Change Islands residents take ferry frustrations to Confederation Building

About a dozen people from Change Islands gathered in front of the Newfoundland and Labrador Legislature on Monday to bring attention to what they're calling an unfair scheduling change to the provincial ferry service. 

The town is normally serviced by the MV Veteran, which is undergoing upgrades and is expected to be out of commission for about two months. 

In the interim, the Department of Transportation and Works has replaced it with the Kamutik W — a much larger ship that takes longer to load and unload.  

As a means of dealing with the logistics, the department changed the ferry schedule by cutting two trips per week.

However, no trips to neighbouring Fogo Island were cut, meaning the Kamutik W now passes by Change Islands twice a week instead of stopping for its usual scheduled route. 

Change Islands Mayor Paula Flood said the situation is unfair and unnecessary.

"They made up the schedule. They asked for our opinion, we told them that it wasn't conducive to our needs, and they still put the schedule up," Flood said. 

With the exception of grocery shopping, she said, residents of her town depend on the ferry for every service. 

"In order for us to get our medical services, chemo treatments, all the things that our residents need, we have to travel," she said. 

"We want the same schedule we've had for years and years and years. We cannot take the cuts."

Dennis Flood, town councillor and chair of the Change Islands transportation committee, said the schedule change is baffling. 

"The current vessel passes Change Islands while we're sitting on the dock," he said.

"It's on the same route. It just makes no sense."

Dennis hopes the demonstration at Confederation Building will compel Transportation Minister John Abbott to reconsider the decision. 

"We're willing to accept something that's equal to both islands, but we just can't justify a vessel passing us by while we sit in the car."

The department said it couldn't reach a consensus on a revised schedule with the towns.

Opposition leader Tony Wakeham said the protesters have legitimate concerns and questions. 

"The fact that government is taking things away and are trying to make this about one island versus another is unfair to the people that live on Change Islands," Wakeham said.

In an email to CBC News, spokesperson Maria Browne said the department worked with the contractor and other stakeholders to come up with a number of proposed schedules for the two-month period.

Suggestions included cancelling or amalgamating the last two trips in the day to make the service more reliable and avoid possible morning delays.

"A consensus could not be reached among the towns on the approach, so the department arrived at the following revised schedule," Browne wrote.

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