Yarmouth County MLAs disappointed with meeting with premier

Yarmouth County MLAs Richard Hurlburt and Chris d'Entremont say they are extremely disappointed with Wednesday's meeting between the premier and municipal leaders on the fate of the international CAT ferry service between Nova Scotia and Maine. The service has been discontinued following the rejection of a $6 million assistance proposal by owner Bay Ferries Limited that would have kept it in operation for one more season.

The MLAs, joined by community and provincial tourism representatives, urged the NDP government to fund the ferry until a $1-million federal-provincial transportation report on its feasibility is complete.

Though Premier Darrell Dexter confirmed he would expedite the report to ensure its findings are in their hands by mid-January, he said the government will not reconsider its decision to deny their support, and will now be looking at alternatives for the Yarmouth to Maine ferry service that has been provided by The CAT since 1997.

But Hurlburt is calling the report an exercise in futility, since its findings will not come soon enough for an alternative to be implemented in time for the upcoming tourist season and the 75,000 to 150,000 passengers who would have taken The CAT between Nova Scotia and Maine in 2010. He also advised the government to realize that even if and when a cheaper service is put in place, travelers will have had a year to find other destinations points and may not return. "Under this government, the province has essentially become a ship without a rudder, lacking the kind of leadership and long-term planning vital to its sustainability," Hurlburt said, noting Economic Development Minister Percy Paris' public admission that he does not know what impact the loss of The CAT will have on Nova Scotia's tourism industry. "This is a gateway community that has had a ferry service for more than a century; to take that away without a complete picture of how the community and province will be effected is absolutely irresponsible. There is no question that the decision will be devastating to our economy." D'Entremont said the premier appears to be listening, but has in fact given no consideration to the needs of Nova Scotians. "When you are looking at any mode of public transportation, you do not simply eliminate it without knowing how that will impact the public, and that is essentially what has happened in this case," he said. "I think I speak on behalf of many Nova Scotians when I say I am baffled as to why this decision would be made before all the facts are in, and before there is a clear course of action in place." Traditionally, New England has provided the province with one of its largest tourist demographics, with The CAT contributing about $175 million to the province's tourism industry annually. Bay Ferries' other services, Northumberland Ferries, which operates between Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia, and The Princess of Acadia, between Digby and Saint John, all receive millions of dollars in government subsidizes each year. "Since the decision to end The CAT was made with no feasibility study, you have to question what this means for the future of other ferry services across the province," said Hurlburt. "The premier may say this decision is final, but the fight is far from over."