June 3, 1999
(Tourism, Culture and Recreation)

Province stepping up efforts to have Ottawa improve ferry services on the Gulf

Tourism, Culture and Recreation Minister Charles Furey, Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Walter Noel and Acting Works, Services, and Transportation Minister Lloyd Matthews, are pleased to announce a series of initiatives that government is taking to encourage the federal government to improve the Gulf ferry service.

"The province agrees that in the short-term the Atlantic Freighter must be replaced in order to resolve the immediate capacity problems. In the long-term, a Gulf ferry service that will meet all the needs of Newfoundland and Labrador for the next 50 years of Confederation will need to be put in place," said Furey. "The province's economy is growing. The tourism industry alone grew 23 per cent over the past two years and freight traffic continues to increase. As with any other business there comes a point when you must expand to meet the demand of your customers and that time has come for the Gulf ferry service."

The provincial government is putting in place a number of initiatives to bring the Marine Atlantic Gulf ferry service to the forefront of the federal government's agenda. Minister Noel has requested a meeting for next week with David Collenette, Minister of Transport Canada, who is responsible for Marine Atlantic to, yet again, lay out the urgent requirement to deal with the need to increase capacity. Ministers Furey, Matthews and Noel have requested a meeting, on an urgent basis, with Marine Atlantic's Board of Director's to discuss capacity issues.

High on the agenda for the meetings will a replacement vessel for the Atlantic Freighter which the province claims is totally inadequate to meet the needs of truckers and travelers. The ministers say they want Ottawa to provide a multi-purpose vessel that can handle freight demands while also providing quality supplemental service for up to 500 passengers - one that can provide a more timely and efficient level of service on a year-round basis.

Matthews said: "Such a passenger-freighter would enhance year-round accessibility to this province. It would also enable Marine Atlantic to respond to weather-related service disruptions and it could play a key role in clearing up any passenger and freight backlogs in a much more timely fashion."

"The provincial government is also moving forward with a province-wide forum on the Gulf ferry service. In his meeting with Minister Collenette, Minister Noel will request that Transport Canada co-sponsor this forum. The forum will begin in mid-September and will include five public meetings," said Furey.

Meetings will take place in St. John's, Placentia, Grand Falls-Windsor, Corner Brook, and Port aux Basques. These public meetings will give all interested stakeholders an opportunity to provide constructive dialogue on the requirements for a ferry service for the future. The meetings will lay the basis for a report which will provide recommendations for solutions to the short and long-term issues surrounding the Gulf ferry service.

Government is also asking individuals who may not be able to attend the public meetings to forward their comments by calling toll-free 1-800-563-NFLD or Internet users can comment by going to the Comments or Inquiries section of the government's home page: "www.gov.nl.ca".

"After consulting with key stakeholders in the industry, government decided to hold the forum in September to ensure the ability of interested groups to participate. It will also allow for more research on this summer's traffic volume and for the Marine Atlantic study on traffic projections and capacity," said Furey.

Topics to be discussed during the forum include: the constitutional requirement for a ferry service, demand/supply (current and projected), vessel configuration, labour relations, quality of service, user requirements, and options for public or private operation.

Media contact: Tara Laing, Communications, (709) 729-0928.

1999 06 03         11:30 a.m.