Ferry fears

Caribou - If the PEI-Nova Scotia ferry service is terminated, it will have an immediate negative affect on the county, business owners warned Friday.
The five-year contract between the federal government and Northumberland Ferries Limited expires in March but a Transport Canada spokesperson, Maryse Durette, says it is working on extending the current contract for one more year.
The future of the service after March 2011 is currently up in the air. It's been suggested by the Liberal MP for the eastern end of PEI, Lawrence MacAulay, that Transport Canada plans to evaluate the ferry service during that year.
Transport Canada is denying that claim, however.
"The extension is not conditional on a formal policy review," she said. "We assess the ferry services in the country as part of our normal management, and it could be done of this service."
Central Nova MP Peter MacKay was unavailable for comment on Friday, but his spokesperson, Cindy MacInnis, said it's hoped a new, one-year contract with NFL will be in place by April 1, 2010.
"Transport Canada is working with Northumberland Ferries to determine budget requirements for the following year," she said.
Still, the news that a full five-year contract is not in place was enough to raise red flags around the county on Friday.
With the Nova Scotia dock for the ferry in Caribou, losing that service would have an immediate, negative impact in Pictou in particular, says Anne Emmett, owner of the Braeside Inn and chairwoman of the Pictou Business Commission.
"This would be a very, very major problem," Emmett said. "I can't begin to emphasize how devastating this would be. A huge percentage of our business comes from ferry traffic. And not just the business of accommodations - it's restaurants, it's businesses, it's everything. It's the whole town, the whole county."
She points to Yarmouth, which received news this week that the ferry service to Maine would be ending.
"We have to do whatever we have to do to make sure that doesn't happen here," she said. "It's just disastrous for Yarmouth, they've suffered enough as it is. We need to jump right on it here."
This news, coming in the wake of the news of the Cat, makes it even more devastating, says Pictou County Tourist Association's Cindy MacKinnon.
"If you leave out the airport, the ferry is the second largest entry point in Nova Scotia, just behind Amherst," she said. "It's not just the north shore - it would have a drastic effect on the tourism industry across the province. You don't ever want to imagine that ferry not being there."
The tourist association is already pledging to "do whatever we have to do" and fight for the ferry, just as it did prior to the current five-year contract extension.
Pictou Mayor Joe Hawes says the loss of the ferry would be a blow to the entire county.
"Not only to the workers in Pictou County, but to the town and the entire county," he said. "We don't get all the ferry traffic, of course, but we get a significant number of people stopping here. A lot of people come to the area just for the experience of travelling on the ferry and it would hurt our economy quite a bit. If we have to rally the troops again, that's what we'll do."
Pictou West MLA Charlie Parker says he's heard the rumours, but cautions people not to panic yet.
"There's nothing definitive yet - we have to keep on top of it and see where it's going," Parker said. "I'm remaining hopeful and letting the process unfold here. If the negative happens, we'll certainly let our voices be heard, on both sides of the strait."
But, he adds, there's no way losing the service could be a good thing.
"It's certainly a vital link between our two provinces," he said. "Forestry, gravel, produce is going in both directions and there are a lot of local jobs for people who work on the boats."
That's what's on the forefront of Warden Ronnie Baillie's mind.
"It employs a lot of people in Nova Scotia and PEI, who would be out of a job," Baillie said. "That would be a big blow to the county."
Further, it would cause a huge impact on tourism.
"The ferry is an entry point into the county as well as into the province," Baillie added. "Tourists come from PEI to the county on the ferry, and no doubt, it would reduce the number of tourists we see."
Baillie promised Friday to "take whatever steps are necessary" to try to persuade the federal government to extend the contract beyond 2011.
"It's disappointing and I hope we can all work together to ensure this doesn't happen."
Ed MacMaster is the county councillor for the Caribou area. He called the issue "devastating" for the area.
"The ferry is an excellent employer on both the PEI side and this side. "It's a very, very devastating blow to the area."
Northumberland Ferries leases its two boats and the terminals from the federal government. The company gets a $5 million subsidy each year to operate the service from May to December.
Tourism PEI has reported that ferry traffic has declined every year for the past five years.