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CANALMEN AND SUPERINTENDENT - Victor Kyte, the first superintendent of the Canso Canal, was interviewed in 1980 by Port Hastings Historical Society staff. He said that applicants for jobs at the Canal in 1955 were restricted to men from the four counties which bordered on the Strait of Canso -Antigonish, Guysborough, Richmond and Inverness Counties as well as priority being given to veterans as the idea of Veterens Preference was very strong. Anyone in receipt of a disability pension for war wounds and passed the test was hired.
When it was first opened, there were seven employees on the operating staff - four lockmasters who were responsible once a ship entered the entrance of the lock for its trip through and three canalmen who operated the gates and took tide levels.

24

Traffic backed up because the bridge is swung open for a ship passing through the Canso Canal.
August, 2004
Port Hastings, Inverness County, Nova Scotia, Canada
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Backup of cars and trucks whenever the bridge over the Canal is swung open for a ship passing through is a common sight. It doesn't take long for them to be backed up through the village of Port Hastings towards Port Hawkesbury, route 19 and the Trans Canada highway.

26

Shipping
July, 2004
Strait of Canso, Nova Scotia, Canada
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27

A yacht enters the Canso Canal lock.
August, 2004
Canso Canal Bridge
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RESPONSIBLE ENTITIES - By 2004, two levels of government and a private company are involved in operation of the Canso Causeway / Canal complex. The provincial Department of Transportation maintain the Canso Causeway, Cape Breton and Central Nova Scotia Railway operate and maintain the swing bridge and rail line and the Federal Transport Canada Department operate and maintain the Canso Canal and Locks.

29

Seabourne Pride cruise ship in Canso Canal headed south.
September, 2004
Canso Canal, Strait of Canso, Canada
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30

Tanker Nanticoke
2004
Strait of Canso, Nova Scotia, Canada
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PROCEDURE FOR SHIPS TO PASS THROUGH THE CANSO CANAL - The personnel on the ship phone or radio ahead to the staff in the Canal offices in Port Hastings for authorization to go through the Canal. Ships over 100 tons or of foreign registry are required to make arrangements for a local pilot to bring them through the locks. The pilots are pre arranged through the Atlantic Pilots Authority or an agent such as F.K. Warren Ltd. who have an office in Port Hawkesbury. There is a fee for the pilots but there are no fees to go through the Canso Canal itself.

32

Ship passing through the Canso Canal lock from the north.
27 November 2004
Port Hastings, Inverness County, Nova Scotia, Canada
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LARGEST SHIPS THROUGH - One of the largest ships to go through the Canal once was 734 feet long and 79 feet 6 inches wide according to Seward Benoit, Canal Supervisor in 2004. It needed the maximum draft of 30 feet and had some difficulty getting through.
The average for the larger ships is 600 feet long by 70 feet wide and needing 28 feet draft.

34

Tanker Nanticoke headed south past the railway bridge over the Canso Canal.
27 November 2004
Canso Canal Bridge
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35

The Nanticoke exits the Canso Canal lock.
27 November 2004
Strait of Canso, Nova Scotia, Canada
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CANAL REPAIRS AND MAINTENANCE - $21 million has been spent on major repairs on the Canso Canal which was started in 1984. Work that has been completed: replacing the steel gates, resurfacing the cement walls, and repairs to the piers.
This work has been done in sometimes severe winter conditions when the Canal is closed for the season.