Marine Atlantic is a ‘lifeline’ for these communities. How could a strike affect them?

Newfoundland’s Port of Argentia is a tourism hub with booming Marine Atlantic ferry bookings but a looming strike means the terminal could soon go quiet — and that has people worried.

Unifor — the union that represents 700 Marine Atlantic workers — recently proposed scrapping the route between Argentia and North Sydney, N.S. in the event of a strike or lockout.

Placentia Mayor Jamie Neville called the news a “bombshell” as so many local businesses rely on the traffic.

“That’s our lifeline,” said Neville. “If these individuals don’t capitalize during these times, a lot of them probably won’t even make it through the winter.”

Beyond business, Neville said many seniors and people with disabilities prefer to take the Argentia ferry rather than Port aux Basques on Newfoundland’s west coast.

Placentia area residents also depend on shipments of food, medicine and other essential items.

“It just affects everything… We do need this essential service to continue the way it is,” Neville said.

Busy season ahead

The uncertainty is also being felt more than 800 kilometres away on Newfoundland’s west coast, where Unifor has also proposed the Port aux Basques route be reduced, going from three crossings per day to North Sydney to three crossings per week.

Channel-Port aux Basques Deputy Mayor Richard Spencer said many families’ livelihoods are directly linked to the Marine Atlantic ferry service. It’s one of the town’s biggest employers and local businesses benefit from the daily activity at the terminal. 

“When we’re talking about Marine Atlantic, we’re talking about more than ferries. It’s a significant piece of our local economy,” said Spencer.

If the Crown corporation’s workers end up striking this summer, Spencer said potential disruption to services could have a similar impact to previous Canada Post strikes.

Spencer said reducing the number of ferry crossings would be a blow to his community’s summer season.

“We’re entering one of the busiest tourism periods of the year,” said Spencer. “Reliable ferry service is extremely important for visitor traffic, local businesses, accommodations, restaurants and even [province]-wide due to our logistics, our freight.”

Threat of strike caused ‘mental anguish,’ says former politician

Unifor recently asked the Canadian Industrial Relations Board to reconsider Marine Atlantic’s essential service designation, which was made in 2003.

Former federal and provincial politician Gerry Byrne said he remembers the day the service was deemed essential.

“The threat of a strike created such mental anguish in Newfoundlanders and Labradorians,” said Byrne. “There is absolutely no question in my mind that the same things, the same emotions, the same realities that drove this back in the early 2000s, they’re even more present today.”

Byrne said Marine Atlantic employees deserve a fair wage and he hopes that’s achieved in collective bargaining.

He also said this situation could have been avoided if Newfoundland and Labrador, like other Atlantic Canadian provinces, received a commercial subsidy on top of the 50 per cent cut on Marine Atlantic’s passenger fares.

“If we had that subsidy, 50 per cent of every wage increase that’s offered to the employees would be offset by the second subsidy program of the federal government, making reasonable responsible wage increases for those Marine Atlantic employees,” Byrne said.

It’s something Byrne said he fought for during his time in Ottawa, but ultimately didn’t come through. 

Conciliation between Unifor and Marine Atlantic expires next week following a breakdown in mediated talks, according to Unifor. 

After June 8, there will be a 21-day “cooling period” before a legal labour disruption can occur.

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