The Western Line hockey team (pictured) beat the Sackville Bucket Monkeys in a shootout in the IBEW Local 1928 hockey tournament final in Yarmouth on Sunday afternoon. The Bucket Monkeys had battled back to tie the game, after entering the third period with a three-goal deficit. But the Western Line team had come to win and proved mightier in the shoot-out test. Organizer Mike Mooney, along with friends and family, put on a great tournament, with great hospitality, great organization and great facilities. Thanks for making Yarmouth a go-to destination, Mike, despite of the weather. Thank you also to everyone who travelled West to participate, particularly the EUS Communications guys from New Brunswick. See you all next year, hopefully.

[Click here for tournament schedule]. The IBEW Local 1928 hockey tournament will be hosted in Yarmouth, from March 28th to March 30th. Six teams have entered and each is guaranteed at least three games for making the journey west. With the financial support of Local 1928, Nova Scotia Power, and contractors from the local area, organizer Mike Mooney is promising players a weekend of "good food, good refreshments, and good times" in Yarmouth. Good luck and safe travels to all participants. 

The IBEW, We’re There For You. That’s the message you will hear on a soon-to-be-launched television commercial running from April 1 to June 30. The commerical is part of a national marketing campaign to create better awareness of the people who make up the IBEW, and to highlight the important jobs we do from coast to coast in Canada. Watch for these ads on the History, Discovery, Comedy, TSN, BBC, and CBC (Hockey Night in Canada) networks.
     We want to tell everyone about the ways that IBEW members are keeping Canada running. A new website that will go live on April 1st will will collect member stories about the great work we do both on the job and in our communities. Check out www.ibewcanada.ca to learn about your brothers and sisters. Share your own story by clicking on the "Local Heroes" tab. 

A random draw on February 28 by First District Vice President Brother Bill Daniels awarded five $1,000 scholarships for 2014 to the following applicants: Meagan MacIvor – Local Union 37, Fredericton, NB; Kaeli Coleman – Local Union 2067, Regina SK; Yan Ning Zang – Local Union 424, Edmonton, AB; Hassam Hasan – Local Union 636, Mississauga ON; and Kelly Chiasson – Local Union 37, Fredericton, NB. The First District Office sponsors these yearly awards with the support of Union Savings, TD Insurance Meloche Monnex, and MWG Appareland AIL.

This past weekend, representatives from EnMax Corp., a Calgary-based utility, held a four-day recruiting session at the Prince George Hotel in downtown Halifax. Enmax is looking for 20 workers from the Powerline Technician and Power System Electrician trades. Several former NSP employees have already left to join Enmax over the last several months, with more anticipating heading West in the near future. (See article on the CBC website for one former NSP lineman's story).

PowerTel Utilities Contractors Limited, based out of Ontario, is an outside line construction contractor that is agressively recruiting powerline technicians as they look to establish a presence in Atlantic Canada through a base in Nova Scotia. Their ad for PLTs ran in the Chronicle Herald on Saturday March 1st. PowerTel will be a direct competitor to Emera Utility Services (EUS). Emera is the parent company of both Nova Scotia Power and EUS. (See PowerTel's ad on Career Beacon.) 

BC Hydro is also actively recruiting powerline technicians and cable splicers. (See links to job postings on our Available Work page.) A number of linemen from Nova Scotia left recently to pursue work with Valard, MidLite, and Rockstad. The loss of these skilled workers will be felt in the province eventually, particularly as contractors seek labour to build the Maritime Link, a project approved in Nova Scotia last fall by the UARB. The Maritime Link will bring renewable power via undersea cables from the Lower Churchill Falls dam in Labrabor to Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and the Eastern US.