'Leave this ferry alone': N.S. minister says Ottawa must not redeploy Fundy ferry

Nova Scotia's Public Works Minister Kim Masland says the federal government must maintain full ferry service between Digby, N.S., and Saint John, N.B., next year because it is crucial to the region.

Nova Scotia's Public Works Minister Kim Masland says the federal government must maintain full ferry service between Digby, N.S., and Saint John, N.B., next year because it is crucial to the region.

Masland's comments are in reaction to Transport Canada confirming to CBC News earlier this month that it's considering redeploying the ferry to another route for part of 2024.

The federal department said it was thinking about transferring the ferry to cover a route between Souris, P.E.I., and Iles-de-la-Madeleine, Que., in the spring, although it said no decision had been made.

Masland says she's asked federal Transport Minister Pablo Rodriguez to meet in Ottawa about the issue during the first week of December.

She says the ferry service across the Bay of Fundy is too important as a transportation link for the local seafood and tourism industries to be moved.

Masland says her message to Ottawa is "leave this (ferry) alone."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 23, 2023.