Officials to discuss fate of Yarmouth ferry

Yarmouth's mayor says he'll meet with the Premier Darrell Dexter on Wednesday to talk about last week's decision to cancel the provincial subsidy of the high speed ferry to Maine.

Phil Mooney said he's surprised by the decision's timing, since a committee is still studying various aspects of transportation on the Bay of Fundy. 

The ferry, which is known as the Cat, carried 76,000 people between Yarmouth and Bar Harbor and Portland last year.

"They had people from the transportation departments of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, federal transportation department, we've had local elected officials on there," Mooney told CBC News.

"The thing is supposed to be done towards the end of April, first of March. And I thought we were going to have a carry-on plan, where everything was going to be status quo for this year, then look at all the options for next year."

Mooney, who sits on the committee that is reviewing the ferry's future, said hotel owners and others in the area are trying to calculate the economic impact of the different methods of transportation.

One hundred and seventy jobs are at stake if the ferry doesn't continue, one hotel owner said.