Residents in a rural area of New Brunswick are counting on a meeting with the provincial government to save what they say is a vital link between their communities.
The ferry that connects Gagetown to Lower Jemseg has been out of service since late November and it was officially cut in February’s provincial budget.
The government said $5 million would have been needed to get the ferry up to the current safety requirements, but those who live in the area say it would have been worth it.
“It’s important to keep things in place so we’re not the drive-thru province,” says local restaurant owner Barbara Masters. “The more things you have for people to stay in the province for a day, travel the ferries, stay around, spend money, is important.”
Masters says she is expecting her business will take a hit in the coming months, so she’s not hiring any additional staff, as she normally would.
“I don’t like to tell them they have a job for the summer and then say middle of July, look I’m sorry, I’m not busy enough, so therefore they’ve lost an opportunity to have fulltime employment for the summer,” she says.
New Brunswick Finance Minister Roger Melanson defended the decision, and the extra driving, when he tabled the budget on Feb. 2.
“It is only 15 kilometres from one side to the other side of the river to have access to the highway at Upper Gagetown,” he said on Budget Day.
However, area residents and first responders are worried about the impact of having no ferry, especially since there are no fire hydrants in the Village of Gagetown.
“So, what would happen if we had a fire in the winter? Instead of firefighters getting on the ice and drill a hole they’d go down, get on the ferry, drill from there and go again,” says Gagetown resident Tyler Thomas. “This would cut time in half when they’re trying to get water, which is obviously very important to put out a fire.”
Local Progressive Conservative MLA Ross Wetmore has been presenting petitions in the New Brunswick legislature almost every day for the last two weeks.
“And I know I’m going to have a lot more coming. We’re up to about 4,400 signatures,” says Wetmore.
Local residents say they are confident the decision could be overturned, because it has happened before.
Shawn Graham’s Liberals tried to get rid of the ferry in its 2009 budget but, after much protest, a decision was made to keep the ferry, with an abbreviated schedule.
A meeting between the provincial government and residents is still in the planning stages and people in the community say they’re open to talking about any options that would keep the ferry operating.
However, they say they hope it happens sooner rather than later, before the tourism season kicks off.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Nick Moore
