Gagetown residents rally to save ferry service

Angry over the elimination of their local ferry, more than 170 Gagetown residents packed into a community hall on Wednesday night to lobby the New Brunswick government to reverse the decision.

Wilf Hiscock, an apple orchard owner in the Gagetown area, spoke at the public meeting organized by the village council, pleading with government officials to throw the ferry service a life preserver. He said the ferry could save money by shutting down during the winter or by having scheduled runs.

"There are ways out of this without carte blanche saying, 'She's done boys, the arse is out of her,'" Hiscock said. "We are going to fight tooth and nail to hang onto the ferry. And I think that is one service we are proud of in this area."

The Liberal government announced a raft of program cuts in Tuesday's budget as it tries to wrestle down the $740-million deficit, including the permanent docking of ferries in Gagetown, Hampstead and Belleisle.

Transportation Minister Denis Landry said the decision was made based on the sparse usage of the ferries that cross the St. John River.

But residents at the crowded public meeting at the Gagetown Legion said terminating the service would slow the response times of emergency vehicles, create headaches for agriculture producers and hurt the tourism industry.

Conservative MLA Jody Carr, who represented the area until his riding was changed before the 2006 election, said he fought to keep services in the area when he was in government. And Carr urged the community to continue pressuring the government to back down on its plan.

"It is challenging times, but it is about choices," Carr said. "If there's a will there's a way. Don't give up, keep fighting."

Concern spreads across community

Before the meeting, several residents and local business owners expressed their concern about the pending ferry closure.

Tony Ratliffe, a Gagetown resident, said many people will have to drive an extra 30 kilometres for medical appointments and other trips into the village. He said the government may save money, but it won't reduce costs for local residents.

"A very small amount of public money saved for the direct costs of the ferry and the staff, but there will be a lot of private money spent as a result," Ratliffe said.

Shirley Hughes, a village resident, said the cuts will have an immediate impact on local families.

"It is just going to put somebody out of work and it's going to cause a lot of hardship for people who are going to have to travel around that route," Hughes said.

Ross Wetmore, the owner of K&W Meats, a local store, said losing the ferry is going to be more than an inconvenience. He expects it to hurt businesses and tourism operators because "everyone will have to take the highway across the river."