Editing Coastal Transport Limited (section)

==Fees Controversy==

In August 2010, in the period leading up to the [[New Brunswick]] provincial election, [[David Alward]], the leader of the New Brunswick provincial Conservative Party pledged to remove the toll on the ferry to Grand Manan if they won the election.  Alward claimed that the ferry service was unique in the province in that it charged a toll, and that it was unfair to island residents.  He promised that Coastal Transport would be fully subsidized to compensate, and that the schedule would remain the same.  These changes, he argued, would make it more attractive for people to work, live, and operate businesses on Grand Manan, and that it would prove a boon for tourism.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ctvnews.ca/n-b-tories-say-they-ll-remove-grand-manan-ferry-tolls-1.544540|title=N.B. Tories say they'll remove Grand Manan ferry tolls|work=ctvnews.ca|date=20 August 2010 }}</ref>  But the suggestion itself was decried by the incumbent MLA and the Mayor of Grand Manan.  Mayor Dennis Greene stated that businesses, council, the tourism sector, and the island's transportation committee were not consulted prior to the announcement.  The cost of eliminating the fees was estimated to be $1.7 million.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2010-08-24 |title=The Saint Croix Courier - Grand Manan mayor dismisses PC promise - Aug. 24, 2010 |url=http://stcroixcourier.ca/fullnews.php?view=324 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151129215012/http://stcroixcourier.ca/fullnews.php?view=324 |archive-date=2015-11-29 |access-date= |website=stcroixcourier.ca}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2010-09-23 |title=Grand Manan voters question PC promise |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/grand-manan-voters-question-pc-promise-1.968671 |website=CBC News}}</ref>

On September 27, 2010, Alward and the Conservatives won the provincial election.  The following August, Alward stated that he would keep his election promise to eliminate the fees, and that although it wouldn't happen by the end of 2011, it would by the end of his mandate.  Gregg Ryder spoke on the issue in December 2011: "There is a reason most ferry operations are associated with government fiscally and legally for subsidies. The population density is not there at this end of the country to the extent it is for B.C. Ferries."  He added, "Coastal Transport simply collects the fares on behalf of the province.  If the province chooses to remove the fares, they are in effect eliminating one of their revenue streams.  But many Grand Mananers have long held the view that they pay the only tolls in the province. They reject the comparison with the Princess of Acadia since it is interprovincial, as well as the now-defunct Yarmouth, N.S.-Bar Harbor run.  With high fuel and labour costs, very few Canadian ferry operations are sustainable without government subsidy. We are no exception to this."<ref name="canadiansailings.ca"/>

In March 2012 the fees still remained in place.  The Village of Grand Manan then held a plebiscite, asking: "Should the Council of the Village of Grand Manan ask the Government of New Brunswick to remove the fare to travel on the ferry to and from the mainland?"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/grand-manan-pitches-plebiscite-on-free-ferry-1.1134312|title=Grand Manan pitches plebiscite on free ferry|work=cbc.ca}}</ref>  The plebiscite subsequently passed by a narrow margin, 556 for and 511 against, with a voter turnout of 67 per cent.  Alward responded by saying: "I certainly respect the people of Grand Manan and have full intention to respect our commitments.  I do appreciate the decision that the people have made where they are recommending to government to see the ferry fees removed.  That is great for the economy of Grand Manan in the long term, and I have full intention to respect their wishes."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/grand-manan-votes-to-ditch-ferry-fees-1.1261691|title=Grand Manan votes to ditch ferry fees|work=cbc.ca}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/grand-manan-ferry-fees-will-be-removed-says-alward-1.1235799|title=Grand Manan ferry fees will be removed, says Alward|work=cbc.ca}}</ref>  By September 2012, the fees were still in place and although many politicians expected the Alward government to live up to its promise, they assumed it would be done towards the end of his four-year mandate.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/grand-manan-ferry-fees-continue-despite-plebiscite-vote-1.1159205 |title=Grand Manan ferry fees continue despite plebiscite vote - New Brunswick - CBC News |website=www.cbc.ca |access-date=13 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402091551/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/grand-manan-ferry-fees-continue-despite-plebiscite-vote-1.1159205 |archive-date=2 April 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In April 2013, Alward's government announced their intention to reduce the amount of ferry crossings by one run daily, and that this would result in savings of $1 million per year.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://trinitytoday.ca/2013/04/new-brunswick-govt-cuts-grand-manan-ferry-crossings/ |title=Trinity Today:New Brunswick gov't cuts Grand Manan ferry crossings |website=trinitytoday.ca |access-date=13 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402092358/http://trinitytoday.ca/2013/04/new-brunswick-govt-cuts-grand-manan-ferry-crossings/ |archive-date=2 April 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref>  This move was met with a wave of opposition and a petition against it.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/grand-manan-ferry-cuts-face-wave-of-opposition-1.1319389|title=Grand Manan ferry cuts face wave of opposition|work=cbc.ca}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://quoddytides.com/grandmanan_ferry4-26-13.html|title=Islanders take action against proposal to reduce ferry service|author=Arlene Benham|date=April 26, 2013 |work=[[The Quoddy Tides]]}}</ref><ref>http://www.gnb.ca/legis/business/pastsessions/57/57-3/order-e/o130620e.pdf p. 8</ref>  However, these cuts did not materialize.<ref>http://grandmanan.coastaltransport.ca/documents/SchedulePrint-EN.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|date=March 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://stcroixcourier.ca/fullnews.php?view=931 |title=The Saint Croix Courier |website=stcroixcourier.ca |access-date=13 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402133845/http://stcroixcourier.ca/fullnews.php?view=931 |archive-date=2 April 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In perhaps his final public remarks on the matter, made during the reopening ceremony of [[the Algonquin Resort St. Andrews By-The-Sea|The Algonquin Resort]] in June 2014, Alward said:  "I guess we haven't come to a final decision on it. There hadn't been a clean mandate or majority from the community in terms of the support on that.  If we look at the ferry when it was built, it was built with a lot more capacity than was really needed and so we looked at changing some of the runs so what the community said at the time is, 'why don't you look at keeping the runs going the way it is because we believe it's important to the economy of the island and also to the movement of people?'  So that's where we've been at. We thought that was the most important priority at the time so that's where we have focused. We haven't made a final decision where we're going to land on the other part."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://stcroixcourier.ca/fullnews.php?view=1077 |title=The Saint Croix Courier |website=stcroixcourier.ca |access-date=13 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402101840/http://stcroixcourier.ca/fullnews.php?view=1077 |archive-date=2 April 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

That same month, Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Claude Williams reiterated that the fares would remain.  Many islanders felt that the government had reneged on its promise, and that the matter would become an election issue.  The impact of this is unclear, but Alward's mandate ended in 2014 with the fees still in place, and his Conservatives were defeated at the polls by the Liberal Party, led by [[Brian Gallant]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/grand-manan-travellers-upset-ferry-fare-still-in-place-1.2690882?cmp=rss|title=Grand Manan travellers upset ferry fare still in place|work=cbc.ca}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/new-brunswick-votes-2014/n-b-election-2014-results-brian-gallant-s-liberals-win-amid-vote-count-fiasco-1.2774901|title=N.B. Liberals win election, as chief electoral officer affirms vote results|work=cbc.ca}}</ref>