Plan for ferry needed now, say eastern P.E.I. residents amid cancellations

Residents of eastern P.E.I. are calling for a long-term plan to improve ferry service to Nova Scotia.

Ferry service has been cancelled since Thursday, with an announcement expected Saturday about whether service will resume on Sunday.

• P.E.I.-N.S. ferry service cancelled Saturday

"We need it settled this fall and we need a marketing plan now to undo the damage that has been done so we can have a viable 2017 season tourism-wise and economically-wise," said Gary Herring, the chair of the Municipality of Murray Harbour.

"The message now out there is let's take the bridge because we don't know if the ferry service is running," he said.

Herring would like another ferry put in service, and said in the meantime the current ferries need to be maintained — and there should be a back-up ferry to step in when one of the ferries isn't in service.

Businesses 'really suffer'

"It certainly affects us and our business," said John Rossignol, owner of Rossignol Estate Winery in Murray River, P.E.I.

"Good consistent traffic is what we need. We have such a short season that businesses in eastern P.E.I. really suffer if we don't have a bang on season for the ferry."

'I don't think they'd get away with it' in B.C.

"I don't think they'd get away with it in British Columbia, trying to shut down service to Vancouver Island," said Gary Toromchuk, who is visiting from Edmonton.

Toromchuk said the closure will slightly change his travel plans, "but not drastically." He said he'll take the bridge back to the mainland instead of the boat.

Losing one ferry 'bad enough'

On Friday, Belfast-Murray River MLA Darlene Compton called the cancellation in service the result of "ongoing neglect of the service by both levels of government."

"Clearly having no ferries in service for several days is the worst option," she said in a news release.

"Losing the MV Holiday Island for the season was bad enough. but now it's clear that the added workload all summer has taken a toll on the MV Confederation, too. Now we're facing two to three days of no ferry service at all between P.E.I. and Nova Scotia."

Liberal MP promises to 'fight to the bitter end'

Lawrence MacAulay, the Liberal MP for Cardigan, agreed more needs to be done.

"It indicates quite clearly how inappropriately the situation has been handled all the way," he said. "I just basically got sworn in as minister in the federal government and found out we lost a ferry. You can imagine how I felt about that.

"Do I receive calls? Are people upset? Yes. And they should be."

MacAulay said he can't say for sure what his government will do.

"I will certainly fight to the bitter end to make sure that we have an appropriate service — which means two boats running," he said.

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