Continued Quest for Yarmouth Ferry

NS: Whiting continues quest for Yarmouth ferry service
By Tina Comeau, Transcontinental Media

Source: The Vanguard, July 6, 2010

[YARMOUTH, NS] — The interim CEO of the Yarmouth Area Industrial Commission says he hopes to come away from a meeting with Transport Canada one step closer to sending out a request for proposals for a ferry service.

Dave Whiting said last week a meeting was scheduled this week with Transport Canada “to, in their words, move the project ahead.”

But Whiting said when they do indeed launch a request for proposals, they aren’t expecting to hear back from someone new to the industry.

“Anybody out there that wants to operate a ferry from Yarmouth that doesn’t know about it at this point is probably somebody we don’t want,” he said. “The industry is well aware of what is going on and that is why we have been contacted by seven different groups at this point. They’re aware of it — they work in the business.”

On the issue of ferry service, if people have been hungry for the release of an ACOA transportation study, Whiting said the study released last week has no meat in it.

“There’s not a hell of a lot there,” Whiting said after twice reading over the study’s executive summary. “I found the summary to be rather disappointing.”

Overall, Whiting said the study doesn’t reveal anything that people didn’t already know.

“The conclusion is the ferries are needed and they need subsidy. Well they could have saved themselves a year of work and a lot of money,” he said. “Any of us could have told them that.”

Whiting also said that the study outlines scenarios for ferry service in Yarmouth that include a high-speed ferry. But that ship has already sailed he said.

“There’s nobody that is going to put a high-speed ferry here,” he said.

Whiting did note that the study makes reference to a cruise ferry, which is the type of service he thinks is needed to also allow for more onboard revenue generation to go towards the operation of the service.

Asked if the transportation study helps with the cause of getting new ferry service up and running for next year, Whiting said the study really just serves as reinforcement of the need to reestablish a service in Yarmouth and to maintain the service in Digby.

“Basically it says you’ve been operating services there and A) they are very necessary to the economy of our part of the province, from Annapolis all the way around to Shelburne, and B) governments have to be involved with providing the service.”

Whiting pointed out that as far as future ferry service for Yarmouth is concerned, they’ve yet to get into a business plan phase.

Meanwhile, Whiting said he spoke informally with Premier Darrell Dexter last week, during which the premier said it was time to turn the page, move ahead and get Yarmouth back on track.

“He was very positive,” Whiting said, adding he’s looking to arrange a meeting between himself and the industrial commission chair, Roger King, with the premier and Economic Development Minister Percy Paris.

“The times I’ve met with the premier I’ve assured him we wouldn’t be asking for anything for the ferry until we had a solid business plan. I’m going to stick to that and I think that is what they’re looking for,” said Whiting. “At this point they have to see something that shows we are moving ahead and they’ll help us out with it. They don’t want to be seen as coming in and doing it for us and I can appreciate that.”