 Hello everyone. Bonjour à tous. Today we mark the 100th anniversary of the Halifax Explosion. On December 6, 1917, two ships collided in the narrows of the Halifax Harbor, one of them a munitions ship bound for the battlefields of the First World War. The explosion that followed leveled the north end of Halifax and changed the city forever. It was the largest human-made explosion before the atomic bomb and remains one of the deadliest disasters in Canadian history. Nearly 2,000 people were killed in the blast, including hundreds of children. Thousands more were gravely injured and half the city's population was left without shelter. The tragedy devastated Halifax, but Nova Scotians responded with courage and heroism, like Vincent Coleman, the railway dispatcher who gave his life to warn incoming trains of the danger. Communities across the province also offered relief and support and help poured in beyond our borders from Massachusetts to Australia. Halifax was devastated, but his spirit remained strong, supported by friends and neighbors who gathered together, led by the Neo-Ecosis who recovered and rebuilt to come out stronger than before. Hundreds of years later, their courage and compassion still persist in the city of Halifax. Today, we honor these people by keeping their memories close to our hearts.