|
By TOM PETERS
August 30, 2010
Transport Canada has extended the subsidy to Northumberland Ferries Ltd. for another season.
The department has given $7.7 million to the ferry company, which operates two seasonal ferries on the Northumberland Strait between Caribou, N.S., and Wood Islands, P.E.I.
Melanie Quesnel, spokesperson for Transport Canada, said the previous subsidy agreement expired March 31, 2010. The new agreement will expire on March 31, 2011.
Northumberland Ferries, a subsidiary of NFL Holdings Ltd., of Charlottetown, has been operating the service since 1941.
Ms. Quesnel said that Ottawa continues to subsidize the service because “the government understands the importance of the Wood Islands-Caribou ferry service to the local communities and economy.”
According to the Northumberland Ferries website, the service annually carries approximately 475,000 passengers, 160,000 passenger vehicles and 18,000 commercial vehicles.
|