Commuters who travel across Halifax’s Macdonald Bridge will want to find an alternative route on Monday morning as a climate change protest is expected to shut down the structure starting around 7 a.m.
Halifax Harbour Bridges CEO Steven Snider says he has had no communication with Extinction Rebellion Nova Scotia about the group’s planned bridge takeover and that he found out about the Macdonald Bridge protest, like many others, when it made news headlines.
“That time of the day, it will virtually shut this city down,” said Snider. “We’ve experienced that before on an unplanned basis, and it’s been problematic … it’s not good.”
Extinction Rebellion Nova Scotia is part of an international movement that started in the U.K. in 2018 and has been established in more than 56 countries. The organization aims to use non-violent civil disobedience to force governments to address and cut greenhouse gas emissions in order to avert a climate crisis.
Snider says he respects the right to peaceful protest and believes his organization has gone above and beyond to accommodate protests before, but he says previous events were co-ordinated with the Halifax Harbour Bridge team and that he has had no communication with Extinction Rebellion Nova Scotia organizers.
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“We’ve had bicycle rides across the bridge and First Nations that have wanted to walk across here, and we did accommodate that,” he said. “But that was done on an organized basis, knowing when they will be here and during an off-peak period.”
Extinction Rebellion Nova Scotia’s planned bridge takeover will coincide with other protests focused on bridges across Canada and abroad. While the Halifax protest has been publicized, others are being kept secret said, according to one Extinction Rebellion Nova Scotia organizer.
“The bridge is symbolic to our future because right now, we have no bridge to the future if serious action is not taken,” Extinction Rebellion Nova Scotia member Kevin Smith said.
Smith says Extinction Rebellion Nova Scotia has reached out to Halifax bridge patrol officials and confirmed the group will be protesting on Monday. According to Smith, the group assured officials the protest will remain peaceful, and he says organizers have also spoken with police about the demonstration.
The bridge protest is coming on the heels of a historic climate rally in Halifax that saw thousands take to the streets. Extinction Rebellion Nova Scotia says that protest cannot be a one-off and that it will continue to bring pressure until changes are made.
“We’ve asked nicely, we’ve petitioned. As environmentalists, we’ve been trying to do this for 30 years,” said Smith. “We’ve been trying to get policy-makers to change our path, and nothing has worked. We don’t want to do this, we have to do this.”
Organizers anticipate Monday’s planned demonstration will draw more than 500 protesters.
Police say they are aware of the planned event and will be on hand to monitor.
“As with any demonstration, we recognize that the people have the right to peacefully and lawfully demonstrate,” said Halifax Regional Police Const. John MacLeod. “But our focus has to be on public safety.”
The bridge commission is encouraging commuters to find alternate routes on Monday while Halifax Transit said they are implementing adjustments in anticipation of the protest.
Halifax Transit says all routes that regularly cross the Macdonald Bridge will be rerouted to the MacKay Bridge while passengers using routes that travel on Alderney Drive will be encouraged to transfer to the Alderney Ferry.
Passengers using transit routes that service Woodside will be encouraged to transfer to the Woodside Ferry and passengers using peak hour service will be encouraged to transfer and use the ferry service if possible.
Both the Alderney and Woodside ferries will be running every 15 minutes until 10 a.m., in anticipation of the increased traffic.
Halifax Transit says a shuttle service will be organized at the Halifax Ferry Terminal to assist in transporting passengers who’ve been off-loaded from the ferry.
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