News Release Archive
NEWS RELEASE (CNS954) -->> LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR'S HOLIDAY MESSAGE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR'S HOLIDAY MESSAGE ----------------------------------------------------------------- 1996 Holiday Season Message by His Honour, the Honourable J. James Kinley, Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia, Government House, Halifax: I am pleased, as the Queen's representative in Nova Scotia, to have this third occasion on which to extend Christmas Greetings to you, my fellow Nova Scotians. In 1994 Nova Scotia was visited by Her Majesty The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh. Last year the G-7 leaders were hosted in Nova Scotia by the Prime Minister. This year, 1996, my wife Grace and I have been busier than ever, travelling throughout the province meeting you and sharing many varied and enjoyable events. On this occasion, I want to mention especially one part of life in Nova Scotia which was part of my life in my younger years: Nova Scotia's community of men and women of the sea and their ships. It was most prominent in our activities this year. The Year of the Wooden Boat is a commemoration of the long heritage of wooden shipbuilding in this province which continues to this day. Th Wooden Ship Festival in Mahone Bay has become a major attraction for Nova Scotians and tourists visiting from outside the province. Our heritage of shipbuilding in Atlantic Canada continues. The patrol frigates built in New Brunswick and the coastal defence vessels built in Halifax are at the cutting edge of naval and marine technology, once more putting Atlantic Canada in the forefront of ship design, building and operation worldwide. These vessels have become part of the activities of the Port of Halifax and other ports in Nova Scotia where operations and ceremonial visits are carried out. Indeed, in April I was thrilled to have a day at sea on the newly commissioned HMCS St. John's with naval and military attaches from many foreign countries. The next day, I inspected HMCS Kingston, built in Halifax, the lead ship in the Maritime Coastal Defence Vessel project. In May, Grace and I toured a variety of ships from different nations visiting Halifax: the Royal Danish Navy ship Falster, the French Naval minesweeper Ceres, and in June, the American sailing ship Patriot State of the Maine Maritime Academy. I was also a guest aboard the British Mine Counter Measures Vessel, HMS Chiddingfold, for the MARCOT Exercises held in Shelburne. In Halifax, in June, Grace and I visited and toured the massive American aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt and participated in a reception and sunset ceremony onboard this most powerful naval vessel. During the summer, I was a guest of the Royal Netherlands Naval ship Bloys Von Treslong, a modern destroyer with NATO's Standing Force Atlantic Fleet, and on another occasion a guest aboard the Italian Naval Training Ship Orsa Maggiore, a beautiful sailing ship on a world cruise with cadets of the Italian Navy. Forty-one cruise liners visited Halifax this summer adding greatly to our tourist industry and activity in our ports. Grace and I were dinner guests on the cruise ship Island Breeze which made several visits to Halifax during the summer. Even larger container ships call at the Port of Halifax on a year round schedule, slipping quietly into harbour, discharging and loading cargo and departing almost unnoticed by the general population, but making a tremendous impact not only on the Port of Halifax, but on the province generally. Our position as representatives of the Queen enables us to view the marine activities of this Province of Nova Scotia in a way not available to most Nova Scotians. It has impressed upon us the complexity of our marine industries and the tremendous impact which it has upon our economy and the lives of our many citizens. While in Cape Breton during July, we visited our own schooner Bluenose II in Baddeck, and HMCS Fredericton in North Sydney. On September 20th, I was a dinner guest aboard the French Naval Ship Commandant l'Herminier. In October, Grace and I were present at the commemoration ceremonies in Sydney of another Halifax-built minesweeper, HMCS Glace Bay. I had the pleasure to travel aboard this modern vessel on its return trip to Halifax. In November, I was a dinner guest onboard HMCS Nipigon when the Minister of Fisheries for Canada, the Honourable Fred Mifflin, a former admiral in the Canadian Navy, was guest speaker. I had the opportunity to officially open a wooden shipyard at Newport Landing, where the topsail schooner Avon Pride is under construction. It will be a tourist attraction and a commemoration of the thousands of wooden ships that were built in the Minas Basin area and throughout Nova Scotia for generations. Grace and I took part in a host of other activities in Nova Scotia throughout this year, but time does not permit me to mention them all. Two world class events, however, stand out in my mind: the 29th World Conference and Official Opening Ceremonies of the Girl Guides and Girl Scouts was held at Acadia University in Wolfville and attended by the Right Honourable Jean Chretien, Prime Minister of Canada, and 550 Guide leaders from 134 countries, a truly world class event. In August, Grace and I joined Premier John Savage, the Honourable Sheila Copps, Deputy Prime Minister of Canada and Minister of Canadian Heritage, the mayor and people of Lunenburg, and many visitors, to recognize the designation of Old Town Lunenburg as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Christmas Season is a time when we meet with our families and friends and remember our activities throughout the year. I am pleased that I can take this opportunity to remind you of some of the activities which my wife and I have shared with many of you throughout the year. It was a good year of which we have many pleasant memories. We hope you have the same. Nova Scotia is a good place in which to live. We extend to you in friendship our best wishes for a Happy Holiday Season and good health and happiness throughout the coming year. -30- trp Dec. 17, 1996 - 9:55 a.m.