New Wolfe Island ferry will be only boat running when it comes into service

There is another setback for people living on Wolfe Island. The Ministry of Transportation says that when the new ferry arrives, they won’t be able to run both ferries at the same time due to staffing issues that, in turn, could have an impact on paramedic service to the island.

“We need to have reliable service, and the government needs to step up,” said Judy Greenwood Speers, mayor of the Township of Frontenac Islands.

For over a year, the new Wolfe Island ferry has been sitting at Picton terminal. And now, as it gets closer to being put into use, another obstacle arises.

The Ministry of Transportation originally said that both the current and new ferry would run at the same time, but now, it’s looking like that won’t be the case, at least not any time soon.

“They don’t see, in the foreseeable future, having enough crew to actually run the second ferry at the same time when they start the large boat. Which is unfortunate, because we were promised that.”

The ministry did not provide a comment.

This decision not to run the two ferries at the same time has caused some frustration and concern for island residents.

“My wife and I kind of expected that, because of the number of letdowns that have occurred in the past. We’re pretty used to it now,” said island resident Ken Morin.

“I thought that was a promise by the MTO, and that’s why they were cutting the ambulance service. That’s the way I understood it. Now if you’re not going to have two ferries, it’s not going to be good for the ambulance service on the island. That’s the MTO, I guess,” said Norm Staley, another island resident.

This decision will likely have an effect on the ambulance service, too.

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Last week, Frontenac County council decided to get rid of the paramedic shift on Wolfe Island because paramedics from Kingston would have quicker access with two ferries running.

The county says it’s very unlikely that this decision will be reconsidered, so the responsibility now falls on volunteers.

“Fortunately, we have a volunteer fire department and EMS that will be the first ones on the scene. Unfortunately, they aren’t allowed to transport them, even to the boat, and that’s an unfortunate piece. So I’m hoping that we can get to the point where they can actually take the responsibility and get them as close as we can to the boat,” Greenwood Speers said.

There is no firm timeline yet on when the new ferry will come into service, but Mayor Greenwood Speers says there is a chance it could be running by May long weekend. But at this point, island residents aren’t holding their breath.