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Portland Calls on Premier to Keep Ferry Service Afloat

December 28, 2009 - PORTLAND -- Mayor Nicholas Mavodones Jr. and City Manager Joseph Gray are urging Nova Scotia Premier Darrell Dexter to reconsider his decision to stop subsidizing the ferry service between Nova Scotia and Maine.

"It is unthinkable that this summer, our two cities will no longer be just a boat ride away," the Portland officials said in a letter that will be delivered to Dexter on Wednesday by a delegation from Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.

The delegation is collecting letters of support for the ferry service from around the province. Officials in Bar Harbor are also sending a letter.

On Friday, Bay Ferries Ltd. announced that the loss of the subsidy had forced it to end the service connecting Yarmouth, Portland and Bar Harbor. Last year, the ferry line received more than $5 million from the government to help it offset higher fuel prices and lower ridership.

Yarmouth officials and business leaders are asking the provincial government to subsidize the service for one more summer, to give them more time to recruit a ferry service that's different from The Cat, the high-speed catamaran used by Bay Ferries.

At a news conference today in Yarmouth, the group plans to release information about the economic impact of the ferry link to Maine.

The ferry brings tourists and generates jobs, and it connects families, said Julie Walters, a tourism development officer in Yarmouth.

"It's really a big loss to us, and we are fighting it," she said.

Yarmouth has had continuous ferry service to New England since service between Boston and Yarmouth began in 1855.

Service between Yarmouth and Boston ended in 1960. Service between Bar Harbor and Yarmouth began in 1956. Service between Portland and Yarmouth began in 1970.

In their letter to Nova Scotia's premier, Portland officials said the city has been committed to the success of the ferry service and has made many investments in the past few years.

Less than two years ago, the city and state built the $20.5 million Ocean Gateway terminal. The city has $280,000 a year in debt payments for the project.

As in Maine, the recession is causing the government in Nova Scotia to slash spending. The province is forecast to run a deficit of $525.2 million this year.

Development Minister Percy Paris told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. that ending the subsidy that kept the seasonal ferry service afloat was a "tough decision" but the right one, based on due diligence and the need for the province to live within its means.

By TOM BELL, Staff Writer, Portland Press Herald, December 22, 2009


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