A flag was raised at city hall in Halifax on Tuesday to mark Green Shirt Day in honour of Logan Boulet, a victim in the fatal 2018 Humboldt Broncos crash. Boulet is remembered as a hero, saving the lives of six people as an organ donor. “I don’t think anyone knew what impact Logan would have across the country. It kind of became a national movement because you had this young guy that had no real reason to think about organ donation and he did,” says Alain Landry, Legacy of Life program manager. Mayor Andy Fillmore gave a proclamation marking April 7, 2026, as Green Shirt Day in the Halifax Regional Municipality. “That is an invitation for Haligonians to have those conversations with their families and make their wishes known,” says Fillmore. Dr. Stephen Beed, who attended the Halifax flag raising, was on scene at the time of the Humboldt crash. “I happen to be working in Saskatoon the week of the Humboldt bus crash and took care of Logan. I had absolutely no idea at the time this would become what it is becoming but it galvanized a nation on some part of how important it is, organ and tissue donation,” says Beed. To Beed, April 7 brings flashbacks of emotions. He says looking back at it, he didn’t realize how Logan’s decisions would resonate with people globally. “There are hundreds of people on the waitlist and we will have 30 to 40 donors in the year. People die while they are waiting and many people that think they can’t be a donor because they have lung disease or kidney disease could be a donor,” says Beed. The team at Legacy of Life, the provincial organ and Tissue Donation program, says they have seen an increase in donations since 2021 when the legislation changed presuming consent for organ donations. “Around 300 per cent increase referral for potential organ donors in Nova Scotia. We are meeting with more families than ever. Last year we registered the highest donation rate in the country,” says Landry. But that doesn’t mean they don’t need donations. Hundreds of Nova Scotians wait for organ and tissue transplants, so the need is great. “We are the centre of health care for the province and in many ways for eastern Canada. We are surrounded by health professionals and health organizations. This is a place we think about saving lives and live their lives to the fullest every single day,” says Fillmore. “Can save up to eight lives with organ donation. We can donate heart, lungs, liver, pancreas, small bowel and both kidneys so depending on the type of donation, that depends on a lot of factors. And then for the tissue donation, which is a little bit different than organs, it can be stored and used for surgeries so it can save up to 75 lives,” says Landry. To become an organ and tissue donor, people can register on the Nova Scotia government website or add it to their health card when they renew it. For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
