Ferry service between N.S. and N.L. announces $80M for infrastructure plan

The ferry between Nova Scotia and Newfoundland is getting an infrastructure upgrade.

Government officials announced roughly $80 million as part of a multi-year program to modernize shore-side infrastructure and improve ferry services between Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador.

Mike Kelloway, MP for Sydney – Glace Bay, and Murray Hupman, president and CEO of Marine Atlantic, made the announcement Wednesday.

“Marine Atlantic provides an essential transportation link for residents, visitors and the commercial trucking industry,” reads a news release from Marine Atlantic. “This investment will help ensure the organization can continue delivering the safe, reliable and efficient ferry service that people and businesses depend on.”

The infrastructure program is intended to renew and expand key marine transportation infrastructure.

In North Sydney, N.S., the planned work includes dock extensions, auto-mooring upgrades and electrical improvements to support shore power.

“Dock extensions make it easier to accept some of the challenges that we have had with climate change, to be able to connect our vessels when they arrive in port to electric power to our grid,” says Darrell Gallant, the vice-president of operations at the ferry operator Marine Atlantic.

He says the announcement is a huge development and they’ve seen more bookings this year.

“We’re above where we were at even last year, we’ve surpassed those numbers and a lot of that has to do again with some great initiatives from the Government of Canada with reducing rates for our passengers,” he says.

Marine Atlantic expects the infrastructure program to enhance ferry service reliability, improved loading and unloading efficiency, safer vessel berthing and reduced delays related to berth capacity.

“Investing in North Sydney’s terminal infrastructure will strengthen a vital gateway between Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador,” says Hupman. “These improvements will support a safer, more reliable and more efficient ferry operations for the passengers, communities, and businesses that depend on this essential service.”

The projects will now advance through planning, environmental and regulatory review, and procurement processes, according to Marine Atlantic.

Gallant says a new ferry is also coming in the fall, which will be called the Ile Rouge.

“That will, in essence, give us a five-vessel fleet for a period of time and we’ll work with the Government of Canada to determine the next steps,” he says.

The ferry service is also facing a potential strike, a matter being assessed by the Canadian Industrial Relations Board.

The union representing 700 ferry workers has asked the board to reconsider a 2004 decision labelling the ferry service as “essential” to the health and safety of the people in Newfoundland and Labrador.

“Growing up in a union family and now in government, I always believe that the best deals – the best approaches to moving things forward – are at the bargaining table and we’ll let those processes run its course,” says Kelloway.

Cape Breton Regional Municipality Coun. Gordon MacDonald says he believes the government and unions are working toward a resolution.

With files from CTV’s Ryan MacDonald

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