Both say they support an international link to the United States. Both say they want to see a long-term sustainable service. And both obviously want to see ridership increase.
But when it comes to the deal struck between the province and Bay Ferries, that’s where Premier Stephen McNeil and PC Party Leader Jamie Baillie sail off in different directions.
One says the deal is good. The other says the deal is bad.
It’s not hard to figure out who says what.
Premier Stephen McNeil was in Yarmouth on Saturday, Aug. 13, and got to tour The Cat and talk with passengers.
“It’s a great looking boat,” he said. “It looks fantastic. Everyone was in a great mood. We ran into a group from Cleveland who had taken the vessel and they couldn’t say enough good about it. Everyone who had been on the vessel really had positive stuff to say about it.”
RIDERSHIP
But McNeil knows it is important to build higher ridership, which right now is trending a ways off from the government’s target, although numbers have been increasing each week. Bay Ferries says it is working hard to drive up passenger numbers.
“We have the right vessel and I think we have the right partner,” the premier says.
Asked who the onus falls on to attract people to the province – whether it is the province or Bay Ferries – McNeil says it is a partnership between the two. He says areas throughout the province benefit from the tourism traffic coming from the boat.
“We have the right operator who has operated a ferry service for a long. We now have a vessel that meets, what I think, is required for that service,” the premier says. “But we know there will be some growing pains, simply because you’ve severed the service.”
The contract the province has with Bay Ferries is based on a business plan of 60,000 passengers.
PORTLAND FERRY NUMBERS: On Monday, Aug. 15, the City of Portland released a breakdown of ferry traffic for the month of July. Departing on the ferry were 5,619 passengers, arriving were 5,194, for a total of 10,813 passengers for the month. The month saw 3,296 vehicles, 87 vehicles with campers, 4 tour buses and 63 bicycles.
With the 60,000-passenger government target seemingly out of reach this season, the opposition continues to question how much extra money will come from the province. This and other concerns form the basis of PC leader Jamie Baillie’s argument that the ferry deal is bad.
“Our issue is not with the private company . . . our issue has been the way the Liberal government has gone about it,” he says. “They waited until the last possible minute to decide whether to keep Nova Star or not so they really put Bay Ferries behind the eight ball by giving them so little time to find the boat.”
In doing so, Baillie says, an expert panel’s recommendations to not use a high-speed ferry has been ignored.
However, in talking with passengers who have used the service this season, many have told this newspaper they favour the shorter trip. The Cat does the crossing in five and a half hours, whereas Nova Star was closer to 10 hours.
BENEFITS
Baillie says the ferry deal sways too heavily towards favouring the operator, as opposed to the province, leaving Nova Scotian taxpayers on the hook for underwriting any potential losses.
The province is providing an operating subsidy of $10.2 million in addition to $13.1 million in start-up costs and terminal and vessel retrofits this season.
Premier McNeil said Saturday that Bay Ferries has not come to the province asking for additional operational funding. The service ends Oct. 1. Baillie expects there to be more taxpayer funding going into the service this year.
Baillie says the PCs will continue to be vocal about the deal, but it doesn’t mean they’re not supportive of the service itself.
Still, there is very little positive ever included in any media releases the PC caucus sends out. Asked about what he sees as a positive feature of the service Baillie says, “I’m glad that the new sailing times are what they are, that was a good move. That allows us to maximize the benefit on the Nova Scotia side.”
The schedule creates high demand for accommodations in the Yarmouth and surrounding area from passengers arriving late at night and passengers leaving early in the morning.
“We are committed to an international link to the U.S. out of Yarmouth. People know our party has always supported it and we always will,” Baillie says. “We have to get away from these bad deals and our criticism has been pretty intense, I acknowledge that.”
In fact, three members of the Yarmouth PC association recently wrote a letter to Baillie, expressing concern over his tone and criticism of the ferry service.
“Your attacks relating to the province’s new ferry service need to stop . . . Whatever your questions are related to the deal, the constant negative rhetoric is impacting sales for the vessel, traffic to our communities and is putting the future of this service in jeopardy,” writes former Yarmouth Mayor Charles Crosby, his brother St. Clair Crosby and Victor Amirault.
The men spoke about the “economic devastation” that the region suffered after when the NDP government cut funding to the service in 2009. The ferry operator at the time was Bay Ferries, which had been running a high-speed service between Nova Scotian and Maine since 1998.
“When that party was in power, our party led the charge to get the service back,” the PC members write. “We kindly ask you, as our leader, to change course and support this service as Conservatives have done in the past.”
Baillie, who sat down for an interview with this newspaper on Aug. 12, said he had not yet seen the letter dated Aug. 2. He said he would reply to the authors of the letter when he did.
Baillie says tourists aren't reading Hansard for Legislature debates or researching what elected officials are saying about the service in determining whether they use the ferry. He calls any such suggestion as “laughable,” although in the past Bay Ferries CEO Mark MacDonald has also said constant negativity isn’t good for business.
Baillie says he doesn't plan to stop pressing the issue. He doesn’t think by doing so his party is turning the public against the service itself.
“The public can support a ferry service and oppose a bad deal at the same time,” he says.
But the premier says the public is getting mixed signals. Premier McNeil says he gets that the opposition has a job to hold the government accountable, but he questions the PC party’s support for a ferry service.
“It’s somewhat disappointing to say we should have a ferry service and then criticize everyone who is trying to do it,” Premier McNeil says.
Both say they support an international link to the United States. Both say they want to see a long-term sustainable service. And both obviously want to see ridership increase.
But when it comes to the deal struck between the province and Bay Ferries, that’s where Premier Stephen McNeil and PC Party Leader Jamie Baillie sail off in different directions.
One says the deal is good. The other says the deal is bad.
It’s not hard to figure out who says what.
Premier Stephen McNeil was in Yarmouth on Saturday, Aug. 13, and got to tour The Cat and talk with passengers.
“It’s a great looking boat,” he said. “It looks fantastic. Everyone was in a great mood. We ran into a group from Cleveland who had taken the vessel and they couldn’t say enough good about it. Everyone who had been on the vessel really had positive stuff to say about it.”
RIDERSHIP
But McNeil knows it is important to build higher ridership, which right now is trending a ways off from the government’s target, although numbers have been increasing each week. Bay Ferries says it is working hard to drive up passenger numbers.
“We have the right vessel and I think we have the right partner,” the premier says.
Asked who the onus falls on to attract people to the province – whether it is the province or Bay Ferries – McNeil says it is a partnership between the two. He says areas throughout the province benefit from the tourism traffic coming from the boat.
“We have the right operator who has operated a ferry service for a long. We now have a vessel that meets, what I think, is required for that service,” the premier says. “But we know there will be some growing pains, simply because you’ve severed the service.”
The contract the province has with Bay Ferries is based on a business plan of 60,000 passengers.
PORTLAND FERRY NUMBERS: On Monday, Aug. 15, the City of Portland released a breakdown of ferry traffic for the month of July. Departing on the ferry were 5,619 passengers, arriving were 5,194, for a total of 10,813 passengers for the month. The month saw 3,296 vehicles, 87 vehicles with campers, 4 tour buses and 63 bicycles.
With the 60,000-passenger government target seemingly out of reach this season, the opposition continues to question how much extra money will come from the province. This and other concerns form the basis of PC leader Jamie Baillie’s argument that the ferry deal is bad.
“Our issue is not with the private company . . . our issue has been the way the Liberal government has gone about it,” he says. “They waited until the last possible minute to decide whether to keep Nova Star or not so they really put Bay Ferries behind the eight ball by giving them so little time to find the boat.”
In doing so, Baillie says, an expert panel’s recommendations to not use a high-speed ferry has been ignored.
However, in talking with passengers who have used the service this season, many have told this newspaper they favour the shorter trip. The Cat does the crossing in five and a half hours, whereas Nova Star was closer to 10 hours.
BENEFITS
Baillie says the ferry deal sways too heavily towards favouring the operator, as opposed to the province, leaving Nova Scotian taxpayers on the hook for underwriting any potential losses.
The province is providing an operating subsidy of $10.2 million in addition to $13.1 million in start-up costs and terminal and vessel retrofits this season.
Premier McNeil said Saturday that Bay Ferries has not come to the province asking for additional operational funding. The service ends Oct. 1. Baillie expects there to be more taxpayer funding going into the service this year.
Baillie says the PCs will continue to be vocal about the deal, but it doesn’t mean they’re not supportive of the service itself.
Still, there is very little positive ever included in any media releases the PC caucus sends out. Asked about what he sees as a positive feature of the service Baillie says, “I’m glad that the new sailing times are what they are, that was a good move. That allows us to maximize the benefit on the Nova Scotia side.”
The schedule creates high demand for accommodations in the Yarmouth and surrounding area from passengers arriving late at night and passengers leaving early in the morning.
“We are committed to an international link to the U.S. out of Yarmouth. People know our party has always supported it and we always will,” Baillie says. “We have to get away from these bad deals and our criticism has been pretty intense, I acknowledge that.”
In fact, three members of the Yarmouth PC association recently wrote a letter to Baillie, expressing concern over his tone and criticism of the ferry service.
“Your attacks relating to the province’s new ferry service need to stop . . . Whatever your questions are related to the deal, the constant negative rhetoric is impacting sales for the vessel, traffic to our communities and is putting the future of this service in jeopardy,” writes former Yarmouth Mayor Charles Crosby, his brother St. Clair Crosby and Victor Amirault.
The men spoke about the “economic devastation” that the region suffered after when the NDP government cut funding to the service in 2009. The ferry operator at the time was Bay Ferries, which had been running a high-speed service between Nova Scotian and Maine since 1998.
“When that party was in power, our party led the charge to get the service back,” the PC members write. “We kindly ask you, as our leader, to change course and support this service as Conservatives have done in the past.”
Baillie, who sat down for an interview with this newspaper on Aug. 12, said he had not yet seen the letter dated Aug. 2. He said he would reply to the authors of the letter when he did.
Baillie says tourists aren't reading Hansard for Legislature debates or researching what elected officials are saying about the service in determining whether they use the ferry. He calls any such suggestion as “laughable,” although in the past Bay Ferries CEO Mark MacDonald has also said constant negativity isn’t good for business.
Baillie says he doesn't plan to stop pressing the issue. He doesn’t think by doing so his party is turning the public against the service itself.
“The public can support a ferry service and oppose a bad deal at the same time,” he says.
But the premier says the public is getting mixed signals. Premier McNeil says he gets that the opposition has a job to hold the government accountable, but he questions the PC party’s support for a ferry service.
“It’s somewhat disappointing to say we should have a ferry service and then criticize everyone who is trying to do it,” Premier McNeil says.
