Plan for ferry service falls short of expectations in Nunatsiavut, Black Tickle

The provincial government's new plan for ferry service along coastal Labrador is drawing intense criticism from residents and local politicians who say the proposal doesn't meet the region's needs andthey weren't consulted.

NunatsiavutGovernment First Minister Kate Mitchell went a step further, suggesting the province violated the terms of the Inuit government's constitutionally protected land claims agreement by releasing a request for proposals for ferry service without seeking Inuit input.

"We're extremely disappointed because the provincial government failed to consult with us on what we see as a critical service," Mitchell said.

The Department of Transportation and Works released a request for proposals May 25. The document calls for a single vessel to visit sixcommunities north of Happy Valley-Goose Bay once every sevendays. The new ferry is to replace two existing vessels: thepassenger ship MV Northern Ranger and the freighter MV Astron, starting in 2019.

Mitchell said her government repeatedly asked to see the request for proposals and work with the transportation department on it. She saidthe province provided a copy the day before it was publicly released.

"It was already done," she said, "There was no chance at all for any input from Nunatsiavut government."

However, Transportation and Works Minister Steve Crocker said discussions got underway a while ago.

"We started, I think, in June of 2017 in developing a plan and talking to stakeholders and the people of the north coast, and the people of Labrador in general, about what they wanted to see," he told CBC Radio's Labrador Morning.

Longer run

Mitchell has several concerns about the province's plan. She's particularly concerned about whether there is infrastructure in place at all wharfsalong the coast to receive a vessel with roll-on, roll-off capability.

She saidthe dock in Makkovik, for example, is not large enough to accommodate such a ship.

Mitchell is also concerned about the ferry schedule and its ports of call.

Crocker saidthe new service would allow more frequent freight deliveries to the coast. He said the Astron visits ports on its routes only once every two weeks, whereas the proposed service would arrive every week. He added upgrades at the Makkovikwharf are on the government's to-do list this summer.

But the seven-day schedule is longer than the Northern Ranger's current schedule, which leaves Happy Valley-Goose Bay and comes back in fivedays; meaning it will take longer for passengers to get where they're going.

The new service provider will also have to find time in the schedule to visit the south coast community of Black Tickle to deliver freight once a month, according to the request for proposals.

"We were told specifically that this new roll-on, roll-off vessel would just be servicing from Goose Bay to Nain, return. And they would not be going to Black Tickle," Mitchell said.

"Our service is already going to be extended. It's not that we don't want the vessel to go to Black Tickle or anything, but we were told it wasn't part of the run."

Reduced service for Black Tickle

Reaction from the smallisland community of Black Tickle has been scathing.

"I'm just so frustrated, I'm just so angry," said lifetime resident Livenda Keefe. "Where in the world do they come up with these things?"

Keefe says a monthly freight delivery will not work for her community, which now receives the Northern Ranger once a week and the Astron every two weeks.

The province is planning to offset the reduced vessel services with a discounted weekly air service to Happy Valley-Goose Bay for passengers and cargo.

But Keefe saidshe and many others keep vehicles in the nearby mainland community of Cartwright. During ferry season, they take the Northern Ranger to meet their vehicles, and can then drive anywhere they wish to buy groceries or other supplies.

"A flight is a smack in the gob," she said.

"We fill up our little pickup truck right to the brim, whatever she can hold try to put that aboard a Twin Otter that's coming once a week, along with everybody else."

Like Mitchell, Black Tickle Local Service District chair Joe Keefe says he was not consulted before the request for proposals was released.

"It seems like Black Tickle never, never gets consulted," he said.

"You take it or leave it."

Provincial officials, including local MHA Lisa Dempster, plan to meet residents of Black Tickle next week to talk more about the new service. A Transportation and Works spokesperson said discussions are still ongoing with the NunatuKavutCommunity Councilto address concerns.

But Joe Keefe is not optimistic the plan will change.

"We're hoping, but I don't know. Usually Black Tickle don't get a lot of co-operation from government."