Editor,

The proposed PEI/CBI ferry service represents a key means of giving tourists, trade & travelers alternative choice of routes for planning their trip with minimized commuting costs and environmental footprint.

The ferry service can be established with a Transport Canada Public/Private operating contract & start-up costs to construct piers, ramps, access, etc. can be funded by Transport Canada’s 7 year, $33 billion Communities Infrastructure program, created to provide vital transport links for large & small communities across Canada.

Tax dollars funded the St. Lawrence Seaway construction & icebreakers are funded annually to support trade shipments to Quebec & Ontario - bypassing the ports & markets of Atlantic Canada. Taxpayers are also funding highway expansions and rail lines across Canada, & as taxpayers we also subsidize railing western wheat to an isolated arctic port. So to seek a vital ferry link from CBI to PEI so travelers, trade and commerce can save on gas, emissions and time – as well as providing opportunities for economic linkages between two sister islands & strategically making the Atlantic region more competitive & sustainable is a very reasonable goal.

If neither Cape Breton Canso Liberal MP Roger Cuzner, nor fellow federal candidates Allan Murphy (Tory) or Dwayne MacEachern (Green) are prepared to fight for this project on behalf of our island & region, then I am considering seeking the NDP nomination for the next federal election to offer my support.

A stronger Cape Breton, a fairer Cape Breton, a greener Cape Breton!

Mark Macneill
RR4 Mabou, Cape Breton Island
B0E1X0