Halifax — Nova Scotia's largest city, still reeling from a fierce blizzard that dumped a record amount of snow over much of the province, will be subjected to a curfew for a second consecutive night, Halifax officials announced Saturday.
As well, the entire province was to remain under a state of emergency, three days after a record-breaking snowfall paralyzed the province.
With the western half of Nova Scotia facing another heavy snowfall warning, the state of emergency had to be extended to ensure public safety, said Ernie Fage, the minister responsible for emergency measures.
"Although we are making progress, many roads and streets in the Halifax (area) and provincewide are still inaccessible," Mr. Fage said Saturday.
Alex Munroe, 8, pokes his head up from a snow fort he and his brothers built at Cole Harbour High in Halifax. (Darrell Oake/CP)
In a bid to keep the streets clear of traffic and pedestrians, Halifax officials stunned residents late Friday by declaring an unprecedented curfew.
Any pedestrian caught on the street between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. faced a $1,000 fine, and motorists were told their cars could be impounded.
But no arrests were made and no fines were handed out by early Saturday.
A police spokesman confirmed the curfew seemed to work as the streets were quieter than usual Friday night.
However, many stranded cars were impounded.
Saturday's curfew will start at 10 p.m. and end at 7 a.m. local time.
John O'Brien, spokesman for the Halifax Regional Municipality, said the curfew was extended to keep cars and pedestrians from blocking snowplows and emergency personnel.
"We made some progress last night, but probably not as much as we wanted to," said O'Brien, who added that 40 per cent of residential streets had yet to see a plow. "We're hoping to have at least one path down every street by (Saturday) at midnight."
Meanwhile, public transit services in Halifax were cancelled until Monday morning. Grocery stores were to open Sunday, even though Sunday shopping is usually banned in Nova Scotia.
Environment Canada said the snow would begin falling Saturday and continue Sunday, dropping up to 20 centimetres over a large area bounded by Halifax, Yarmouth and all along the Bay of Fundy's southern shore.
The storm that hit Thursday has been dubbed "White Juan," a reference to
hurricane Juan, which devastated parts of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island on Sept. 29.
The blizzard, which left behind 95 centimetres of snow in Halifax, buried the city's old total storm record of 73.2 centimetres, set in 1960.
Charlottetown received 74.4 cm of snow, also a record.
While the state of emergency remained in effect in Nova Scotia, it was lifted Friday in Prince Edward Island.
