P.E.I. premier asks Ottawa for lower bridge, ferry tolls
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CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — P.E.I. Premier Dennis King is asking on Ottawa to cut back tolls on the Confederation Bridge and ferry service to the mainland.
King met with federal Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc in November and adopted up with a letter to the minister in December.
“We had , thorough chat about it,’’ King informed SaltWire Community in a phone interview on Jan. 16. “He is aware of this situation effectively and in-depth and definitely understands the aggressive nature of the excessive fare and what it does to enterprise and the general public in P.E.I.’’
LeBlanc represents the New Brunswick driving that connects to the bridge.
King stated he and the 4 MPs from P.E.I. have additionally been assembly frequently on this situation. The premier stated he want to see a committee of provincial and federal officers created to have a look at the way it could possibly be achieved.
The premier stated they’re all proposing to decrease the prices of utilizing each the bridge and the Northumberland Ferries Ltd. service, which connects P.E.I. to Nova Scotia eight months a yr, to $20.
King factors to Champlain Bridge in Montreal for comparability. The federal authorities subsidizes that bridge to the tune of just about $200 million yearly. That subsidy makes the three.4-kilometre crossing free.
The federal authorities pays about $90 million mixed for the Confederation Bridge and ferry.
King stated if P.E.I. obtained the identical $200-million subsidy, fares may drop to $20 per crossing.
“I feel the federal authorities is open to having a dialog about it and see how we’d get there,’’ the premier stated.
King was fast so as to add that he wouldn’t oppose a better subsidy making the bridge and ferry free however thinks aiming for a $20 fare is extra real looking.
“Twenty-dollars appears to be someplace the federal authorities may get to if you happen to take a look at the premise {that a} Canadian is a Canadian and the truth that our hyperlink to the mainland is ensconced within the Structure.’’
King stated that the Champlain Bridge handles about 50 million autos a yr in comparison with lower than one million yearly on Confederation Bridge just isn’t an argument that one deserves an even bigger subsidy over the opposite.
“I’m not downplaying the significance of a hyperlink in Montreal (however) we’re one in every of solely two provinces the place you need to pay to get out of. That’s a aggressive drawback.’’
King stated his assembly with LeBlanc in Ottawa in November was additionally an try and cease a deliberate hike within the bridge fare for 2023.
Confederation Bridge is allowed to extend the speed annually, based mostly on the price of inflation.
The P.E.I. premier stated Strait Crossing Bridge Ltd., which operates the bridge, was going to make use of clauses in its contract to extend fares by $4.25 on Jan. 1, 2023, on account of the price of inflation and a drop in visitors.
After assembly with King and the P.E.I. MPs, the federal authorities was in a position to freeze tolls for this yr.
“That offers me hope that there’s a path ahead,’ King stated, referring to reducing the tolls.
P.E.I. Senator Percy Downe, who has been arguing for decrease bridge fares for years, calls freezing the fares first step.
“The tolls are a hinderance on our exports and the extra value of coming to P.E.I.,’’ Downe stated in a phone interview with SaltWire Community on Jan. 16. “All of us pay for it on the grocery retailer and in every part else we purchase. It’s necessary this by addressed.’’
Downe stated he was speaking to 1 P.E.I. firm lately that reported spending $66,000 on fares simply getting off the Island final yr.
Downe additionally dismissed notions that King is simply doing this as a result of that is an election yr.
“He’s doing this as a result of he acknowledges, together with Island MPs, that it is a important hinderance to P.E.I’s exports and so forth,’’ the senator stated.
Do you know?
Following are the present charges for the standard automobile on the Confederation Bridge and P.E.I. ferry:
• Bridge: $50.25 (frozen for 2023)
• Ferry: $84 (2022 fee, ferry doesn’t function in winter)
Dave Stewart is a reporter with SaltWire Community in Prince Edward Island. He will be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @DveStewart
