new " Renaissance " cars were swiftly nicknamed déplaisance ("displeasure") by French-speaking employees and customers, due to early problems adapting

1184-537: A half-hour later. The American steamship Old Colony , docked in Halifax for repairs, suffered little damage and was quickly converted to serve as a hospital ship, staffed by doctors and orderlies from the British and American navy vessels in the harbour. Dazed survivors immediately feared that the explosion was the result of a bomb dropped from a German plane. Troops at gun batteries and barracks immediately turned out in case

1332-576: A handful of LRC locomotives remained in service which were subsequently retired by the arrival of the GE Genesis locomotives in 2001). The election of Brian Mulroney 's Progressive Conservative government in 1984 brought an initial friend to Via, when several of Mulroney's commitments included rescinding the Via cuts of 1981 by restoring the Super Continental (under pressure from his western caucus), and

1480-426: A line to the French ship's stern so as to pull it away from the pier to avoid setting it on fire. The five-inch (125 mm) hawser initially produced was deemed too small and orders for a ten-inch (250 mm) hawser came down. It was at this point that the blast occurred. At 9:04:35 am the out-of-control fire on board Mont-Blanc set off her cargo of high explosives. The ship was completely blown apart and

1628-479: A local CNIB office, within the community, over the phone, online, or in an individual's home. It also offers advocacy support for resources focusing on social issues, such as concessions, housing, finances, and leisure pursuits. Self-help groups are facilitated by staff and volunteers who may be blind or partially sighted. CNIB provides functional assessments of visual abilities, instruction on how to maximize residual vision, and, as required, information and training in

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1776-404: A minimal service through the 1970s, with the government subsidizing up to 80 percent of losses. CN, being a Crown corporation at that time, was encouraged by the federal government and political interests to invest in passenger trains. Innovative marketing schemes such as Red, White, and Blue fares, new equipment such as scenic dome cars and rail diesel cars , and services such as Rapido and

1924-413: A negative COVID test was also considered an alternate to show proof of vaccine prior to boarding. On March 9, 2022, Minister of Transport Omar Alghabra announced that the federal government would seek private proposals for operation of the proposed High Frequency Rail corridor. Labour union Unifor criticized this move, calling it a first step toward eventual privatization of Via Rail, and launched

2072-542: A passenger train again in his life. The Mulroney cuts allowed Via to consolidate its fleet of cars and locomotives, resulting in a fleet of refurbished stainless steel ( HEP -1 and HEP-2 rebuilds) and LRC cars, as well as rationalizing its locomotive fleet with GM and Bombardier (LRC) units. Via was not spared from further cutbacks in Jean Chrétien 's Liberal government elected in 1993. Minister of Finance Paul Martin 's first budget in 1994 saw further Via cuts which saw

2220-702: A person with vision loss. The escort or attendant travels free in the same class of service. Passengers wishing to travel with an escort must be eligible for a CNIB ID Card and have the card in hand when purchasing a train ticket. Some bus operators offer two-for-one fares, wherein a guide can travel free when accompanying a blind or visually impaired person. The discount applies to travel with Société de transport de la Rive-Sud (STRSM), Corporation métropolitaine des transports de Sherbrooke (CMTS), RÉgie de transport en commum de Shawinigan (RTCS), Corporation inter-municipale de transport des Forges (CITF) and Société de transport du Saguenay (STS) People with vision loss should contact

2368-427: A powerful blast wave radiated away from the explosion initially at more than 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) per second. Temperatures of 5,000 °C (9,000 °F) and pressures of thousands of atmospheres accompanied the moment of detonation at the centre of the explosion. White-hot shards of iron fell down upon Halifax and Dartmouth. A cloud of white smoke rose to at least 3,600 metres (11,800 ft). The blast

2516-490: A preliminary hearing heard by Stipendiary Magistrate Richard A. McLeod, and bound over for trial. A Nova Scotia Supreme Court justice, Benjamin Russell , found there was no evidence to support these charges. Mackey was discharged on a writ of habeas corpus and the charges dropped. Because the pilot and the captain were arrested on the same warrant, the charges against Le Médec were also dismissed. Commander Wyatt, charged on

2664-462: A racially segregated building under generally poor conditions and most were eventually dispersed around Nova Scotia. The Black community of Africville , on the southern shores of Bedford Basin adjacent to the Halifax Peninsula , was spared the direct force of the blast by the shadow effect of the raised ground to the south. However, Africville's small and frail homes were heavily damaged by

2812-540: A rescue party ashore. Out at sea, the American cruiser USS Tacoma and armed merchant cruiser USS Von Steuben (formerly SS Kronprinz Wilhelm ) were passing Halifax en route to the United States. Tacoma was rocked so severely by the blast wave that her crew went to general quarters . Spotting the large and rising column of smoke, Tacoma altered course and arrived to assist rescue at 2 pm. Von Steuben arrived

2960-462: A response to delays faced by sharing tracks with freight trains. The plan opts for a dedicated track between Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, and Quebec City, offering more frequent trains (although running at conventional speeds). In Ontario, Via would run a new rail line on currently underused tracks from Toronto to Ottawa through Peterborough instead of Kingston. In Quebec, corridor trains would travel from Montreal to Quebec City through Trois-Rivières on

3108-694: A result of the freight train crew missing a signal light, resulting in 23 deaths. By the late 1980s, inflation and other rising costs were taking their toll on federal budgets and in the Mulroney government's 1989 budget , Via again saw its budget slashed by $ 1 billion, surpassing even the 1981 cuts under Trudeau. Minister of Transport Benoît Bouchard oversaw the reduction in service on 15 January 1990, when Via's operations were reduced by 55 percent. The privatization of CN rail in 1995 also negatively affected service as it resulted in an effective monopoly, with Via trains having to yield to CN trains. Services such as

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3256-644: A sailor and began to flee. Coleman remembered that an incoming passenger train from Saint John, New Brunswick , was due to arrive at the railyard within minutes. He returned to his post alone and continued to send out urgent telegraph messages to stop the train. Several variations of the message have been reported, among them this from the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic : "Hold up the train. Ammunition ship afire in harbor making for Pier 6 and will explode. Guess this will be my last message. Good-bye boys." Coleman's message

3404-466: A separate warrant, was the only one of the three who was indicted. On 17 April 1918, a jury acquitted Wyatt in a trial that lasted less than a day. Drysdale oversaw the first civil litigation trial, in which the owners of the two ships sought damages from each other. His decision (27 April 1918) found Mont-Blanc entirely at fault. Subsequent appeals to the Supreme Court of Canada (19 May 1919), and

3552-590: A series of health reforms, including around public sanitation and maternity care . Via Rail Via Rail Canada Inc. ( reporting mark VIA ) ( / ˈ v iː ə / ), operating as Via Rail or Via (stylized as VIA Rail ), is a Canadian national transportation agency. It is a Crown corporation that operates intercity passenger rail service in Canada. As of December 2023, Via Rail operates 406 trains per week across eight Canadian provinces and 12,500 kilometres (7,800 mi) of track, 97 percent of which

3700-543: A short blast of his ship's signal whistle to indicate that he had the right of way but was met with two short blasts from Imo , indicating that the approaching vessel would not yield its position. The captain ordered Mont-Blanc to halt her engines and angle slightly to starboard, closer to the Dartmouth side of the Narrows. He let out another single blast of his whistle, hoping the other vessel would likewise move to starboard but

3848-428: A significant concern for maintaining on-time service. This issue arose due to typical siding sizes, which were not long enough to accommodate modern freight trains. Passenger trains were consequently placed on sidings whenever two trains passed (rather than freights), which meant that passenger trains did not have priority on CN lines. The issue existed in all parts of the Via network, although it became most extreme on

3996-694: A significant investment in the Voyageur Colonial Bus Lines , an intercity bus line in Quebec and eastern Ontario that was a key competitor of Via. Routes cut under the Martin government included the seasonal Bras d'Or tourist train, which ran for the last time in September 2004, and the Montreal-Toronto overnight Enterprise , which was discontinued in September 2005. The Sarnia-Chicago International

4144-495: A slow convoy gathering in Bedford Basin readying to depart for Europe but was too late to enter the harbour before the nets were raised. Ships carrying dangerous cargo were not allowed into the harbour before the war, but the risks posed by German submarines had resulted in a relaxation of regulations. Navigating into or out of Bedford Basin required passage through a strait called the Narrows. Ships were expected to keep close to

4292-545: A special unit to clear and repair railway yards as well as rebuild railway piers and the Naval Dockyard. Most piers returned to operation by late December and were repaired by January. The North End Halifax neighbourhood of Richmond bore the brunt of the explosion. In 1917, Richmond was considered a working-class neighbourhood and had few paved roads. After the explosion, the Halifax Relief Commission approached

4440-413: A tree-lined, paved boulevard. They specified that the homes be built with a new and innovative fireproof material, blocks of compressed cement called Hydrostone. The first of these homes was occupied by March 1919, just a few months before Prince Edward, Prince of Wales , visited the site on 17 August, touring many of the houses and hearing stories about the impacts of the tragedy and "of the kindness of

4588-420: A tremendous variety of equipment — much of it in need of replacement — and operated routes stretching from Sydney, Nova Scotia to Prince Rupert, British Columbia and north to Churchill, Manitoba . Over 150 scheduled trains per week were in operation, including transcontinental services, regional trains, and corridor services. While Via remains an independent federal Crown corporation mandated to operate as

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4736-456: A weekly tourist train, the Bras d'Or , returned Via service to Cape Breton Island for the first time since the 1990 cuts, and a commitment was made to continue operating on Vancouver Island , but western Canada continued to languish with the only service provided by the Canadian and a few remote service trains in northern BC and Manitoba. In a significant new funding program dubbed "Renaissance",

4884-678: Is owned and maintained by other railway companies, mostly by Canadian National Railway (CN). Via Rail carried approximately 4.1 million passengers in 2023, 96 percent of which were along the Corridor routes connecting the major cities of the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor , and had an on-time performance of 85.4 per cent. Attracting international tourism forms an important part of Via Rail's long distance trans-continental services. Yearly passenger levels on Canada's passenger trains peaked at 60 million during World War II . Following

5032-595: Is unknown as the Department of Indian Affairs and census records for the community were incomplete. Nine bodies were recovered from Turtle Grove and there were eleven known survivors. The Halifax Remembrance Book lists 16 members of the Tufts Cove Community as dead; not all the dead listed as in Tufts Cove were Indigenous. The Turtle Grove settlement was not rebuilt in the wake of the disaster. Survivors were housed in

5180-485: The Atlantic (under pressure from his eastern caucus and then- Saint John mayor Elsie Wayne ). Prime Minister Mulroney's government gave Via funding to refurbish some of its cars, and purchase new locomotives, this time a more reliable model from General Motors diesel division. It was during this time on 8 February 1986, that Via's eastbound Super Continental collided with a CN freight train near Hinton, Alberta , as

5328-586: The Super Continental were again discontinued, along with numerous disparate rural services such as in Nova Scotia 's Annapolis Valley and Cape Breton Island , western Canada , and in the corridor. The Canadian was also moved from its home rails on CP to the northerly CN route (previously plied by the Super Continental ). The shift to the less populated route between Toronto and Vancouver severed major western cities such as Regina and Calgary from

5476-594: The Atlantic 's service were Sherbrooke , Quebec, and Saint John, New Brunswick , where the only two Progressive Conservative Party Members of Parliament in Canada were elected in the 1993 federal election in which Chrétien's Liberal Party took power. The Ocean service which was preserved currently operates on track between Montreal and Halifax running through the lower St. Lawrence River valley and northern New Brunswick. The Minister of Transport in Chrétien's government at

5624-602: The Auditor-General of Canada , under the Financial Administration Act . As a federal Crown corporation , Via Rail Canada Inc. operates under the Canada Business Corporations Act and is subject to income taxes, should a profit ever be declared by it. The corporation had $ 9,300,000 in share capital as of 2018. Via also received $ 394.4 million of government funding in 2018. Via has explored

5772-472: The Canadian , where delays increased from an average of five hours to as much as 50 over the four-day journey. Via ultimately addressed the issue by eliminating its late policy on its cross-Canada trains but retaining it for the Corridor routes. However, Via continues to compensate inconvenienced guests with necessary hotel accommodations prior to the journey, as well as ensuring continued transportation where

5920-600: The First World War , the Canadian government began a determined, costly effort to develop the harbour and waterfront facilities. The outbreak of the war brought Halifax back to prominence. As the Royal Canadian Navy had virtually no seaworthy ships of its own, the Royal Navy assumed responsibility for maintaining Atlantic trade routes by re-adopting Halifax as its North American base of operations. In 1915, management of

6068-617: The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London (22 March 1920), determined Mont-Blanc and Imo were equally to blame for navigational errors that led to the collision. No party was ever convicted for any crime or otherwise successfully prosecuted for any actions that precipitated the disaster. Efforts began shortly after the explosion to clear debris, repair buildings, and establish temporary housing for survivors left homeless by

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6216-634: The Oland Brewery and parts of the Starr Manufacturing Company. Nova Scotia Hospital was the only hospital in Dartmouth and many of the victims were treated there. There were small enclaves of Mi'kmaq in and around the coves of Bedford Basin on the Dartmouth shore. Directly opposite to Pier 9 on the Halifax side sat a community in Tufts Cove which included the Mi'kmaq community of Turtle Grove. In

6364-647: The Richmond district of Halifax. At least 1,782 people were killed, largely in Halifax and Dartmouth , by the blast, debris, fires, or collapsed buildings, and an estimated 9,000 others were injured. The blast was the largest human-made explosion at the time. It released the equivalent energy of roughly 2.9 kilotons of TNT (12  TJ ). Mont-Blanc was under orders from the French government to carry her cargo from New York City via Halifax to Bordeaux , France. At roughly 8:45 am, she collided at low speed, approximately one knot (1.2 mph or 1.9 km/h), with

6512-476: The Tufts Cove area for generations. Relief efforts began almost immediately, and hospitals quickly became full. Rescue trains began arriving the day of the explosion from across Nova Scotia and New Brunswick while other trains from central Canada and the Northeastern United States were impeded by blizzards. Construction of temporary shelters to house the many people left homeless began soon after

6660-519: The UAC TurboTrain trains temporarily increased numbers of passengers, reversing previous declines. These increases proved temporary; by 1977, total passenger numbers had dropped below five million. The decline of passenger rail became a federal election issue in 1974 when the government of Pierre Trudeau promised to implement a nationwide carrier similar to Amtrak in the United States. Starting in 1976, CN began branding its passenger services with

6808-463: The side of the channel situated on their starboard ("right"), and pass oncoming vessels "port to port", that is to keep them on their "left" side. Ships were restricted to a speed of 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph) within the harbour. Imo was granted clearance to leave Bedford Basin by signals from the guard ship HMCS Acadia at approximately 7:30 on the morning of 6   December, with Pilot William Hayes on board. The ship entered

6956-490: The 1920s, CNIB operated a job placement program with limited success, also creating jobs through its own factories, broom shops and concession stands. The organization also appointed a special nurse responsible for vision health and sight preservation. In 1923, a Dominion Charter was obtained to establish a Home Nursery Hospital and Kindergarten for the Blind under 6 years of age in Ottawa. Mothers of blind babies from any Province in

7104-425: The 1950s, CNIB was serving more than 17,000 clients, with offices, vocational centres and residences in major Canadian cities. A formalized research program into prevention was also prioritized. Steps were taken towards advocacy with the 1930 Blind Voters Act, allowing a person who is blind to vote with the assistance of a sighted person, and legislation around mandatory eye drops to prevent disease in newborns. In 1956,

7252-588: The Acadia Sugar Refinery, disappeared into unrecognizable heaps of rubble, killing most of their workers. The Nova Scotia cotton mill located 1.5 km (0.93 mile) from the blast was destroyed by fire and the collapse of its concrete floors. The Royal Naval College of Canada building was badly damaged, and several cadets and instructors maimed. The Richmond Railway Yards and station were destroyed, killing 55 railway workers and destroying and damaging over 500 railway cars. The North Street Station , one of

7400-476: The Auditor General's report was the fact that Via was used as one of several federal government departments, agencies, and Crown corporations to funnel these illicit funds. Forced to act on the Auditor General's report due to its political implications, Martin's government suspended Via President Marc LeFrançois on 24 February 2004, giving him an ultimatum of several days to defend himself against allegations in

7548-513: The Blind , Halifax became internationally known as a centre for care for the blind", according to Dalhousie University professor Victoria Allen. The lack of coordinated pediatric care in such a disaster was noted by William Ladd , a surgeon from Boston who had arrived to help. His insights from the explosion are generally credited with inspiring him to pioneer the specialty of pediatric surgery in North America. The Halifax Explosion inspired

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7696-507: The CNIB Library, each with a volunteer board. The chair of each division board sits on a Council of Chairs in order to provide input and advice to CNIB's president and CEO. A number of businesses and government services offer discounted rates for those who are blind or visually impaired upon presentation of a CNIB identification card. The card is offered exclusively to Canadians who are legally blind and registered at CNIB, with 20/200 vision in

7844-595: The Dominion, were encouraged to place their charges in the Canadian Blind Babies Home Association for proper care and education c.  1918 –1939. It was to be similar to "Sunshine Home," at Chorley Wood , England, which was then "the only home in the Empire for Blind babies." After the founder, Mrs. Margaret Dean, died, it went out of existence and the subscription funds were reallocated to CNIB. By

7992-528: The Get Canada Back on Track campaign to raise awareness and call for "a legislative framework that protects public, accessible, safe passenger rail and directs immediate public investments" to service improvements. In addition to using commercial logos, Via Rail is one of several Crown corporations that has been granted heraldic symbols by the Canadian Heraldic Authority . The coat of arms

8140-546: The Halifax Explosion was the standard by which all large blasts were measured. For instance, in its report on the atomic bombing of Hiroshima , Time wrote that the explosive power of the Little Boy bomb was seven times that of the Halifax Explosion. The many eye injuries resulting from the disaster led to better understanding of how to care for damaged eyes, and "with the recently formed Canadian National Institute for

8288-509: The Halifax dockyard required some degree of rebuilding, as did HMCS Niobe and the docks themselves; all of the Royal Canadian Navy's minesweepers and patrol boats were undamaged. Prime Minister Robert Borden pledged that the government would be "co-operating in every way to reconstruct the Port of Halifax: this was of utmost importance to the Empire". Captain Symington of USS Tacoma speculated that

8436-412: The Narrows well above the harbour's speed limit in an attempt to make up for the delay experienced in loading her coal. Imo met American tramp steamer SS Clara being piloted up the wrong (western) side of the harbour. The pilots agreed to pass starboard-to-starboard. Soon afterwards, Imo was forced to head even further towards the Dartmouth shore after passing the tugboat Stella Maris , which

8584-486: The Netherlands en route to New York to take on relief supplies for Belgium, under the command of Haakon From. The ship arrived in Halifax on 3 December for neutral inspection and spent two days in Bedford Basin awaiting refuelling supplies. Though she had been given clearance to leave the port on 5 December, Imo ' s departure was delayed because her coal load did not arrive until late that afternoon. The loading of fuel

8732-444: The No. 1 hold of Mont Blanc , on her starboard side. The collision occurred at 8:45 am. The damage to Mont Blanc was not severe, but barrels of deck cargo toppled and broke open. This flooded the deck with benzol that quickly flowed into the hold. As Imo ' s engines kicked in, she disengaged, which created sparks inside Mont-Blanc ' s hull. These ignited the vapours from

8880-535: The Royal Canadian Navy. The convoys departed under the protection of British cruisers and destroyers . A large army garrison protected the city with forts, gun batteries , and anti-submarine nets. These factors drove a major military, industrial, and residential expansion of the city, and the weight of goods passing through the harbour increased nearly ninefold. All neutral ships bound for ports in North America were required to report to Halifax for inspection. The Norwegian ship SS  Imo had sailed from

9028-545: The ability to deliver in a timely fashion, the quality of the product offering, and the price. The new fleet will consist of Siemens SC-42 locomotives hauling a combination of coaches, business-class cars, and cab cars from the Siemens Venture series to allow bi-directional operation. The trains will be built at Siemens plant in Sacramento, California , and Siemens committed to including at least 20 percent Canadian content in

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9176-476: The ammunition magazine at Wellington Barracks as naval personnel extinguished a fire by the magazine. The fire was quickly put out; the cloud was seen from blocks away and quickly led to rumours that another explosion was imminent. Uniformed officers ordered everyone away from the area. As the rumour spread across the city, many families fled their homes. The confusion hampered efforts for over two hours until fears were dispelled by about noon. Many rescuers ignored

9324-517: The availability, selection, use, and purchase of devices for individual needs. The Centre for Equitable Library Access, formed in April 2014, has replaced the CNIB Library. CNIB employs approximately 1,100 professionals, working in the fields of life-skills training, library services, research, advocacy, public education, accessible design consulting, fundraising and administration. CNIB also receives support from over 10,000 volunteers working in all regions of

9472-480: The barges and steaming back towards Pier 6 to spray the burning ship with their fire hose. The tug's captain, Horatio H. Brannen, and his crew realized that the fire was too intense for their single hose and backed off from the burning Mont Blanc . They were approached by a whaler from HMS Highflyer and later a steam pinnace belonging to HMCS Niobe . Captain Brannen and Albert Mattison of Niobe agreed to secure

9620-444: The benzol. A fire started at the water line and travelled quickly up the side of the ship. Surrounded by thick black smoke, and fearing she would explode almost immediately, the captain ordered the crew to abandon ship. A growing number of Halifax citizens gathered on the street or stood at the windows of their homes or businesses to watch the spectacular fire. The frantic crew of Mont-Blanc shouted from their two lifeboats to some of

9768-592: The best eye with correction or a visual field of 20 degrees or less. The One Person, One Fare Policy has been in effect since January 10, 2009 and pertains only to domestic flights on Air Canada and WestJet. This policy provides an extra seat to people meeting certain requirements who need a personal attendant on their flight. Attendants are charged the taxes and fees applicable to their flight. A CNIB card does not automatically qualify you with these airlines as each airline has their own process to provide accommodations. Via Rail offers free travel to one escort accompanying

9916-538: The bilingual name Via or Via CN. The Via logo began to appear on CN passenger locomotives and cars, while still carrying CN logos as well. That September, Via published a single timetable with information on both CN and CP trains, marking the first time that Canadians could find all major passenger trains in one publication. In 1977, CN underwent a dramatic restructuring when it placed various non-core freight railway activities into separate subsidiaries, such as ferries under CN Marine , and passenger trains under Via Rail which

10064-480: The blast, tsunami, and collapse of buildings. The last body, a caretaker killed at the Exhibition Grounds, was not recovered until summer 1919. An additional 9,000 were injured. 1,630 homes were destroyed in the explosion and fires, and another 12,000 damaged; roughly 6,000 people were left homeless and 25,000 had insufficient shelter. The city's industrial sector was in large part gone, with many workers among

10212-404: The bow of Imo in a last-second bid to avoid a collision. The two ships were almost parallel to each other, when Imo suddenly sent out three signal blasts, indicating the ship was reversing its engines. The combination of the cargoless ship's height in the water and the transverse thrust of her right-hand propeller caused the ship's head to swing into Mont-Blanc . Imo ' s prow pushed into

10360-424: The bus carrier about discounted fares as it varies from province to province. Discounts are available on the cost of admission for select cultural events upon presentation of a CNIB ID card. Most major movie theatres take part in a program run by Easter Seals in Canada called Access2Entertainment . The program requires CNIB members to pay an administration fee of $ 20, which goes to Easter Seals, in order to receive

10508-401: The busiest in Canada, was badly damaged. The death toll could have been worse had it not been for the self-sacrifice of an Intercolonial Railway dispatcher, Patrick Vincent (Vince) Coleman , operating at the railyard about 230 metres (750 ft) from Pier 6, where the explosion occurred. He and his co-worker, William Lovett, learned of the dangerous cargo aboard the burning Mont-Blanc from

10656-424: The business decisions needed to ensure the viability of intercity passenger rail service. In 1981, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau 's government endorsed Minister of Transport Jean-Luc Pépin 's plan which slashed Via's budget, leading to a 40 percent reduction in the company's operations. Frequently sold-out trains such as the Super Continental and the popular Atlantic were discontinued. The retrenchment of

10804-583: The casualties and the dockyard heavily damaged. A mortuary committee chaired by Alderman R. B. Coldwell was quickly formed at Halifax City Hall on the morning of the disaster. The Chebucto Road School (now the Maritime Conservatory of Performing Arts ) in Halifax's west end was chosen as a central morgue. A company of the Royal Canadian Engineers (RCE) repaired and converted the basement of

10952-513: The city was under attack, but within an hour switched from defence to rescue roles as the cause and location of the explosion were determined. All available troops were called in from harbour fortifications and barracks to the North End to rescue survivors and provide transport to the city's hospitals, including the two army hospitals in the city. Adding to the chaos were fears of a potential second explosion. A cloud of steam shot out of ventilators at

11100-448: The city's downtown station as far as Windsor Junction . However, in June 2019, Halifax regional council voted unanimously to direct staff "not to pursue commuter rail service further ... due to infrastructure requirements and associated financial implications, as well as operational considerations and restraints". Via developed a $ 4.4 billion high-frequency rail (HFR) service plan as

11248-413: The city's hospitals, which were quickly overwhelmed. The new military hospital, Camp Hill, admitted approximately 1,400 victims on 6 December. Firefighters were among the first to respond to the disaster, rushing to Mont-Blanc to attempt to extinguish the blaze before the explosion even occurred. They also played a role after the blast, with fire companies arriving to assist from across Halifax, and by

11396-411: The community of Richmond, were obliterated. A pressure wave snapped trees, bent iron rails, demolished buildings, grounded vessels (including Imo , which was washed ashore by the ensuing tsunami ), and scattered fragments of Mont-Blanc for kilometres. Across the harbour, in Dartmouth, there was also widespread damage. A tsunami created by the blast wiped out a community of Mi'kmaq who had lived in

11544-439: The community. Previously, the organization operated a library that includes more than 80,000 accessible materials in formats such as braille , audio, DAISY , and e-text. Assistive technology services included accessible audio book players, video magnifiers, computer screen readers, and other tools for persons with vision loss. Specialists provided instruction through demonstration, assessment, training, and technical support about

11692-521: The corridor, and re-allocate the HEP2 and corridor-based HEP1 cars to other parts of the network. On October 30, 2021, Via Rail implemented a mandatory COVID-19 vaccine policy in line with new Transport Canada regulations in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which required all Via Rail staff and passengers aged 12 and older to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to travel aboard Via Rail trains. Until November 30

11840-531: The country. The organization consists of a national office at the CNIB Centre in Toronto and eight provincial and territorial divisions. They are governed by a volunteer board of directors, selected from across Canada, including representatives from the corporate, medical and government sectors, as well as individuals affected by vision loss. There are eight operating divisions, plus the Lake Joseph Centre and

11988-495: The creation of Via Rail included those offered by BC Rail , Algoma Central Railway , Ontario Northland Railway , Quebec North Shore & Labrador Railway , various urban commuter train services operated by CN and CP, and remaining CN passenger services in Newfoundland . At this time, Via did not own any trackage and had to pay right-of-way fees to CN and CP, sometimes being the only user of rural branch lines. Via initially had

12136-408: The dark. The scheduled increased running time actually resulted in the Canadian arriving early on several occasions. However, Toronto–Vancouver service frequencies were reduced to only twice weekly during peak summer period, with a third Toronto–Edmonton run suspended entirely. [clear] On 12 December 2018, Via announced that it had awarded a contract to Siemens Canada for 32 train sets to replace

12284-522: The disaster. The initial judicial inquiry found Mont-Blanc to have been responsible for the disaster, but a later appeal determined that both vessels were to blame. The North End of Halifax has several memorials to the victims of the explosion. Dartmouth lies on the east shore of Halifax Harbour , and Halifax is on the west shore. By 1917, "Halifax's inner harbour had become a principal assembly point for merchant convoys leaving for Britain and France." Halifax and Dartmouth had thrived during times of war;

12432-400: The end of the day from as far away as Amherst, Nova Scotia , (200 kilometres or 120 miles) and Moncton, New Brunswick , (260 kilometres or 160 miles) on relief trains. Halifax Fire Department 's West Street Station 2 was the first to arrive at Pier 6 with the crew of Patricia , the first motorized fire engine in Canada. In the final moments before the explosion, hoses were being unrolled as

12580-426: The entire Quebec City-Windsor Corridor fleet. This marked the completion of a procurement process launched following the 2018 federal budget, which allocated funding for the fleet replacement. During the request-for-proposals stage, Via had narrowed the potential suppliers down to Siemens, Bombardier , Talgo and Stadler Rail . Siemens was ultimately selected after finishing first on the key criteria, which included

12728-798: The equipment for Canadian use. Doors and toilets froze in cold Atlantic Canada temperatures, resulting in delays and service interruptions. New diesel-electric P42DC locomotives purchased from General Electric (GE) allowed the withdrawal of older locomotives, including remaining LRCs. LRC passenger cars were retained and continued to provide much of the Corridor service. This expansion to Via's fleet has permitted scheduling flexibility. Additionally, many passenger stations have been remodelled into passenger-friendly destinations, with several hosting co-located transit and regional bus hubs for various municipalities. On 24 October 2003, federal Minister of Transport David Collenette announced $ 700 million in new funding over

12876-406: The evacuation, and naval rescue parties continued working uninterrupted at the harbour. Surviving railway workers in the railyards at the heart of the disaster carried out rescue work, pulling people from the harbour and from under debris. The overnight train from Saint John was just approaching the city when hit by the blast but was only slightly damaged. It continued into Richmond until the track

13024-471: The explosion, it was reported to the military police that he had been behaving suspiciously. Johansen was arrested on suspicions of being a German spy when a search turned up a letter on his person, supposedly written in German. It turned out that the letter was actually written in Norwegian. Immediately following the explosion, most of the German survivors in Halifax had been rounded up and imprisoned. Eventually

13172-429: The explosion. Families recorded the deaths of five residents. A combination of persistent racism and a growing conviction that Africville should be demolished to make way for industrial development resulted in the people of Africville receiving no police or fire protection; they had to make do without water mains and sewer lines, despite paying city taxes. Africville received little of the donated relief funds and none of

13320-613: The explosion. By late January 1918, around 5,000 were still without shelter. A reconstruction committee under Colonel Robert Low constructed 832 new housing units, which were furnished by the Massachusetts-Halifax Relief Fund. Partial train service resumed from a temporary rail terminal in the city's South End on 7 December. Full service resumed on 9 December when tracks were cleared and the North Street Station reopened. The Canadian Government Railways created

13468-568: The fear dissipated as the real cause of the explosion became known, although rumours of German involvement persisted. A judicial inquiry known as the Wreck Commissioner's Inquiry was formed to investigate the causes of the collision. Proceedings began at the Halifax Court House on 13 December 1917, presided over by Justice Arthur Drysdale . The inquiry's report of 4 February 1918 blamed Mont-Blanc ' s captain , Aimé Le Médec,

13616-412: The final product. The order includes an option for an additional 16 train sets to be exercised if the federal government approves Via's high-frequency dedicated-corridor project. The first train set is to be delivered for testing by winter 2021, with the first sets in service by 2022 and all trains in service by 2024. The delivery of the new trains will allow Via to retire LRC and Renaissance equipment from

13764-557: The fire spread to the docks. Nine members of the Halifax Fire Department lost their lives performing their duty that day. Royal Navy cruisers in port sent some of the first organized rescue parties ashore. HMS Highflyer , along with the armed merchant cruisers HMS Changuinola , HMS Knight Templar and HMS Calgarian , sent boats ashore with rescue parties and medical personnel and soon began to take wounded aboard. A US Coast Guard cutter, USRC  Morrill , also sent

13912-524: The former reduced Via to operating only one transcontinental train, The Canadian . Via also sought to reduce its reliance on over 30-year-old second-hand equipment and placed a significant order with Bombardier Transportation for new high-speed locomotives and cars which would be used in its corridor trains. The LRC (Light, Rapid, Comfortable) locomotives and cars used advanced technology such as active tilt to increase speed, but proved troublesome and took several years to work out problems (by 1990 only

14060-582: The harbour fell under the control of the Royal Canadian Navy; by 1917 there was a growing naval fleet in Halifax, including patrol ships , tugboats , and minesweepers . The population of Halifax/Dartmouth had increased to between 60,000 and 65,000 people by 1917. Convoys carried men, animals, and supplies to the European theatre of war . The two main points of departure were in Nova Scotia at Sydney , on Cape Breton Island , and Halifax. Hospital ships brought

14208-770: The harbour was one of the British Royal Navy 's most important bases in North America, a centre for wartime trade, and a home to privateers who harried the British Empire's enemies during the American Revolution , the Napoleonic Wars , and the War of 1812 . The completion of the Intercolonial Railway and its Deep Water Terminal in 1880 allowed for increased steamship trade and led to accelerated development of

14356-584: The high-water mark on the Halifax side of the harbour. Imo was carried onto the shore at Dartmouth by the tsunami. The blast killed all but one on the whaler, everyone on the pinnace and 21 of the 26 men on Stella Maris ; she ended up on the Dartmouth shore, severely damaged. The captain's son, First Mate Walter Brannen, who had been thrown into the hold by the blast, survived, as did four others. All but one of Mont-Blanc' s crew members survived. Over 1,600 people were killed instantly and 9,000 were injured, more than 300 of whom later died. Every building within

14504-494: The introduction of daily regional service in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick (connecting Halifax , Moncton , and Campbellton ) to complement the thrice-weekly Ocean service to Montreal. As of 2017, Via's statement was that it was "exploring an eastern intercity corridor service" and that further developments were dependent on infrastructure upgrades and equipment testing. Via has also expressed interest in operating commuter rail service on CN tracks in Halifax that would run from

14652-507: The month of July 2017 (corresponding to Canada's sesquicentennial celebrations) for youth aged 18–25, costing $ 150 (several hundred dollars cheaper than a comparable rail pass would typically cost). A larger than expected response resulted in the temporary loss of functionality for Via's website. Despite plans to cap the number of passes sold at 1867 (the year of Canadian Confederation ), over 4,000 passes were ultimately sold. The company received significant backlash, as it initially appeared there

14800-581: The network. This announcement was similar in content to the previous "Renaissance II" package, and once again was criticized for not including new equipment or funding for services outside the Windsor-Quebec City Corridor. Shortly afterwards, documents obtained by the Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act revealed that delays due to equipment failures had risen by 60 percent since

14948-523: The next five years. This funding was below the $ 3 billion needed to implement a high-speed rail proposal in the Quebec City-Windsor Corridor nicknamed ViaFast ; however, the funding was intended to "provide for faster, more frequent and more reliable passenger service across Canada... [preserving] the option for higher speed rail, such as the Via Fast proposal," said Collenette. This new project

15096-464: The north shore of the St. Lawrence River rather than on the south shore through Drummondville . Via claimed this would allow them to run more trains in the corridor, reduce trip times by 25 percent and improve on-time performance to over 95 percent. Feasibility studies were funded by the federal government in the 2016–2018 budgets, and the 2018 budget allowed for the funding of the fleet replacement portion of

15244-606: The organization helped sponsor a course for blind computer programmers. In 2010, the organisation officially changed its name to simply "CNIB" after a national consultation with its membership, branding support from Pilot PMR and creative by Cossette, Inc. In 2018 the organisation rebranded again as the CNIB Foundation. CNIB operates community-based services for Canadians who are blind or partially sighted. This includes assistance in returning to school, advice on travelling, and emotional support. These services are delivered either at

15392-405: The other vessels that their ship was about to explode, but they could not be heard above the noise and confusion. As the lifeboats made their way across the harbour to the Dartmouth shore, the abandoned ship continued to drift and beached herself at Pier 6 near the foot of Richmond street. Towing two scows at the time of the collision, Stella Maris responded immediately to the fire, anchoring

15540-646: The passenger rail network and flared western bitterness toward the Government of Canada . The official justification for the rerouting was that the trains would serve more remote communities, but the concentration of ridings held by the Progressive Conservatives along the CN route attracted the charge that the move was chiefly political. Harvie André , one of Alberta's federal cabinet ministers who represented Calgary, stated publicly that he did not care if he never saw

15688-458: The people who quickly came to their aid." Once finished, the Hydrostone neighbourhood consisted of homes, businesses, and parks, which helped create a new sense of community in the North End of Halifax. It has now become an upscale neighbourhood and shopping district. In contrast, the equally poor and underdeveloped area of Africville was not included in reconstruction efforts. Every building in

15836-479: The popular Atlantic dropped from the schedule, focusing the eastern transcontinental service on the Ocean . CP had sold off a large portion of track the Atlantic had operated on and, as Via at that time was only mandated to provide passenger services on tracks belonging to CN or CP, the route was discontinued. This move was seen as somewhat controversial and politically motivated as the principal cities benefiting from

15984-544: The port area, but Halifax faced an economic downturn in the 1890s as local factories struggled to compete with businesses in central Canada. The British garrison left the city in late 1905 and early 1906. The Canadian government took over the Halifax Dockyard (now CFB Halifax ) from the Royal Navy. This dockyard later became the command centre of the Royal Canadian Navy upon its founding in 1910. Just before

16132-577: The port would not be operational for months, but a convoy departed on 11 December and dockyard operations resumed before Christmas. The Halifax Explosion was one of the largest artificial non-nuclear explosions . An extensive comparison of 130 major explosions by Halifax historian Jay White in 1994 concluded that it "remains unchallenged in overall magnitude as long as five criteria are considered together: number of casualties, force of blast, radius of devastation, quantity of explosive material, and total value of property destroyed." For many years afterward,

16280-659: The previous year. The company attributed this to problems with the aging F40 locomotive fleet. On 27 January 2009, the Government of Canada's 2009 Economic Action Plan increased funding to Via by $ 407 million to support improvements, including increased train frequencies and enhanced on-time performance and speed, particularly in the Montreal-Ottawa-Toronto corridor. On 21 July 2009, Via began cancelling all trains in anticipation of an engineers' strike, which officially began at midnight on 24 July. Engineers had been without

16428-438: The progressive reconstruction invested in other parts of the city after the explosion. Many people in Halifax first thought the explosion to be the result of a German attack. The Halifax Herald continued to propagate this belief for some time, reporting, for example, that Germans had mocked victims of the explosion. While John Johansen, the Norwegian helmsman of Imo , was being treated for serious injuries sustained during

16576-645: The protection of persons and property. A flag was also granted by the Canadian Heraldic Authority. It is black and charged with Via Rail's badge. Via is operated as an independent crown corporation and receives a subsidy from the Minister of Transport to provide service to remote communities. Via operates more than 500 trains per week from coast to coast. The sum of CA$ 369 million was earned from passenger revenues in 2018. Over 4.74 million passenger voyages were taken in 2018. An on-time ratio of 71 percent

16724-536: The reconstruction of Richmond as an opportunity to improve and modernize the city's North End. English town planner Thomas Adams and Montreal architectural firm Ross and Macdonald were recruited to design a new housing plan for Richmond. Adams, inspired by the Victorian garden city movement , aimed to provide public access to green spaces and to create a low-rise, low-density, and multifunctional urban neighbourhood. The planners designed 326 large homes that each faced

16872-515: The relief effort by carrying messages from site to site. Community facilities like the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) were rapidly converted to emergency hospital facilities with medical students providing care. Rescue trains were dispatched from across Atlantic Canada, as well as the northeastern United States. The first left Truro around 10 am carrying medical personnel and supplies, arrived in Halifax by noon and returned to Truro with

17020-400: The report or face further disciplinary action. Several days later during LeFrançois's suspension, former Via marketing department employee Myriam Bédard claimed she had been fired several years earlier when she questioned company billing practices in dealing with advertising companies. (According to CBC News , an arbitrator's report later concluded that Bédard had voluntarily left Via.) She

17168-448: The school to serve as a morgue and classrooms to serve as offices for the Halifax coroner. Trucks and wagons soon began to arrive with bodies. Arthur S. Barnstead took over from Coldwell as the morgue went into operation and implemented a system based on the one his father, John Henry Barnstead , developed to catalogue the dead in the aftermath of the Titanic disaster of 1912. Many of

17316-459: The ship's pilot , Francis Mackey, and Commander F. Evan Wyatt, the Royal Canadian Navy's chief examining officer in charge of the harbour, gates and anti-submarine defences, for causing the collision. Drysdale agreed with Dominion Wreck Commissioner L. A. Demers' opinion that "it was the Mont-Blanc ' s responsibility alone to ensure that she avoided a collision at all costs" given her cargo; he

17464-589: The time, Douglas Young , was elected from a district that included Bathurst, New Brunswick , on the Ocean 's route. A remote Via service to Quebec's Gaspé Peninsula , the Chaleur was also spared from being cut at this time, despite carrying fewer passengers than the Atlantic . By the late 1990s, with a rail-friendly Minister of Transport, David Collenette , in office, there were modest funding increases to Via. Corridor services were improved with new and faster trains,

17612-407: The town of Sackville , and the cities of Moncton and Saint John. Relief efforts were hampered the following day by a blizzard that blanketed Halifax with 16 inches (41 cm) of heavy snow. Trains en route from other parts of Canada and from the United States were stalled in snowdrifts, and telegraph lines that had been hastily repaired following the explosion were again knocked down. Halifax

17760-618: The unladen Imo , chartered by the Commission for Relief in Belgium to pick up a cargo of relief supplies in New York. On Mont-Blanc , the impact damaged benzol barrels stored on deck, leaking vapours which were ignited by sparks from the collision, setting off a fire on board that quickly grew out of control. Approximately 20 minutes later at 9:04:35 am, Mont-Blanc exploded. Nearly all structures within an 800-metre (half-mile) radius, including

17908-426: The use of low vision devices. Life-skills training emphasizes managing the essentials of daily living, including safe and effective methods of cooking, alternate communication methods such as braille and large print, and household tasks such as laundry, banking, writing, and personal care. Orientation and mobility instructors provide instruction on how to move safely around the house, and/or skills to travel safely within

18056-492: The war, the growth of air travel and the personal automobile caused significant loss of mode share for Canada's passenger train operators. By the 1960s Canadian National Railway (CN) and the Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) found that passenger trains were no longer economically viable. CP sought to divest itself of its passenger trains, but federal government regulators and politicians balked, forcing them to maintain

18204-528: The wounded and homeless by 3 pm. The track had become impassable after Rockingham, on the western edge of Bedford Basin. To reach the wounded, rescue personnel had to walk through parts of the devastated city until they reached a point where the military had begun to clear the streets. By nightfall, a dozen trains had reached Halifax from the Nova Scotian towns of Truro, Kentville , Amherst, Stellarton , Pictou , and Sydney and from New Brunswick, including

18352-538: The wounded to the city, so a new military hospital was constructed. The success of German U-boat attacks on ships crossing the Atlantic Ocean led the Allies to institute a convoy system to reduce losses while transporting goods and soldiers to Europe. Merchant ships gathered at Bedford Basin on the northwestern end of the harbour, which was protected by two sets of anti-submarine nets and guarded by patrol ships of

18500-509: The wounds inflicted by the blast were permanently debilitating, such as those caused by flying glass or by the flash of the explosion. Thousands of people had stopped to watch the ship burning in the harbour, many from inside buildings, leaving them directly in the path of glass fragments from shattered windows. Roughly 5,900 eye injuries were reported, and 41 people lost their sight permanently. An estimated CA$ 35 million in damage resulted (CA$ 696 million today). About $ 30 million in financial aid

18648-454: The years and months preceding the explosion, the Department of Indian Affairs had been actively trying to force the Mi'kmaq to give up their land and move to a reserve, but this had not occurred by the time of the explosion. Turtle Grove was close to the centre of the blast and the physical structures of the settlement were obliterated by the explosion and tsunami. A precise Mi'kmaq death toll

18796-427: Was achieved in that year. Over 3,115 persons were employed by Via by the end of 2018. Via president Yves Desjardins-Siciliano stated that the subsidy for passenger rail travel in Canada in 2015 was about 200 percent: for every $ 1 travellers spend on fares, Canada pays $ 2 in subsidy. As of May 2019, the chair of the board of directors is Françoise Bertrand. The Annual accounts of Via are audited to GAAP principles by

18944-469: Was again met with a double-blast. Sailors on nearby ships heard the series of signals and, realizing that a collision was imminent, gathered to watch as Imo bore down on Mont-Blanc . Both ships had cut their engines by this point, but their momentum carried them towards each other at slow speed. Unable to ground his ship for fear of a shock that would set off his explosive cargo, Mackey ordered Mont-Blanc to steer hard to port (starboard helm) and crossed

19092-479: Was also discontinued in April 2004 by Amtrak. Via's portion of the route from Toronto-Sarnia remained in operation as Via was able to use their own equipment to operate the train. The federal Auditor General 's report released on 10 February 2004 showed what appeared to be a criminal misdirection of government funds intended for advertising to key Quebec-based supporters of the Liberal Party of Canada . Included in

19240-875: Was blocked by wreckage. Passengers and soldiers aboard used the emergency tools from the train to dig people out of houses and bandaged them with sheets from the sleeping cars. The train was loaded with injured and left the city at 1:30 with a doctor aboard, to evacuate the wounded to Truro . Led by Lieutenant Governor MacCallum Grant , leading citizens formed the Halifax Relief Commission at around noon. The committee organized members in charge of organizing medical relief for both Halifax and Dartmouth, supplying transportation, food and shelter, and covering medical and funeral costs for victims. The commission would continue until 1976, participating in reconstruction and relief efforts and later distributing pensions to survivors. Men and women turned out to serve as everything from hospital aides to shelter staff, while children contributed to

19388-418: Was felt as far away as Cape Breton (207 kilometres or 129 miles) and Prince Edward Island (180 kilometres or 110 miles). An area of over 1.6 square kilometres (400 acres) was completely destroyed by the explosion, and the harbour floor was momentarily exposed by the volume of water that was displaced. A tsunami was formed by water surging in to fill the void; it rose as high as 18 metres (60 ft) above

19536-421: Was for capital projects and the remainder additional operating funding). The capital funding was earmarked to refurbish Via's fleet of 54 F40PH-2 locomotives to meet new emissions standards and extend their service lives by 15–20 years, refurbish the interiors of LRC coaches, reduce track capacity bottlenecks and speed restrictions in the Windsor-Quebec City Corridor, and make repairs to a number of stations across

19684-407: Was granted on May 15, 2020, and presented by Canada's Chief Herald. An heraldic badge was approved for use at the same time as the coat of arms. The badge design follows the design of a law enforcement agency badge in Canada, denoting the responsibilities of Via Rail Police Service . The Royal Crown indicates that Via Rail has police constables appointed for the enforcement of the laws relating to

19832-474: Was isolated by the storm, and while rescue committees were forced to suspend the search for survivors, the storm also aided efforts to put out fires throughout the city. The exact number killed by the disaster is unknown. The Halifax Explosion Remembrance Book, an official database of the Nova Scotia Archives and Records Management , identified 1,782 victims. As many as 1,600 people died immediately in

19980-436: Was killed at his post. First rescue efforts came from surviving neighbours and co-workers who pulled and dug out victims from buildings. The initial informal response was soon joined by surviving policemen, firefighters and military personnel who began to arrive, as did anyone with a working vehicle; cars, trucks and delivery wagons of all kinds were enlisted to collect the wounded. A flood of victims soon began to arrive at

20128-459: Was likely influenced by local opinion, which was strongly anti-French, as well as by the "street fighter" style of argumentation used by Imo lawyer Charles Burchell. According to Crown counsel W. A. Henry, this was "a great surprise to most people", who had expected the Imo to be blamed for being on the wrong side of the channel. All three men were charged with manslaughter and criminal negligence at

20276-416: Was no limit on the number of passes available. Extreme winter conditions had always been an operational hazard for Via, with the Ottawa routes and Canadian being most vulnerable. Equally, summer repairs and construction often delayed trains systemwide, even though schedules were regularly adjusted in an attempt to minimize delays. However, by 2018, freight traffic on the heavily used CN lines had become

20424-422: Was not completed until after the anti-submarine nets had been raised for the night. Therefore, the vessel could not depart until the next morning. The French cargo ship SS  Mont-Blanc arrived from New York late on 5 December, under the command of Aimé Le Medec. The vessel was fully loaded with the explosives TNT and picric acid , the highly flammable fuel benzol and guncotton . She intended to join

20572-423: Was not passed. The Quebec-Windsor corridor was the focus of service restorations and implements. A direct Ottawa-Quebec City train was restored, with additional trips between Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto being added. In 2016, LRC passenger cars used for the corridor were refurbished; in the Via 1 class, this included single seating. In March 2017, Via announced the release of a new category of rail pass valid for

20720-719: Was publicly belittled by Via CEO Jean Pelletier in national media on 27 February 2004. Pelletier retracted his statements but on 1 March, Pelletier was fired. By 5 March, after failing to defend himself adequately against the allegations in the Auditor General's report, LeFrançois was fired as well. The reversal of funding in 2003 led to a backlog of deferred maintenance and left Via unable to replace or refurbish life-expired locomotives and rolling stock. Conversely, Via ridership increased from 3.8 million in 2005 to 4.1 million in 2006. On 11 October 2007, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty announced federal government funding of $ 691.9 million over five years (of which $ 519 million

20868-535: Was raised from various sources, including $ 18 million from the federal government, over $ 4 million from the British government, and $ 750,000 from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts . Dartmouth was not as densely populated as Halifax and was separated from the blast by the width of the harbour, but still suffered heavy damage. Almost 100 people were estimated to have died on the Dartmouth side. Windows were shattered and many buildings were damaged or destroyed, including

21016-476: Was responsible for bringing all incoming trains around Halifax to a halt. It was heard by other stations all along the Intercolonial Railway, helping railway officials to respond immediately. Passenger Train No. 10, the overnight train from Saint John, is believed to have heeded the warning and stopped a safe distance from the blast at Rockingham , saving the lives of about 300 railway passengers. Coleman

21164-424: Was subsequently renamed Via Rail Canada. On 12 January 1977, CN spun off its passenger services as a separate Crown corporation, Via Rail Canada. At its inception, Via acquired all CN passenger cars and locomotives. Following several months of negotiation, on 29 October 1978, Via assumed all CP passenger train operations and took possession of cars and locomotives. Passenger train services which were not included in

21312-492: Was suspended indefinitely due to deteriorating track (it has yet to resume). By 27 June 2012, Via announced additional service cuts due to funding issues: To address declining on-time performance due to freight train traffic on Via routes, MP Olivia Chow drafted a private member's bill in 2014 that would reorganize the company and allow the government to force freight rail carriers to give scheduling priority to public passenger rail. However, as with most private member's bills, it

21460-523: Was the second ship to enter the harbour as the anti-submarine net between Georges Island and Pier 21 opened for the morning. Mont-Blanc headed towards Bedford Basin on the Dartmouth side of the harbour. Mackey kept his eye on the ferry traffic between Halifax and Dartmouth and other small boats in the area. He first spotted Imo when she was about 1.21 kilometres (0.75 mi) away and became concerned as her path appeared to be heading towards his ship's starboard side, as if to cut him off. Mackey gave

21608-406: Was thrown away from the explosion and had his clothes torn from his body, described the devastation survivors faced: "The sight was awful, with people hanging out of windows dead. Some with their heads missing, and some thrown onto the overhead telegraph wires." He was the only member of the eight-man crew of the fire engine Patricia to survive. Large brick and stone factories near Pier 6, such as

21756-479: Was to be called "Renaissance II". On 18 December 2003, Liberal Prime Minister (PM) Paul Martin froze federal spending on all major capital projects, including Via's five-year $ 700 million "Renaissance II" program announced just six weeks earlier by outgoing PM Chrétien's administration. Critics of Martin's cuts claimed that he was in a conflict of interest as his family through Canada Steamship Lines and various subsidiary and affiliated companies had once had

21904-533: Was travelling up the harbour to Bedford Basin near mid-channel. Horatio Brannen, the captain of Stella Maris , saw Imo approaching at excessive speed and ordered his ship closer to the western shore to avoid an accident. Francis Mackey, an experienced harbour pilot, had boarded Mont-Blanc on the evening of 5 December 1917; he had asked about "special protections" such as a guard ship, given Mont-Blanc ' s cargo, but no protections were put in place. Mont-Blanc started moving at 7:30 am on 6 December and

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