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Yvonne Jones, MHA for the District of Cartwright-L’Anse au Clair, says she
is pleased that Transportation and Works Minister John Hickey appears
willing to reinstate the ferry service between Cartwright and Goose Bay to
three times a week, up from the two trips that is currently scheduled.
After taking office in 2003, the Progressive Conservative government took
the Labrador ferry service out of Cartwright and placed it in Lewisporte.
This decision reduced the number of weekly ferry trips from Cartwright to
Goose Bay to two, down from the previous service level of three weekly
trips.
"In a recent meeting, the Cartwright Town Council and the local zonal
board were advised by Minister Hickey that his department would improve the
Labrador ferry service and place an additional trip between Cartwright and
Goose Bay commencing next year," said Ms. Jones. "I am very pleased that
government finally appears willing to admit and recognize that they made a
mistake when they diminished this ferry service over the past few years.
"While I am pleased the minister has recognized the negative impact of
his government’s service reductions, I am asking Minister Hickey to take
this decision a step further and place the Labrador ferry service back in
Cartwright where it belongs. This service is used by the people of Labrador
and it should be stationed out of the communities that it is designed to
serve.
"Secondly, I am asking Minister Hickey to evaluate the reservation
service that is in place for the Sir Robert Bond. Currently, passengers can
make reservations for the ferry up until September. After this date, the
service is taken offline, even though the ferry runs until the end of
November. This forces passengers to arrive early and proceed on a load and
go basis. Unfortunately, this has a tremendous negative impact on tourists
who want to come to Labrador, but refuse because they cannot obtain a
reservation to secure their return trip on a particular date. To ensure this
service is fair, equitable and beneficial for all passengers, I am
encouraging government to extend the reservation service to coincide with
the ferry schedule.
"Thirdly, Minister Hickey should move quickly to reduce the freight costs
on the Sir Robert Bond to ensure these rates are based on distance traveled.
There has been a consultant’s report in the Department of Transportation and
Works for the past two years that makes this recommendation, however, none
of the three ministers in this government who have served in the
transportation portfolio have acted on these recommendations. The current
rates being payed in Labrador ports are not on par with rates for distance
traveled. The people who pay these fees are tired of this government’s
inaction and are calling for the implementation of this report’s
recommendations immediately."
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