It appears from what we’re hearing in Fredericton, the government is looking at privatizing all river ferries and that means charging tolls. This includes the Westfield Ferry.
There is a meeting tonight in Cambridge Narrows to discuss the formation of the new multi-stakeholder Ferry Committee at the Cambridge-Narrows Municipal Building beginning at 7pm.
Below is a transcript from Question Period yesterday where the ferry issue was addressed. This email was forwarded by Conservative MLA Jody Carr to people fighting the ferry cuts. What do you think?
Premier announces Tolls and privatization for ALL cable ferries today in the legislature.
Premier Shawn Graham gave the mandate to the new non-profit task force in Queens and Kings county (lead by Liberal consultant Eric Allaby) to put a plan in place to establish a private cable ferry operation and set a toll fee. He also stated that he would be treating all communities equally – therefore announcing that all cable ferries will be privatized and tolled on the lower Saint John River. He gave no further details or timelines.
Mr. Shawn Graham
April 28, 2009
Question Period
“Over the weekend, we were able to determine that we would be establishing a
nonprofit group though the communities. It would make a determination, and an appropriate fee
would be charged for the ferry serviceŠ.
ŠToday, the Conservative Party of New Brunswick has to make a determination whether, if elected,
it is going to fund ferry services 100% in certain areas and have people in other areas, such as the
people of Campobello Island, continue to pay for those services. Are they going to be equal for
everyone? On this side, we are moving forward with a program where everyone will be treated
equally. We are working with the private sector and the nonprofit sector, and we have found an
acceptable solution.”
ON-Line video feed: http://www1.gnb.ca/legis/QP/index-e.asp
FULL TRANSCRIPT
Question Period
Legislative Assembly of NB
April 28, 2009
Ferries
Mr. Harrison: The chief of staff of the Premier’s Office conducted some negotiations with selected
members of the Save Our Ferries committee. The conclusion was similar to the thrust stated one
month ago, when the ferries were given a one-month stay of execution. The message was, then and
now, to privatize, seasonalize, and minimize the time for daily runs. The main new development is
that the boats will stay in the water for the season, if privatized. The department will keep the boats,
and the government will hire someone from outside the department to work with the citizens’
committee of eight people. With the Department of Transportation having the highest number of
personnel reductions, why would you hire someone from outside the department to come up with
a plan? You said you need to save money. This whole process is all about saving money. Now you
are adding costs. How much will his salary be?
L’hon. D. Landry : Je remercie le député d’en face pour la première question qui m’est posée
depuis l’automne dernier. Depuis environ un mois et demi, nous parlons de réductions et de choses
que nous devons faire pour améliorer les finances de la province. Ce que je trouve un peu bizarre
aujourd’hui, c’est de me faire poser une question, alors qu’on essaie de régler le problème.
Les parlementaires du côté de l’opposition ont eu toutes les chances de me poser des questions avant
aujourd’hui concernant la discontinuation des services des trois traversiers en question.
Aujourd’hui, grâce à tout le travail effectué par mon collègue assis à côté de moi pour nous
convaincre de continuer à offrir les services avec les gens de la région, on en arrive à une solution
très acceptable. J’ai vu le maire de Gagetown dire, hier soir, à la télévision, à quel point il était fier
de voir ce qui s’était passé au cours de la fin de semaine.
Je trouve bizarre aujourd’hui d’entendre le député d’en face me dire qu’on embauche une personne
de l’extérieur pour régler la situation. En décembre 2004, le ministreŠ
Le président : Votre temps est écoulé.
Mr. Harrison: I am glad that the minister is able to answer some questions on this. You had no real
plan for the ferries at budget time, except to cut them. Then, you extended the time that the ferry
service would operate by a month. There was still no plan at the time of that announcement. This
is an ill-conceived process, if not a plan. The Department of Transportation is not in the loop; only
the Premier’s Office is. Who is in charge? There is a minister, and there are qualified civil servants
in the department. Four supervisors of the Lower Saint John River ferry system are on the ground.
One of these people could surely coordinate the citizens’ committee and search for and monitor a
private operation.
It is clear that government is not prepared. Its planning is on the fly, going from pillar to post. Are
the four people from Gagetown and the four people from Belleisle going to be democratically
selected by the local committees?
L’hon. D. Landry : Je vous répondrai oui à cette question.
Cependant, je veux continuer mon histoire de tout à l’heure. On parle de la personne qui a été
choisie par le gouvernement pour mener à bien ce dossier. Je vous dirai que la personne choisie est
hautement qualifiée. En 2004, mon prédécesseur, le député de Lamèque-Shippagan-Miscou, qui était
ministre des Transports à l’époque, a choisi la même personne parce qu’il savait que celle-ci était
hautement qualifiée pour mener à bien les dossiers en ce qui a trait aux traversiers. S’il y a bien une
personne dans cette région qui est hautement qualifiée pour faire ce travail, c’est la personne qu’on
a choisi et à qui on a donné le poste en fin de semaine pour mener à bien ce dossier.
Mr. Harrison: Mr. Allaby may be well qualified, but I was not aware that members of your
department were not. Since a private and seasonal operation seems inevitable, are you going to
charge tolls? How are you going to collect those tolls? This will be an additional administrative cost.
Money is not being saved here. You are adding operational costs. How are you going to collect these
tolls, and what is the cost of their collection? Are you going to toll all ferries and bridges in the
province?
L’hon. D. Landry : Pour répondre à la première question, je vous dirai que le comité qui sera mis
en place sera composé de gens choisis démocratiquement. Ces gens-là seront choisis par les gens
de la collectivité. Ce sont eux qui vont choisir la façon de fonctionner. C’est pour cette raison qu’on
a mis un médiateur ou un intermédiaire en place pour faire le lien entre le gouvernement et les gens
de votre région.
Aujourd’hui, les choses commencent à bien aller et les gens voient très positivement ce qu’on
prévoit faire pour régler les problèmes. On veut que les gens de la région de Gagetown et de
Belleisle gardent leur traversier. Pendant ce temps, on dirait que les gens d’en face essaient de nous
faire la leçon. Pourquoi devrait-on continuer à offrir les services? Je vous dirai qu’on doit continuer
à offrir les services justement parce que j’ai écouté la population. Je suis un gars qui vient d’une
région rurale et j’ai écouté les gens. C’est ce qu’ils nous demandaient et c’est ce qu’on va faire. On
va continuer à opérer les traversiers.
Mr. Huntjens: My question is for the Minister of Transportation. A couple of weeks ago, we had
a meeting in your office to talk about the Campobello ferry idea. I thank you for that meeting. It was
a good meeting. We came to an understanding that perhaps the best thing to do was a feasibility
study. At that time, you told me that it would cost about $40 000 but that you could not find the
money, so you made an offer. You said that you would try to find $20 000 if I could find the other
$20 000. My question today is this: Why are you hiring a person already on government staff to
manage something that your department should manage? Why do you not save that money and make
it available for the feasibility study?
Hon. S. Graham: To be very clear, as a government, we have always said that the Department of
Transportation would not be operating the ferries but we would work with the communities to find
a viable solution. Over the weekend, we were able to determine that we would be establishing a
nonprofit group though the communities. It would make a determination, and an appropriate fee
would be charged for the ferry service. It is an arrangement that seems to be beneficial to all people
involved in the process.
What we have today, though, is an opposition that seems to be more concerned about the individuals
engaged in this process. The Department of Transportation does not have the expertise to set up a
nonprofit group to work with the community stakeholders for the transfer of equipment, and this is
not in the department’s core mandate. That is why we felt it was imperative to see this implemented
in a timely fashion. We want to work with the groups. There will be expertise given from the
Department of Transportation. Setting up a nonprofit agency, a liasion between the municipalities,
is the route that will expedite the process.
Mr. Speaker: Time, Mr. Premier.
Mr. Huntjens: This is unbelievable. The Department of Transportation does not have anyone who
is qualified to set up a system to operate the ferries and manage the committee. That is unbelievable.
This Premier is telling us: We are doing everything perfectly. However, first, they take all the
services away, and now they are giving a smidgen back and think they are doing a great job.
My question is still to the minister: Why are they hiring someone who is already on the payroll to
do this committee work when they cannot afford to pay for the survey for the people of Campobello
Island?
Hon. S. Graham: We have been able to work to find a solution where the government is able to
invest in its core services and, as I said, the nonprofit sector is going to be able to step up and work
in conjunction with the communities.
The real question remains today. The Leader of the Opposition has made a commitment that, if
elected, the Conservatives will restore a government-funded and government-run operation on those
ferries. However the people of Campobello today have a private-sector operator in place, and a fee
is charged for that service. There is irony in the question that is being asked today by the member
opposite. What we are setting up today is similar to a system that is being operated in his region.
Why is he not standing up and asking his leader for a free service, which his leader has committed
to in other parts of the province?
Mr. Huntjens: Very, very interesting information. First of all, the Campobello Island ferry is only
a summer service that is mostly for tourists. Second, you are already admitting that you are going
to be charging for the ferry services that were previously part of our highway system.
You can sit there and laugh your smug face off, but the people of Gagetown will tell you something
different. They are not pleased with what you have done, and they are not pleased with the route you
are taking, which makes them pay for part of the highway service.
Hon. S. Graham: There is only one taxpayer in the province, and the people of Campobello today
pay for that service, similar to the people on Grand Manan, who pay to utilize a ferry. What we have
done is find an acceptable arrangement with the communities.
Today, the Conservative Party of New Brunswick has to make a determination whether, if elected,
it is going to fund ferry services 100% in certain areas and have people in other areas, such as the
people of Campobello Island, continue to pay for those services. Are they going to be equal for
everyone? On this side, we are moving forward with a program where everyone will be treated
equally. We are working with the private sector and the nonprofit sector, and we have found an
acceptable solution. What is unacceptable today is having the Tory Party all over the map on its
position.
Mr. Holder: The Premier has made it very clear today that he is going to treat everybody equally,
so now we have a situation in Gagetown and Belleisle where these people are potentially going to
be paying a toll and the ferry is going to be operated by some private organization-we do not know
what yet. My question to the Minister of Transportation is this: Will he stand up and tell us
unequivocally that the people of Hampstead, Westfield, Gondola Point, Millidgeville, and
Kennebecasis Island will not pay a toll in the future?
L’hon. D. Landry : Étant donné qu’on a assez de difficulté à aborder les problèmes auxquels nous
sommes aux prises, pour ce qui va arriver au cours des années suivantes, je pourrai répondre à ces
questions en temps opportun.
Pour répondre à la question de mon collègue d’en face, si vous vous en rappelez, lors d’une réunion,
qui a quand même été très productive, j’avais demandé si vous aviez parlé à vos collègues du
fédéral. Avez-vous fait votre devoir de ce côté-là? C’est une réponse que j’aimerais recevoir.
Mr. Holder: The minister had a chance to answer the question from the member for Charlotte-
Campobello, but he chose to let the Premier answer it for him. I will ask my question again: Will
the people who use those cable ferries be assured that they will not be paying a toll in Millidgeville,
Westfield, Gondola Point, Kennebecasis Island, and Evandale?
L’hon. D. Landry : Cela me fait plaisir de répondre de nouveau à cette question. Aujourd’hui, on
est en train de parler des traversiers d’Hampton, de Belleisle et de Gagetown. Les autres traversiers
ne sont aucunement sous la loupe. Quand viendra le temps de répondre à cette question, je le ferai
en temps et lieu.
Mr. Holder: We are not getting an answer on that today, so all bets are off next year for those other
ferries. My question is on the Hampstead ferry. Where is that asset sitting right now? Where is that
cable ferry sitting right now? It is not on its run; it is a seasonal ferry. We have been very committed
to putting it back on if we are elected. I want to know where it is. Is it going to be sent to a junkyard?
Is it going to be sold, or can we look for some other solution for that cable ferry?
L’hon. D. Landry : Pour répondre à cette question, il y a un des trois traversiers qui ne sera pas en
service pendant la saison qui vient. On n’a pas vraiment décidé ce que nous allons faire avec ce
traversier, mais il fera probablement partie des autres solutions.
Rien de nouveau se passe aujourd’hui. La seule chose qui est nouvelle, c’est que j’ai écouté les gens
de ces régions très attentivement. Ma porte a toujours été ouverte pour eux. En entendant les
commentaires que le maire de Gagetown a faits hier, il semblerait que la voie et la décision que nous
avons prises sont celles qui devaient l’être. On a écouté la population, et je pense que ces gens nous
ont félicités de l’avoir fait. Les gens de l’opposition ne semblent pas être contents lorsqu’on arrive
à une solution. Il faudrait qu’ils se fassent une idée. Vendredi dernier, les parlementaires du côté de
l’opposition ont eu la chance de me poser desŠ
Mr. Speaker: The time for question period is now over.
