McNeil provided the advice at the March 11 meeting of Yarmouth town council in response to councillor Ken Langille.
“What do we do we do in the meantime?” asked Langille, with reference to the repercussions of no ferry service from Yarmouth to New England for 2010.
“Hold that byelection. If they respond the way they did to the people in Antigonish by throwing money at it in terms of a library, perhaps they’ll do the same for the people in Yarmouth,” said McNeil.
Yarmouth’s seat in the Nova Scotia legislature was left vacant after the recent resignation of Progressive Conservative MLA Richard Hurlburt.
Representatives of the three main political parties say people have expressed interest in running for them in the provincial byelection. The Liberal party has set a date for a nomination meeting of May 8.
McNeil pointed to the province’s recently announced $60-million investment in Pictou County for a wind turbine manufacturing operation as an example of its questionable actions.
They not only won’t admit that they are wrong, but they also have not come to the table to say what they are going to do to help those people who have been displaced.” - Liberal leader Stephen McNeil with reference to the NDP government's refusal to subsidize Yarmouth/Maine ferry service for 2010.
The province’s contribution to Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering includes $19.6 million in cash, a $30-million loan for new equipment, a $6-million loan for working capital and a $4-million forgivable loan for land and buildings.
An estimated 125 jobs will be created in the first year, with projected employment in the neighbourhood of 500.
Stakeholders in the Southwest Nova tourism industry say at least 500 will lose their jobs because of the loss of the ferry service between Yarmouth and Maine in 2010. The NDP government remains steadfast in its refusal to subsidize Bay Ferries’ Cat. It is, however, paying a $3-million cancellation fee to the company.
“They not only won’t admit that they are wrong, but they also have not come to the table to say what they are going to do to help those people who have been displaced,” said McNeil.
