Northumberland ferry service 'not a priority' for federal government, says eastern P.E.I. MLA
CBC
Belfast-Murray River MLA Darlene Compton says she doesn't think the issues concerning the ferry service between Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia are a priority for the federal government.
"When you look at Ottawa, there are a lot of issues happening. And, you know, where does the ferry sit in all of this? I'm not sure," Compton told Island Morning's Laura Chapin on Thursday.
Wednesday, the MV Confederation made its first crossing since Sept. 15 after the ship collided with the wharf in Wood Islands and damaged its bow visor, a type of raisable door.
But the ferry only made one round trip across the Northumberland Strait before a technical issue with the "load sharing" of its engines forced Northumberland Ferries Limited to cancel the remaining crossings. The company also cancelled Thursday's crossings due to the weather forecast.
While a second ferry for the run, MV Fanafjord, is set to arrive early in the new year, Wood Islands Harbour needs to be dredged to accommodate the ship's hull depth. That work is not scheduled until next fall.
Compton said provincial officials have requested a meeting with federal Transportation Minister Anita Anand to discuss moving up the timeline for the dredging, but they haven't received a response yet.
In a statement to CBC News, Transport Canada said equipment commissioning and sea trials for the Fanafjord are ongoing. The federal government should take ownership of the vessel in the coming weeks, and at that time it will be prepared to travel to Canada.
Compton said it would be helpful for P.E.I. government officials to have a conversation with Anand to discuss what the future looks like for the ferry service.
"It's really upsetting as a province," she said.
"Who do we go to for answers? And who do we trust?"
Transport Canada said a replacement vessel for the MV Holiday Island — which caught fire during a crossing in 2022 amnd had to be scrapped — was contracted to the Davie shipyard in Quebec in 2019, and is still in the design phase.
Documents show the Holiday Island II was initially expected to arrive in P.E.I. five years after the contract was awarded.
According to Procurement Canada, the construction delay is because the ship is being designed for a 45-year service life. It said design work such as adequate capacity and reducing greenhouse gas emissions is "a complex, multistep process."
The agency also said there needs to be flexibility in the design so future upgrades to the ship can be done without any major conversion work needed.
