HALIFAX – Progressive Conservative tourism critic Keith Bain says news that the premier has declined an offer from Yarmouth-area business representatives to cover 50 per cent of the subsidy needed to maintain the CAT ferry service has hurt tourism operators across the province.

“This comes just days after Tourism Minister Percy Paris declared the NDP is ‘doing all (it) can to attract visitors in 2010,’ and is an insult to the businesses who depend on the 75,000 to 150,000 people who take the ferry between Yarmouth and New England each season,” Bain said Friday.

"It does not sound as though the premier gave the community proposal any serious consideration," he added, referencing Dexter's conclusion that the ferry is 'not a sustainable service and that is not going to change as a result of a funding proposal.' 

Bain said if the premier had honestly considered this proposal, and the fact that it was inspired by the sense of panic the discontinuation of the CAT has incited among Nova Scotia business owners, he would be offering some type of alternative service. 

"Obviously, the idea that this government is doing 'all it can' to stimulate the tourism economy is simply untrue." 

Bain and the Progressive Conservative caucus will raise the issue with federal ministers during a visit to Ottawa next week. The members are hoping to work with the federal government to develop a new transportation strategy. 

"I think most reasonable people would agree that there has got to be an alternative to simply canceling a service that contributes $175 million to the province's tourism industry annually," Bain said. "Unfortunately, the premier was so anxious to make this decision that he failed to wait for the results of a transportation study that might have provided some viable options." 

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For more information, please contact:
Janna MacGregor
Public Relations Officer
NS Progressive Conservative Caucus
Tel: 902.424.5238
Cell: 902.499.9948
Fax: 902.424.7484