History of Nova Scotia
with special attention given to
Communications and Transportation

Chapter 53
2000 February 16-28


Index with links to the other chapters


2000 February 16

School Board Launches Web Project

Francophone parents, teachers, and students across Nova Scotia can look forward to having computer tools to chat and work together via the World Wide Web. The Conseil Scolaire, the province's Acadian provincial school board, has unveiled a pilot project that will some day allow parents to go online and view homework assignments, read student evaluations, and privately talk to teachers. Educators and students will also be able to work together on various projects using distance technology, including the board's video-conferencing network. "This is a remarkable network solution that aims at increasing the educational resources for our K-12 students," superintendent Rejean Sirois said in a news release. "It virtually eliminates classroom walls." The program will begin in several francophone schools with the development of francophone software. Board officials hope to take the project provincewide in the future.
[Halifax Chronicle-Herald, 26 February 2000]

Reference:
Conseil scolaire acadien provincial website at
    http://www.ressac.rpa.ca/csap/
Communique de presse, 16 fevrier 2000
Premier conseil francophone au monde a devenir membre de IBM Learning Village
    http://www.ressac.rpa.ca/csap/communique/C160200.htm

First Francophone Board in the World
to Join IBM Learning Village

The Conseil Scolaire Acadien Provincial (CSAP) and IBM Canada Ltd are proud to announce a new partnership that will result in the CSAP being the first francophone school board to benefit from the numerous advantages of IBM Learning Village. This IBM (International Business Machines Incorporated) solution is an educational Web portal that provides teachers and education staff with the tools that they need to create activities, lessons and units, allowing optimal communication between students, teachers, administrators, parents and the community. This partnership was made possible by a grant valued at $120,000 provided by IBM's Corporate Community Relations programs and is a result of the technology strategic planning sessions that involved teachers, principals, administrative staff and board members. "IBM Learning Village is a remarkable network solution that aims at increasing the educational resources for our K-12 students as it virtually eliminates classroom walls", indicated CSAP Superintendent, Rejean Sirois. "For instance, parents are able to view homework assignments, read teacher evaluations of students progress and conduct on-line, private conversations with the teachers. They can access a wide range of school news from lunch menus to events calendar. The major highlight of this initiative is that our teachers, families and partners will combine their efforts to expand our students learning environment thus working toward bringing together our students from spread out Acadian communities. For the CSAP, a pioneer in distance education and the only school board that uses a video-conference network, this is a substantial benefit."

In the schools, IBM Learning Village will act as a powerful intranet tool to automate, thanks to its integrated applications, the functional exchanges between teachers as well as to facilitate the planning of joint projects and the cooperation on current educational matters. Overall, IBM Learning Village is promoting a dynamic, collaborative teaching and learning environment. John Kutcy, General Manager, Education Industry, IBM Canada Ltd. commented: "IBM is very pleased to be able to contribute to the CSAP school board's efforts to integrate technology into school life. IBM Learning Village will help teachers accomplish their very important work by allowing better communications between them, the students, the parents and the community."

The IBM corporate grant will provide the software licenses for the pilot CSAP schools as well as the hardware, services and support required to adapt Learning Village to the specific French language needs of the CSAP. While the CSAP will be responsible for the translation of the software, the IBM development laboratory in Hursley, England will provide adaptation support. Once it is translated, the software will be used in a pilot mode in four or five CSAP schools. Eventually, Mr. Sirois would like to implement IBM Learning Village in all Acadian schools of the province.

IBM Canada K-12 Education is committed to the needs of elementary and secondary school students, teachers and administrators, in order to help educators enhance the quality of education from Kindergarten to Grade 12 with the use of exciting, curriculum-based software, industry leading technology and highly skilled education industry professionals. Through its Corporate Education Policy, IBM works with schools and school systems to improve student performance and apply technology to solve education and community issues. Source: IBM Canada press release, 21 February 2000
    http://www.can.ibm.com/news/latest_news/022100_k12.htm

Reference:
IBM Canada website at
    http://www.ibm.com/ca/en/

2000 February 16

Former Railway Hotel Burns

The Commercial Hotel in Orangedale

Officials of the Fire Marshall's Office will never be able to determine the exact cause of a fire Wednesday that destroyed an historic building in Orangedale, Inverness County. Deputy Fire Marshall Paul MacCormick said information from bystanders indicate that the fire started at the rear inside the building. "An excavator was brought in to move the rubble and allow the firemen to soak it down to prevent the fire from spreading," MacCormick said. "It was an old building with little or no fire resistance inside. We have to rule the cause as undetermined." Murdock Olsen, who operates a building supplies business across the road called 911 after being notified by a neighbour that the building was on fire at about 2pm Wednesday, February 16th. Olsen said by the time he made the call, the building was fully involved. "Even if you had a fire department in Orangedale, they wouldn't have been able to save that building. The original part of the building was built in 1871 and a second section was added on in 1905." The building was at one time the Commercial Hotel and travelers on the Intercolonial Railway stayed there, including Alexander Graham Bell.
[Cape Breton Post, 19 February 2000]

2000 February 16

Website Offers Tour of Centennial Trail

http://www.town.bridgewater.ns.ca/trail/

BRIDGEWATER     Too cold, too wet to go out?

Try this: hot chocolate in hand, mouse at your fingertips, click your way along Bridgewater's Centennial Trail. Stretch those bits and bytes — take a virtual hike — summer or winter, you'll find it on the Internet. At the trail website, you'll be equipped with a map, suggested walking tours and a photographic display of trail highlights. Begin your virtual tour with a step back in time — to the official opening ceremonies held in July 1999. The ribbon is cut. Follow the crowd as they join Mayor Ernie Bolivar leading the way in a ceremonial walk across the Old Rail Bridge. And then it's time to "please pass the mustard," as a barbecue feast is served up by members of the town council.

LaHave River bridge, 1999 The restoration of the Old Rail Bridge marked the completion of the first stage of the trail's development. Linking the east and west sides of the trail, the bridge also affords a spectacular view of the LaHave River. Flanked with picnic tables at either end, as well as one situated atop the bridge, it is the ideal vantage point from which to enjoy a picnic lunch or the splendour of an evening's sunset. In the summer months, the trail corridors are lined with wild flowers and succulent berries. Butterflies, birds and small animals criss-cross the pathways. A cyberspace hike will take you through the seasons as well as along the trail pathways. Trees dressed in autumnal colours give way to winter white corridors.

The website tracks the ongoing development of the trail. A growing list of trail blazers pays tribute to the individuals and businesses that have supported the trail's development. Visitors to the site are informed how they too can become trail blazers, how they can support further development, and where they can purchase a stylish Centennial Trail T-shirt! A virtual hike won't help to shed those unwanted pounds, but will let visitors enjoy the colours and sights of the Centennial Trail in any weather, any time of the year.

[Bridgewater Bulletin, 16 February 2000]

Reference:
Bridgewater Centennial Trail website at
    http://www.town.bridgewater.ns.ca/trail/

2000 February 16

DSL Available in Halifax

C1 Communications launches DSL technology in Maritimes

Fundy Communications

C1 Communications, a next generation communication company, today announced the successful installation of Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) technology in its facilities at Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Saint John, New Brunswick. "The Maritimes launch marks C1 Communications' first end-to-end implementation of DSL technology," said A.S. (Tony) Cassetta, President and Chief Operating Officer.

Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) technology is one of the fastest growing developments for meeting high-bandwidth requirements for Internet data, voice and video integration. These technologies provide high-speed digital data transmission over copper telephone lines. DSL has the ability to move data over phone lines at speeds of up to 150 times faster than some of the fastestanalog modems presently available. With DSL technology, C1 Communications can offer economical and easy to implement managed data services, as well as integrated telephony services. Halifax and Saint John will be C1 Communications' first DSL markets with plans for a national roll-out by the end of 2000. At this time, C1 Communications has about 4,000 business customers in the Maritimes.

Last year, C1 Communications signed an agreement with Cisco Systems Canada, the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet, to allow C1 Communications to broadly deploy an end-to-end DSL network with Cisco products such as its BPX IP+ATM backbone switches, 6400 universal access concentrators, 6130 DSL access concentrators and 600 series customer premises routers. In partnership with Cisco, C1 Communications will be able to provide customers with a continuous connection to the Internet via their phone line without interrupting regular phone services. In addition, multiple services such as voice-over DSL may be run over the same line, offering increased value to customers. C1 Communications next plans include introducing DSL services in the Greater Toronto Area in April 2000. The company will market business applications directly, and residential services on a wholesale basis.

C1 Communications has in-place over $100,000,000 of committed equity and debt capital to finance the first phase of its national roll-out. Its equity sponsors include C. William Stanley and James A. MacMurray, the two original founders of Fundy Communications, as well as Alta Communications, Charlesbank Capital Partners and NBIM, three sophisticated institutional investors with successful track records in the telecommunications sector. C1 Communications is built on the solid foundation, financial strength and reputation of Fundy Communications of Saint John, New Brunswick.

Sources:
C1 Communications media releases
    http://www.c1communications.com/news_post.asp?ID=28
    http://www.newswire.ca/releases/February2000/16/c4570.html
    http://www.c1communications.com/news_post.asp?ID=25

References:
C1 Communications website at
    http://www.c1communications.com/
C1 Communications management team, brief biographies
    http://www.c1communications.com/people.asp
Fundy Cable Limited
    http://www.discribe.ca/gfkbi/00031.htm
SEDAR profile of Fundy Cable Limited
    http://www.sedar.com/dynamic_pages/issuerprofiles_e/i00008342.htm

2000 February 17

NS Power Getting into the Telephone Business

NS Power Has Obtained Regulatory Approval
for Local Phone Service

Enercom Communications Inc. registered as a CLEC
3 November 1999

Nova Scotia's largest power company is charging into the local telephone market in the province, the utility confirmed today. The move puts the power provider head to head against MTT, the dominant phone service provider in Nova Scotia.

The electrical utility will also be pitted against EastLink Telephone, a division of EastLink Cable Group, an owner of cable systems in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.

Enercom Communications Inc., a company related to NS Power Holdings Inc., received federal regulatory approval in December to operate local phone service here, said NSP spokeswoman Judy Munro. "They filed for it, the CLEC (competitive local exchange carrier), and they have received confirmation it's approved," Ms. Munro said. It's not known when Enercom plans to offer phone service or which parts of the province will be targeted. "For now, they're just exploring opportunities in telecommunications. They haven't done anything or announced anything that they're going to be doing."

While Enercom gears up to provide phone service, it was busy last month buying two other local telecommunications companies. Enercom purchased Quality Connections Communications, which resells phone service, and Cabletec, a company that provides wire infrastructure for small- and medium-sized businesses, Ms. Munro said. Ms. Munro said the acquistions were separate from Enercom's phone-service application to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC).

CRTC officials confirmed the utility subsidiary's intent to enter the phone market but didn't provide documentation Thursday showing approval. A November 3rd letter to the CRTC from the utility was originally written under the letterhead Scotiacom Telecommunications. That name has since been changed to Enercom Communications Inc., Ms. Munro said. "Scotiacom requests that the commission recognize it as a CLEC (competitive local exchange carrier) in order to make the arrangements necessary to provide local switched services and requests that the commission grant this authorization as soon as possible," wrote David Craig, a Scotiacom engineer.

This latest development in Nova Scotia's telecommunications industry reflects a North American trend of utilities barging into each others' territories. That phenomena has already begun here. EastLink Telephone is providing local phone service to thousands of Halifax customers while MTT has asked the CRTC if it can offer digital television programming. Phil Hartling, MTT's director of marketing, had heard of the power company's phone service application. "Competition is nothing new," Mr. Hartling said. "It's going to be a crowded little market."

It was apparent the electric utility was on the move into other markets when Nova Scotia Power Inc. formed its holding company, NS Power Holdings Inc., on 23 July 1998, and transferred all shareholders' shares from Nova Scotia Power Inc. to NS Power Holdings on 1 January 1999. NS Power Holdings has wholly owned subsidiaries including Nova Scotia Power, the province's main electricity generator, and Enercom. The moves may not be over; the Registry of Joint Stocks shows NSP Holdings staff as directors or agents of other related companies. The companies include Enercom Mobile Communications, Enovacom and Enovacom Inc. David Mann, President and CEO of NS Power Holdings, holds the same titles for Enercom Communications. NS Power Holdings Inc. is a diversified energy and services company. Its wholly-owned subsidiary, Nova Scotia Power Inc., is the dominant electricity supplier in Nova Scotia. Nova Scotia Power has 440,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers, and assets totaling $2,800,000,000. NSP's operations are regulated by the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board, and include approximately 97% of the generation, 99%of the transmission and 95%of the distribution of electric power throughout Nova Scotia.

Effective 1 January 1999, the common shareholders of Nova Scotia Power Inc. exchanged their common shares for common shares of NS Power Holdings Inc. on a one-for-one basis. NSPI became a subsidiary of NSH. The wholly-owned subsidiaries of NS Power Holdings are:
    Nova Scotia Power Inc.
    Enercom Inc.
    NSP Pipeline Inc.
    NSP U.S. Holdings Inc.
    Strait Energy Inc.
    NS Power Services Inc., and
    Stellarton Basin Coal Gas Inc. (SBCGI).

NSP Pipeline Inc. and NSP U.S. Holdings Inc. own a 12.5% equity investment in Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline, which is regulated by the National Energy Board (NEB) in Canada and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in the U.S. Enercom Inc. is an unregulated subsidiary which has expanded NSH's energy product line to include distribution of a full range of fuel oil products.

Sources:
Halifax Chronicle-Herald, 18 and 23 February 2000
and SEDAR   http://www.sedar.com/



1999 Registration of Competitive Local Exchange Carrier (CLEC)
Documents from Proposed CLECS:
1999/11/03 - ENERCOM - Scotiacom Telecommunications Inc.
Hard Copy Document
Re: Scotiacom Telecommunications Inc.
CLEC Registration

Source:
CRTC website at
    http://www.crtc.gc.ca/ENG/Proc_rep/TELECOM/1999/8180/8180-8-cl.htm

Sources:
Nova Scotia Registry of Joint Stock Companies [RJSC]
    http://www.gov.ns.ca/bacs/rjsc/
and SEDAR   http://www.sedar.com/

2000 February 17

Windows 2000 Launched

Microsoft Corp. today launched its newest product, Windows 2000, a new operating system for business computers, as the company tries to maintain its dominance in the worldwide software market. Although some companies have been running Windows 2000 on a test basis for months, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates officially debuted the massive software package at his company's Windows 2000 Conference and Expo in San Francisco. Although nearly a year later than expected, Windows 2000 has received good reviews from industry analysts and selected companies that have already installed it. With more than 35 million lines of computer code, it's one of the most complex software programs ever made, and the product upon which Microsoft has risked its future. Despite its name, Windows 2000 is not a successor to the consumer-oriented Windows 98 but rather to the corporate system Windows NT 4.0.

2000 February 20

Halifax Harbour's Underbelly Exposed;
High-Tech Port Map Revealing

Technology is revealing the geological, geochemical and archeological secrets of Halifax Harbour — eons after its formation. And what a story the 28-kilometre glaciated river valley from Bedford Basin to Chebucto Head has to tell.

Scientists are using the echoes of sonic signals and converting them into three-dimensional images dating to the harbour's pre-Ice Age beginnings. They show a seabed littered with sunken vessels, old wooden bridges, munitions, car bodies, mounds of sewage and storm runoff and the pitting and scarring of ships' anchors and chains.

Tantalizing myths have been debunked, including one of a huge crater caused by the Halifax Explosion of 1917.

The findings stem from a nearly completed study of the harbour bottom launched almost ten years ago by the Geological Survey of Canada (Atlantic). The project marks a shift from studying and mapping the Continental Shelf to doing an assessment near a heavily populated area.

Gordon Fader, a marine geologist at the Marine Environmental Geoscience Centre at the Bedford Institute of Technology, said the study was spawned by a mineral development agreement with the province involving mining aggregates offshore.

"People don't realize that gold was mined in the harbour at Eastern Passage hundreds of years ago," he said. He noted sand and gravel scooped up in the the outer harbour years ago was used for building facilities in the inner harbour.

In launching the study, Mr. Fader, along with geochemist Dale Buckley and geoscience technician Bob Miller were keenly aware of proposed plans to clean up the harbour, which now receives 170 million litres of raw sewage daily. "We had seen those plans were driven by a limited amount of chemistry, biology and some engineering," he said. "But, at the time, really no systematic study of the geology of harbour had been done. So we needed that research to fill the gap."

Mr. Fader said the project has put in place a framework and structure of the harbour benefiting the entire community. "The biological community can do a systematic assessment of organisms that live in the harbour, and shipwrecks that have been identified can be further investigated. "We have mapped areas where sediments and organic contaminants have accumulated, and from which samples can be analysed." Mr. Fader said the information is useful when considering locations for sewage treatment plants, outflows, sites for lobster pounds and identifying unobstructed routes for cables and pipes across the harbour. "That's the legacy we will leave."

[Halifax Sunday Herald, 20 February 2000, page A1]

Reference: Website: The Bottom of Halifax Harbour
    http://agcwww.bio.ns.ca/pubprod/of3154/html_bm1411/bm141101_home.html

New Technology Unveils Secrets of Harbour Floor

It was like a glimpse into an unknown world when marine geologists, who spent the last 10 years mapping and exploring the bottom of Halifax Harbour, first viewed new images of the seabed from multi-beam mapping.

This advanced mapping technology, honed by the Canadian Hydrographic Service and the Geological Survey of Canada at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography, painted images of the sea floor, the likes of which had never been seen. "All of a sudden we got a glimpse of what conditions really looked like on the sea floor in a way that was just like looking at pictures of the other side of the moon," said Gordon Fader, a marine geologist working out of BIO in Dartmouth. "Although we were already aware of many of the features of the bottom, the beauty of the new systems shone through," he said. "It showed many subtle aspects of sediment erosion on the sea floor that allowed geologists to interpret further where sediments were being deposited, which way they were moving, and where scouring takes place."

The sea floor is dotted with generations of anchor marks that have stirred up and disrupted sediments, making it difficult for geologists to trace the history of individual layers, he noted.

Researchers utilized echo sounding, side-scan sonograms, mid- to high-resolution reflection profiles, core and grab samples, dredge hauls, photographs, submersibles and remotely operated vehicles to study the harbour.

But it was the advent of multi-beam bathymetric surveying and advanced side-scan sonar imaging in the early 1990s that gave researchers a bird's-eye view of the ocean floor. Like shining a searchlight across the sea floor, multi-beam bathymetric surveying captures images of giant swaths of the ocean bottom. As a survey ship zigzags in a grid, hull-mounted transducers broadcast sound waves in a fan-shaped pattern of multiple beams. Computers record the timing and intensity of the returning sound, which represents the depth and composition of the sea floor.

Millions of soundings are then combined with precise navigational data. An artificial computer-generated light source is added to enhance the surface relief (hills, valleys or shipwrecks), and elevations are colour-coded and can be exaggerated for improved visual comprehension. The result is a 3-D panoramic view unveiling the peaks, troughs and other features of the harbour bottom.

Side-scan sonar, in contrast to multi-beam systems, emits sound waves more horizontally, recording relief from the side and capturing more detail. The new high-tech imagery offers 100 per cent coverage of the seabed with high resolution able to identify objects as small as 10 centimetres.

Mr. Fader said Halifax was one of the first places in the world where this new technology was applied and images generated. Despite the coverage of the new mapping technology, there's still room for future geologists to study remaining mysteries of the harbour, he said. "If you look at today's newspapers, just about every other day there is a story dealing with the harbour. "It's such a dominant focus in our lives."

[Halifax Sunday Herald, 20 February 2000, page A6]

2000 February 22

Canada's Largest E-Publisher

National Post
Halifax Chronicle Herald
Halifax Sunday Herald

Electronic information provider CEDROM-SNi has just entered into an agreement with the publisher of the National Post, whereby the company will provide online access to the entire editorial content of this prestigious daily. This is the latest addition to a number of recent contracts signed by the company, bringing the total number of titles published to its Newscan, Eureka and Europresse databases content to fifty. As such,CEDROM-SNi becomes Canada's largest server and information publication center for Canadian and European news via the Internet, and a major player in the country's online information industry.

As a partner of Transcontinental, CEDROM-SNi was one of the first companies to conduct business over the Internet. Its archive search and electronic media monitoring services are primarily targeted to corporations, government and institutions. By 1995, the company's Eureka web site was accessible via the Internet and offering access to a number of Quebec newspapers. With a staff of 90 and an operation that indexes more than 3,000 articles per day, the company has now become a key figure in its particular sphere of activity in the North American electronic information services market. CEDROM-SNi has also made significant accomplishments in the European market, where the company publishes the content of approximately ten major dailies, including Le Monde and Liberation. The full editorial content of the National Post, coupled with the recent introduction of the Canadian Press newswire, confirms CEDROM-SNi's position as a leader in the Canadian "e-publishing" market. The agreement aligns perfectly with the company's expansion strategy.

According to Mr. Francois Aird, the company's president, CEDROM-SNi has become an unbeatable player in the electronic information publishing market. "In today's economy of very large scale markets, it has become imperative at this point that we assume a role as market leader that extends well beyond our geographic borders. That's the reason for our ongoing efforts to maintain and fine-tune standards that will ensure quick access for our clients to an increasingly diversified, rich, and timely body of information originating from major media all across the nation and even between continents. The contract being announced today is definitely a step in that direction."

In addition to the National Post, CEDROM-SNi has recently entered into agreements with the following publishers: Whitehorse Star, Cambridge Reporter, Guelph Mercury, Halifax Chronicle Herald, and Halifax Sunday Herald. Among a number of other titles that will shortly be added to the list are New Brunswick Telegraph Journal and Saint John Evening Times Globe. Across the Atlantic, the European French language news database has recently been expanded to include the content of the newspaper L'Humanite, the magazine Le Point, and the newswire service PR Line.

About CEDROM-SNi

A partner of Transcontinental, CEDROM-SNi is the Canadian leader in the electronic information industry. The CEDROM-SNi sites, which were launched in 1988, today publish the content of 50 Canadian and European press sources. CEDROM-SNi has a staff of 90, and maintains offices in Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, and Paris.

Major Titles Published: Source: CEDROM-SNi media release
    http://www.newswire.ca/releases/February2000/22/c6317.html

Reference:
CEDROM-SNi website at
    http://cedromsni.com/

2000 February 24

Truckers Hauling Road Salt in Quantity

The provincial salt haul is back in full gear across Nova Scotia today after independent Cape Breton truckers agreed to resume work. Over the next two days, Cape Breton and Victoria County truckers are to haul more than 1,000 tonnes of road salt to Department of Transportation and Public Works bases. "Making sure we have salt to spread is a matter of public safety," said Ron Russell, Minister of Transportation and Public Works. "It's good news the rest of Cape Breton is back onside with truckers across the province. They are all playing their part in ensuring roads are safe." A week after blocking salt trucks from entering the department's Sydney River base, Cape Breton County truckers accepted an offer to be dispatched through the Nova Scotia Roadbuilders Association. After a series of telephone calls with the RCMP, road builders association and senior department staff on Wednesday, February 23rd, Cape Breton County independents agreed to haul 16 loads today and a similar amount Friday, February 25th. There are 55 Department of Transportation and Public Works salt sheds across Nova Scotia. Deliveries have proceeded with the help of roadbuilders, department and independent haulers since the Truckers Association of Nova Scotia withdrew service on Tuesday, February 8th. The truckers association had demanded the government pay a surcharge to offset rising diesel fuel prices. Salt inventories are being replenished daily, with stockpiles at about 44,000 tonnes, or 60% of storage capacity. The truckers association turned down an eight per cent increase on the department's published rates on Friday, February 11th. Since then, the roadbuilders association has been dispatching trucks at standard department rates, without the increase. Fees are based on the tonnage and distance salt is hauled.
Source: Government media release
    http://www.gov.ns.ca/news/details.asp?id=20000224004

2000 February 24

High Schools to Offer Tech Prep Program

Students will soon have the option of shaping their high school years to fit their future college education. The Nova Scotia Community College (NSCC) and the Cape Breton Victoria Regional School Board (CBVRSB) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to implement Tech Prep programs in the area's high schools. "Choosing a post-secondary option that leads to success in the merging knowledge economy is a complex decision-making process," said Raymond Ivany, president of NSCC. "This MOU will provide new options for students to identify career choices, and then choose courses that they will need to enter these careers." The program is available and successful in the United States and Western Canada but has not been established in Atlantic Canada as of yet, he said. "It's a pioneering effort in our region." Ivany said reports show high school completion rates improve in areas offering the program. "It gives (students) a reason to complete their high school education." The CBVRSB is the third such group in the province to sign an MOU with the NSCC, with each agreement closely resembling the needs in a particular community, he noted.
[Cape Breton Post, 24 February 2000]


Tech Prep education
    http://www.ed.gov/offices/OVAE/techprep.html
Tech Prep is an important school-to-work transition strategy, helping all students make the connection between school and employment ... Tech Prep education is a 4+2 , 3+2 or a 2+2 planned sequence of study in a technical field beginning as early as the ninth year of school. The sequence extends through two years of postsecondary occupational education or an apprenticeship program of at least two years following secondary instruction, and culminates in an associate degree or certificate...

References:
What Is Tech Prep?
    http://www.jscc.cc.tn.us/users/techprep/whatis.htm
Tech Prep Curriculum Catalog
    http://www.ohtpcs.org/tpcurr.htm
Tech Prep Competency Profiles
    http://www.ohtpcs.org/tpcp/index.htm
The Emergence of Tech-Prep at the State and Local Levels
    http://www.ed.gov/pubs/Emergence/
Tech Prep links
    http://www.jscc.cc.tn.us/users/techprep/links.htm
Tech Prep-related Organizations
    http://www.jscc.cc.tn.us/users/techprep/organiz.htm
The School and Workplace Content of Tech-Prep Programs
    http://www.ed.gov/pubs/Emergence/execsum7.html
Using Tech Prep Principles to Improve Teacher Education
    http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/JVTE/v13n1/roegge.html
Skills for a New Century: A Blueprint for Lifelong Learning:
    http://www.vpskillsummit.org/
21st Century Skills for 21st Century Jobs
    http://www.vpskillsummit.org/bestprct.asp
Overview: Tech Prep in Idaho
    http://www.pte.state.id.us/services/techprep/vte_tp.htm
1999 National Tech Prep Network Conference
    http://www.jscc.cc.tn.us/users/techprep/ntpn.htm

Cape Breton - Victoria Regional School Board website at
    http://www.cbv.ns.ca/

2000 February 27

Digital Parking Meters Sold Round the World

The J.J. MacKay company, of New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, has been designing and manufacturing electronic parking meters for years. Five years ago, the company sold 7,400 digital meters to the City of Boston for US$2,100,000. MacKay has also sold 23,000 of its electronic parking meters to New York City, and 18,000 to Hong Kong. The company employs about 100 people in Nova Scotia.
[Boston Globe, 24 February 2000]
[Halifax Sunday Daily News, 27 February 2000]

Reference:
J.J. MacKay Company website at http://www.jjmackay.ca/

2000 February 28

Southwest Regional School Board
Library Automation Project Approved

A library automation pilot project report was received by the Southwest Regional School Board at a recent meeting. The project proposes the board contract with the regional public library system to implement school library automation starting with four voluntary school participants and the two Teachers' Centres. Automation would include online catalogues listing books and other library materials as well as automated circulation of books and other materials. Automation allows for resource sharing among schools and also provides access by students to public library collections and online databases. "The school system, by having access to these resources, could improve efficiency and operations thereby freeing staff to provide greater school support in areas such as curriculum," says Ann Jones, Superintendent of Schools.

This pilot project was developed in cooperation with the Western Counties Regional Library and the South Shore Regional Library. "The public library system has been in the process of automating its records for the past ten years and we are eager to share the expertise we have developed," says Trudy Amirault and Janet Clark, Regional Library Administration. Approval was given for staff to pursue funding partnerships. Once funds have been obtained the four schools will be selected based on school libraries having a wide range of grades, geographical representation (two from each zone), varying sizes of school population, different levels of automation and willingness to participate in library resources sharing. The project will include a needs assessment of the existing library and an evaluation of the project. It is anticipated the project could begin as early as spring 2000. The total cost of the pilot will be $84,758.

Sources:
Bridgewater Bulletin, 8 March 2000
Southwest Regional School Board news release, 28 February 2000
    http://www.ednet.ns.ca/educ/boards/southwest/news.htm

Reference: Southwest Regional School Board, Yarmouth
    http://www.ednet.ns.ca/educ/boards/southwest/

2000 February 28

Intel Buys Shares in InfoInterActive Inc.

Deal Worth $6,900,000

InfoInterActive signs license agreement with Intel
on Call Management Services for Intel Web appliances

InfoInterActive Inc., based in Bedford, Nova Scotia, today announced that Intel Corporation will purchase 1,803,922 common shares of InfoInterActive Inc. (IIA) at a price of C$3.825 per share, for a total investment of C$6,900,000. Intel will license IIA's Internet Call Manager and FlexLine services for a new family of Intel Web appliances.

Under a software development and services agreement, IIA will customize, license, support and assist in the deployment of Internet Call Manager and FlexLine services on Intel Web appliances. These services will be among the first to be offered on a new family of Intel-branded Web appliances for the home. For example, the IIA Internet Call Manager allows a consumer to be notified of an incoming phone call while browsing the Internet, and have the option to get off the Internet and answer the call, or forward the call to voicemail.

FlexLine is a broadband implementation of the Internet Call Manager. Intel is already working with telecom operators, Internet service providers (ISPs) and e-commerce retailers worldwide to deploy new services on its managed, Intel-branded Web appliance product family. "This is an important investment," said Bill McMullin of Bedford, Nova Scotia, CEO of InfoInterActive. "We believe that Internet Call Manager and FlexLine, combined with Intel Web appliances will be a compelling offer for consumers."

"Intel is committed to enabling the deployment of Internet content and services throughout the e-Home to a range of Intel products," said Claude Leglise, Vice President and General Manager, Intel's Home Products Group. "We believe Internet Call Manager and FlexLine are examples of the kind of compelling services consumers are looking for in a Web appliance."

About InfoInterActive

InfoInterActive develops and deploys network-based enhanced services, which bring telephone, Internet and wireless networks together. Its Internet call management services are helping Internet users surf with comfort and security knowing that they're always accessible. The company markets its services through distribution and service provider partners, which include telephone companies, Internet Service Providers and Original Equipment Manufacturers worldwide. It also markets its services directly to end-users. The company holds U.S. and Canadian patents for the relevant technology and has patents pending in 26 other countries worldwide. InfoInterActive shares trade over the counter (OTCBB: IFIAF) and on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSE: IIA)

The Corporation (InfoInterActive Inc.) was incorporated on 14 February 1994 under the name "599412 Alberta Inc.", by the registration of its Articles of Incorporation under the Business Corporations Act of Alberta. The Corporation changed its name to "Tritech Investments Inc." on 21 April 1994 and to "InfoInterActive Inc." on 1 February 1996.

The head office of the Corporation is located at Sun Tower, 1550 Bedford Highway, Suite 604, Bedford, Nova Scotia. The Corporation's registered office is located at 4500 Bankers Hall East, 855 2nd Street, SW, Calgary, Alberta. The Corporation conducts its operations through its wholly-owned subsidiary, InterActive Telecom Inc., a company incorporated on 26 August 1994 under the Companies Act of Nova Scotia. InterActive Telecom's registered office is located at Summit Place, 1601 Lower Water Street, 6th Floor, Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Sources:
Halifax Chronicle-Herald, 29 February 2000
Halifax Daily News, 1 March 2000
InfoInterActive Inc. news release, 28 February 2000
    http://www.newswire.ca/releases/February2000/28/c8245.html
System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR)
    http://www.sedar.com/

Reference:
InfoInterActive website at
    http://www.infointeractive.com/

2000 February 29

InfoInterActive Shares Up 77% in One Day

$70,000,000 Increase in 24 Hours

Shares of InfoInterActive Inc., traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol IIA, closed today, Tuesday, at $9.30, up from $5.25 yesterday. This is an increase in the company's valuation of 77% on one day.

The head office of InfoInterActive Inc. is located at Sun Tower, 1550 Bedford Highway, Suite 604, Bedford, Nova Scotia.

InfoInterActive has about 17,200,000 shares outstanding (including the 1,803,922 shares Intel will be buying soon). These 17,200,000 shares were worth about $90,000,000 at Monday's close. The valuation had increased to about $160,000,000 by Tuesday's close of business. This is an increase of about $70,000,000 in the company's market capitalization in 24 hours.

Sources:
System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR)
    http://www.sedar.com/
and stock market reports in National Post, and The Globe and Mail, 1 March 2000

This remarkable one-day rise in valuation was completely ignored
by the Nova Scotia media, even though the event was brought to
their attention within hours. This was at a time when there was
intense and continuing media coverage of the astonishing valuations
occurring almost daily among the Internet companies listed on the
NASDAQ stock market in the United States.

But when a Nova Scotia Internet company achieved a performance
that placed it at the top of the Ten Companies With Greatest
Percent Increase list for the Toronto Stock Exchange for that day,
the local media simply were not interested. Television stations
were notified in plenty of time for the 6:00pm news the following
day, and newspapers were notified more than six hours before
deadline, but nothing whatever was reported here that day or
any time later.


No doubt they would have carried the item if someone
in Toronto had written it up and put it out on the news wire.

History of InfoInterActive Inc.

In January 1996, the Corporation (now InfoInterActive Inc.) acquired all of the outstanding shares of InterActive, a private Nova Scotia-based technology company specializing in the development and management of enhanced telephone, wireless and Internet services. The acquisition of InterActive by the Corporation constituted a major transaction under the junior capital pool rules of the Alberta Stock Exchange and the Alberta Securities Commission. The Corporation originally operated under the name Tritech Investments Inc.; its name was changed simultaneously with the acquisition of InterActive to better reflect the Corporation's activities.

In 1996 the Corporation focused on the research and development of a number of products including Internet Call Manager, a "call waiting" service for Internet users. In 1997, the Corporation entered a phase of product deployment, testing and sales growth. The Corporation initially launched the Internet Call Manager service through direct consumer sales from the Corporation's website, and in strategic partnership with Maritime Tel & Tel Limited. This process was a critical step in establishing the market enthusiasm that is now attracting other distribution partners. As a result of this process, the Corporation is positioned to provide telephone companies and Internet service providers with a product incorporating automated support systems that can be rapidly and reliably deployed. The Corporation's marketing plan is now focused on both direct sales in Canada and the United States, and on forging partnerships with large telephone companies, Internet providers and other organizations with large numbers of Internet users. The Corporation has also entered the European market through its relationship with Witchity Capital Corporation Limited.

Witchity is a Bermuda-registered company with its operating headquarters in London, England. It was specifically formed to pursue the deployment of Internet Call Manager service in all countries of Europe. Witchity has a non-exclusive license to offer Internet Call Manager throughout Europe as part of a deployment agreement signed with the Corporation on 1 April 1999. In addition to the initial license fee associated with this agreement, the Corporation will be paid by Witchity on a per subscriber, per month basis. The Corporation is committed to pay Mr. J. Kelley Fritz, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Witchity, royalties equal to 10% of the gross profits from the sale or licensing of the ICM technology in all countries that are members of the International Patent Cooperation Treaty, excluding Canada and the United States, to a maximum of $250,000. Up to 6 October 1999, no such royalties have been paid to Mr. Fritz. Mr. Fritz, a resident of Tortola, British Virgin Islands, with 1,777,151 shares is the largest shareholder, and is a former director, of InfoInterActive Inc.

In December 1997, the Corporation concluded a significant revenue-sharing agreement with Cincinnati Bell Telephone Company to launch Internet Call Manager in the United States. Since the beginning of this marketing plan in the fourth quarter of 1997, the Corporation has successfully entered into trial, revenue-sharing or sales and marketing agreements with several major telephone companies, including GTE-Internetworking, a unit of GTE Corporation, and Bell Atlantic Network Services (see "Business of the Corporation - Strategic Alliances" page 9 in the Preliminary Prospectus dated 6 October 1999, available in the SEDAR website). According to the IDC Report (see "Business of the Corporation - Industry Overview" page 17 in the same Preliminary Prospectus), Internet penetration is now estimated at approximately 32,900,000 households in the United States alone, and as a result the Corporation will have access to a large and growing customer base. In addition to the strategic partnerships with telephone companies, the Corporation continues to attract increasing numbers of customers through direct marketing and strategic partnerships with Internet service providers, principally in the provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Nova Scotia.

Source: page 6 in the Preliminary Prospectus, 6 October 1999
See: SEDAR website at http://www.sedar.com/

2000 February 29

Once in 400 Years

Very Rare Event

In a year ending in two zeroes, the month of February usually has only 28 days. That was true in 1900, in 1800, and in 1700. It will also be true in 2100 and 2200. However, this year February has 29 days. This happens only once every 400 years — the last time was 29 February 1600, and the next time will be 29 February 2400.

2000 February 29

Petroleum Industry Newsletter to Provide Information
on Atlantic Canada's Retail Gasoline Prices

A new petroleum industry newsletter, launched today, will provide data and insight into how Atlantic Canada's gasoline is priced for retail sale. FuelFax will offer readers an up-to-date overview of crude oil and gasoline markets, as well as an analysis of other factors that influence pump prices. The Atlantic edition, released today, is one of five regional editions of the newsletter that will be published semi-monthly. It is being made available without charge to politicians, government officials, media and others interested in the issue. FuelFax, including downloadable charts and graphs, can be found on the Internet at www.cppi.ca.

The Canadian Petroleum Products Institute (CPPI) is paying the cost of publishing FuelFax. The newsletter is intended to lay a factual foundation for public and political discussion of gasoline prices. It also provides timely response to recent comments on gasoline prices. "Recent debate about gasoline prices has created confusion and misunderstanding with consumers," said Les Stewart, Atlantic Vice-President of CPPI. "FuelFax offers clear, timely information from independent experts about gasoline market conditions. The newsletter is intended to separate fact from fiction in retail gasoline pricing." Purvin & Gertz and M.J. Ervin & Associates will provide price data and analysis for FuelFax. The two independent energy consulting firms will have full editorial control over the data and related analysis. Although CPPI is funding the newsletter, neither CPPI nor its member companies will have input with respect to the data or analysis. "FuelFax is an independently-produced and reliable information tool for people who want to know more about the petroleum marketplace and in particular, want to better understand gas prices," said Gareth Crandall, Vice-President of Purvin & Gertz Inc., which along with M.J. Ervin & Associates, publishes the newsletter. "It will provide an overview of what is happening in the crude oil wholesale and retail gasoline markets. It will also examine other factors affecting pump prices so there is an opportunity for informed debate." CPPI represents an association of Canadian companies involved in the refining distribution and/or marketing of petroleum products.

Source:
Canadian Petroleum Products Institute news release, 29 February 2000
    http://www.newswire.ca/releases/February2000/29/c7408.html

References:
Canadian Petroleum Products Institute (CPPI) website at
    http://www.cppi.ca/
Retail gasoline prices
    http://www.gasprice.org/

2000 February 29

CRTC List of Registered Competitive
Pay Telephone Service Providers
(Nova Scotia only)

Revised 29 February 2000

Source:   CRTC website at
    http://www.crtc.gc.ca/ENG/public/Iplists/cptsp.txt

Obligations of Competitive Pay Telephone
Service Providers (CPTSPs)

ENTRY PROCEDURES
1.   The CPTSP must attest in writing that it understands and will conform to the obligations and consumer safeguards set out in CRTC Decision 98-8.
2.   The CPTSP must provide the name of the carrier supplying the access lines in each serving area.
3.   The CPTSP must provide to the Commission serving area maps for information purposes and make such serving area maps available upon request at their business offices.
4.   The CPTSP must provide details as to how it proposes to deal with consumer complaints.
OBLIGATIONS — MANDATED SAFEGUARDS
(a)   Provision of coinless and cardless access to 9-1-1, or access to emergency call routing by an operator accessed by dialing 0 at a pay telephone. Where required by civic authorities, provision of a list of detailed pay telephone locations to the enhanced 9-1-1 administrator.
(b)   Provision of Message Relay Service (MRS).
(c)   Provision of 6-1-1 or other number for reporting telephone trouble.
(d)   Provision of non-discriminatory access to the networks of all alternate providers of long distance service connected to the underlying local exchange network, if long distance calling is permitted.
(e)   Posting on or near the pay telephone the company name, address and toll free number where information can be obtained and complaints addressed.
(f)   Posting the Commission's address and toll free number (1-877-249-CRTC) on all pay telephone equipment, in order to ensure that consumers have direct recourse to facilitate resolution of unresolved complaints.
(g)   Operator services, if provided, (other than emergency services access and MRS) that are in compliance with CRTC Telecom Order 95-316 as well as with procedures that evolve from the CRTC Interconnection Steering Committee.
(h)   Prominent display, at each pay telephone location, of the following information: rates of local calls, the name of the default long distance provider, any surcharges not included in the price of the call and any limitations on the functionality of the equipment, such as an inability to make long distance calls.
(i)   Provision for coin return for uncompleted calls, such as busy signals or no answer if coin access is applicable, and similarly if a card is used, alternately billed charges must not apply if the call is not connected to the called party.
(j)   Standard arrangement of letters as well as numbers provided on the dial in order to permit callers to reach their provider of choice through the use of commonly used vanity access sequences.
(k)   All pay telephones are to meet existing and future CSA and the Terminal Attachment Program Advisory Committee standards to prevent network harm.
(l)   All pay telephones are to be accessible to the physically disabled, be hearing aid compatible and meet the standards established in CRTC Telecom Order 98-626, as modified by CRTC Telecom Order 98-1186, for provisioning of service to visually impaired consumers. These include:

Bright contrasting-colour coin and/or card mechanisms to make them easier to see;

A feature which enables the user to start the call over if an error is made;

A screen which displays context-sensitive dialing instructions in a larger size than can be accommodated with printed instruction cards;

A card-reader for a variety of telephone cards; and

Voice prompts to assist in placing calls or using features.
(m)   Adherence to all applicable Commission rules concerning protection of customer privacy.
This is an unofficial document intended for convenience only and is not to be relied upon as an official version. Refer to:
    CRTC Telecom Decision 98-8, 30 June 1998
    CRTC Telecom Order 98-626, 26 June 1998
    CRTC Telecom Order 98-1186, 26 November 1998

Source:   CRTC website at
    http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/public/2000/8180/Crtc/CPTSPob.htm

2000 February 29

Clearing Started for Halifax Lateral Pipeline

On this day, the clearing contractor began work along the route of the Halifax Lateral pipeline, in various locations. Clearing is scheduled to be completed in about two months. The clearing work is being done by several crews led by the general clearing contractor, R. MacLean Forestry Limited of Antigonish, and prime subcontractor Sack's Excavating of Shubenacadie First Nation, Nova Scotia. R. MacLean Forestry has been in business for about 25 years. Last year they cleared the Nova Scotia portion of the 76cm 30 inch main pipeline route between Goldboro, Guysborough County, and Massachusetts. Sack's Excavating is a civil and forestry contractor from the Mi'kmaq community of Shubenacadie, Halifax County. Over the last 15 years, Sack's has completed numerous water, sewer, and road building projects. The Halifax Lateral will be 124km of 30cm 12 inch steel pipe, from its connection with the main pipeline near Stellarton to the Tufts Cove generating plant of Nova Scotia Power in Dartmouth. There are two Firm Service Agreements in place with Nova Scotia Power, for supply of natural gas to a total of 61,600 MMBTU/day [61,600,000,000 BTU per day 65 TJ per day]. Clearing for the Saint John Lateral pipeline, 102km of 40cm 16 inch steel pipe, will begin soon. The Halifax and saint John Laterals are scheduled to be constructed this summer, from May through september 2000. General contractors for pipeline construction will be selected in a few weeks.
[Guysborough County Journal, 9 March 2000]

The BTU Conversion Factor is
1 BTU   =   1055.056 J or
1 MMBTU   =   1.055,056 GJ

2000 February 29

iCraveTV Shut Down

Television Signals No Longer Available over the Internet

On this day, an agreement was signed by Bill Craig, president of iCraveTV, and representatives of Canadian broadcasters and film producers that, among other things, prohibits him from rebroadcasting Canadian television signals. On 8 February, a Pittsburgh court ordered Mr. Craig to stop rebroadcasting U.S. television signals after the Motion Picture Association, representing the major broadcasters and film studios, successfully complained that United States Internet users could get programs Mr. Craig was accused of pirating. That left Mr. Craig's iCraveTV free to rebroadcast TV signals if he could make sure they would be available only to viewers in Canada. The effect of today's agreement is "to close them down," said Michael McCabe, president of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters. The company, as it was originally set up in November 1999, is no longer on the Internet.

Mr. Craig says he is now working on a new business plan that will have his company arranging to broadcast specialty channels, such as CNN and the Discovery Channel, now available only over cable or satellite services, over the Internet. "There are 80 of them in the United States and 17 in Canada," he says. By this summer, Mr. Craig said, he expects to have signed deals with U.S. and Canadian specialty channels that will offer country-specific subscription services, something he sees as the next inevitable step in the evolution ofthe Internet. "Country-specific" means the iCraveTV service will be transmitted only to subscribers within a specific country, and will no be available elsewhere even through the Internet is the delivery medium. Mr. Craig said he has a team of software programmers now working to develop an effective way to prevent webcasts from being received by anyone other than those authorized or intended by the company.

[National Post, 2 March 2000]



Wayback Machine
Wayback Machine
http://web.archive.org/index.html

"Use the Wayback Machine to view web sites from the past."


Archive of This Document:
History of Nova Scotia, Chapter 53

The Wayback Machine has copies of this webpage from the early days:
Archived: 2001 June 19
http://web.archive.org/web/20010619113846/http://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/205/300/nova_scotias_electronic_attic/07-04-09/www.littletechshoppe.com/ns1625nshist53.html
Archived: 2001 November 22
http://web.archive.org/web/20011122053929/http://www.alts.net/ns1625/nshist53.html



Index with links to the other chapters



Go To:   History of Automobiles in Nova Scotia
    http://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/205/300/nova_scotias_electronic_attic/07-04-09/www.littletechshoppe.com/ns1625automobiles.html
Go To:   History of Telegraph and Telephone Companies in Nova Scotia
    http://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/205/300/nova_scotias_electronic_attic/07-04-09/www.littletechshoppe.com/ns1625telephone.html
Go To:   History of Electric Power Companies in Nova Scotia
    http://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/205/300/nova_scotias_electronic_attic/07-04-09/www.littletechshoppe.com/ns1625electric.html
Go To:   History of Railway Companies in Nova Scotia
    http://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/205/300/nova_scotias_electronic_attic/07-04-09/www.littletechshoppe.com/ns1625railways.html
Go To:   Index to other online Nova Scotia History
    http://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/205/300/nova_scotias_electronic_attic/07-04-09/www.littletechshoppe.com/ns1625histindx.html
Go To:   Home Page
    http://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/205/300/nova_scotias_electronic_attic/07-04-09/www.littletechshoppe.com/ns1625index.html

Valid HTML 4.0 webpage
W3C HTML Validation Service
http://validator.w3.org/

Valid CSS webpage
W3C CSS Validation Service
http://jigsaw.w3.org/css-validator/

Latest revision: 2001 January 04