Transportation Minister Geoff MacLellan is singing the praises of Bay Ferries, despite a lacklustre ferry season.
“This has been a success from an operational standpoint, Mark (MacDonald) has nailed this,” MacLellan said Thursday.
MacDonald is Bay Ferries’ chairman and CEO; his company took over the Yarmouth ferry service this year. In March the government set a goal of 60,000 passengers for the 2016 season. With three weeks left in the season the service has seen close to half that number.
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Now MacLellan says the passenger numbers are just one element of making a successful season and the company has gotten other parts right.
“We have the right operator and we have the right vessel at this point,” MacLellan said.
“This has been a success from an operational standpoint.”
The 2016 ferry subsidy was pegged at $23.3 million, of that $10.2 million was slated for operating costs and the rest was for start-up costs.
Progressive Conservative Leader Jamie Baillie has said he expects the subsidy to go up because there are so few passengers, but MacLellan said that’s not the case.
If the company keeps costs such as fuel down, that could make up for lost revenue, MacLellan said.
“We haven’t been approached by Mark MacDonald for additional funds for this year,” he said.
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MacLellan said he hasn’t reached out to Bay Ferries to ask if it will need more cash to break even, and the government isn’t making any contingency plans in case Bay Ferries requires more money. Baillie is calling on the government to find out immediately if the company will need more money this year.
“Its just negligence,” he said. “It’s time to find out and tell people honestly how much more is this going to cost us.”
Global News reached out to Bay Ferries, however no one was available to comment.
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