‘They fought for this schedule years ago and we’re still fighting now to maintain it’
Change Islands residents demonstrate about ‘unfair’ changes to ferry service; hold up ferry for almost four hours
Residents of Change Islands organized another demonstration on March 7 against what they say are unfair changes to the ferry schedule.
The chairperson of the town’s transportation committee, Dennis Flood, says the ferry was held up for three hours and 45 minutes in Change Islands.
“There was four people on the boat. Passengers. We only had half an hour to organize it. We said it's a good opportunity right here. We're not going to impact people on the boat. We are going to impact people waiting to get on the boat. They had already been waiting because of a medical emergency,” says Flood.
“We had tried to have the least impact we could. We had a very peaceful demonstration. We probably had 30 participants. Some of our residents, they were in their 80s. That was really good to see them come up. They fought for this schedule years ago and we're still fighting now to maintain it.”
NEW STRATEGIES
He says while the ferry was held up for almost four hours, the schedule itself was only affected for about an hour and a half.
“They got back right on schedule within an hour and a half. They’re still saying there will be no change in the schedule. That would’ve been an update after (the demonstration),” says Flood.
He says there will be new strategies to get the government’s attention. Flood hopes to reduce the impact on the residents of Fogo Island.
“We’re hopeful. I don’t really expect (the schedule to change)," he says. "We’re having a meeting today and try to decide what our next move is. We do not want to continue to impact residents of Fogo. We don’t think it’s fair to them. They are just being used as pawns, and that's not our intention.”
MINISTER’S ATTENTION
He says it’s important to make the distinction: their goal is not to get in the way of Fogo but to get the attention of the minister of Transportation and Infrastructure.
“We recognize that our dispute is with the minister of Transportation, not with the people of Fogo. We apologize
and our intention is to continue with our efforts," he says.
“The Department of Transportation, when I talked to the supervisor there to highest level marine transport, he says that it's a decision that was made above him, which would be the minister's office. There's somebody being misled."
PRIVATIZATION
One of Flood’s biggest concerns is that the government is looking toward privatizing the provincial ferry service, among other industries.
“The more and more I hear about this, I think it's just a step towards privatizing the ferry system. I have no idea what the plan is," he says.
“It has the appearance of the operator that's making this decision, not the government."
That's left Change Islands residents worried about how privatization of the service might work if that's the route the government takes.
"I think that all of our residents, citizens of Newfoundland, should be concerned," he says.
“Right now, this is a sample of what privatizing the ferries is going to look like, what’s it going to look like for privatizing the highways and health care.”
NO CONSULTATION
He says one of the biggest issues is the lack of consultation with the town’s residents.
“I don't even know the purpose of our transportation committee because there's no consultation. They'll just let us know what they're doing, and we advise our residents. There’s no back and forth. We have no authority,” says Flood.
The mayor of Change Islands, Paula Flood, says she contacted the department after the demonstration, but was told there is still going to be no change to the ferry schedule.
Saltwire contacted the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure for comment, but the department did not send a response by deadline.
FAIRNESS
Dennis Flood said he is worried about fairness, and the protest is about much more than the ferry schedule.
“This is really not about the ferry schedule. The difference in the ferry schedule raised the awareness that we're not being treated fairly. It’s the injustice — the injustice of the ferry schedule, not the ferry schedule itself,” he says.
“We had accepted a schedule with less runs, but it was fair because it was fair to both sides. It's the injustice and the unfairness of the schedule that is our concern.”