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Eddie Joyce, MHA for the District of Bay of Islands, says Transportation
Minister Tom Rideout is backing away from his government’s election
commitment to undertake a ferry replacement strategy using workers and
facilities in Newfoundland and Labrador. In Thursday’s edition of the
Telegram, Minister Rideout stated that the province may not be able to
undertake a ferry replacement program in the province due to the Atlantic
Procurement Agreement. This agreement allows shipyards from other provinces
to bid on contracts to build ferries and has been in place since 1996, well
before the PC government made their commitment to undertake a ferry
replacement program in the province.
"I find it very strange that Minister Rideout is now backing away from a
commitment that he has been touting for the last two years," said Mr. Joyce.
"He is now citing a trade agreement from 1996 as the reason that ferry
contracts may not be awarded in this province. Surely, the PC government
knew about this agreement before making this clear commitment to the people
of Newfoundland and Labrador.
"As a stalling tactic, the minister has now decided to waste $250,000 on
an Ontario firm to do another study on the provincial ferry fleet. The
province already knows the problems that exist with the provincial ferry
fleet, the Former Auditor General (AG), Elizabeth Marshall, highlighted
these problems in her 2000 report. There was also public hearings by the
Public Accounts Committee in which the current Minister of Finance was
Chairman. Instead of wasting taxpayers money in an effort to postpone a
vessel replacement strategy until after the next election, I suggest he save
this money, visit Elizabeth Marshall in the Government Members Office and
ask her to help him review her report.
"Minister Rideout continuously blames the previous Liberal administration
for every single problem occurring in his department. The former Liberal
administration was moving towards the replacement and upgrading of the
province’s ferry fleet. It is time for the minister to take responsibility
for his own government’s lack of action on transportation problems in the
province. The former Liberal administration did not write the PC election
commitments, nor is the current Opposition the Party breaking those
commitments. The former Liberal administration didn’t increase ferry rates
by 25 per cent, it was Mr. Rideout who broke his party’s election commitment
to reduce these same rates. I suggest the minister explain why he is
backtracking on promises made to the people of the province, and is now
breaking such an important commitment, especially to ferry users and the
workers at the shipyards in Marystown, Clarenville and Bull Arm who are
ready to begin work on this promised ferry replacement program."
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