Yesterday afternoon, the Wolfe Island ferry announced that they couldn’t find workers and that the ferry would shut down from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. yet again. That shutdown included emergency services, because last night a coast guard ship was needed to bring paramedics to the island. And this morning, there are long lineups on both the mainland and the island docks. There were engine issues that prevented the ferry from running until just about an hour ago. Add to that all the people who had to stay overnight on the wrong side of the water and all the people that are waiting to start their day and it’s a total mess.

Under this government, we have a new ferry which arrived one and a half years ago and still isn’t in use and new docks whose construction has been delayed by years. The government has paid two to three times the regular cost to hire temporary workers, but still, the lives of those who live or work on Wolfe Island and Kingston are being continually disrupted.

I call on this government to realize that workers have choices, to pay competitive salaries and to expedite the training of more licensed ferry operators, and I call on the minister to give her personal attention and to take personal responsibility for managing the Wolfe Island ferry situation until it stabilizes.