David Maher
The Telegram
Fisheries and Land Resources Minister Gerry Byrne says the supply chain for food and medicine in Newfoundland and Labrador would not be affected by reduced runs by Oceanex.
Oceanex CEO Sid Hynes, quoted by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), is requesting a $2-million weekly federal subsidy to ensure the company can continue its supply runs to the island of Newfoundland from Montreal and Halifax.
“There is no evidence that food security will be impacted by any reduction in service by Oceanex,” says Byrne.
“With that said, the provincial government of Newfoundland and Labrador does value and appreciate the contribution that Oceanex does. It’s always important to have redundancy in the transportation systems. Oceanex, coupled with Marine Atlantic, work very much in tandem with each other to provide that food security.”
Byrne says he takes issue with the CBC story published on Tuesday.
“I caution these kinds of stories, and I’m speaking very deliberately to the CBC story,” said Byrne.
“These things need to be fact-based.”
A 2015 report completed for Transport Canada found that the majority of perishable items coming into the province travel via truck, which are transported to the island by Marine Atlantic. The report found that while there are cost concerns associated with the practice, food travelling through Marine Atlantic is preferred over other means when it comes to reliability of the service and how quickly the food can come into the province.
Byrne says the provincial and federal governments estimate between 80 and 90 per cent of all perishable goods come to this province via Marine Atlantic.
He says the supply chain is constitutionally mandated as part of the terms of union between Newfoundland and Labrador and Canada.
“The federal government — no matter what — has a responsibility to act to ensure that Marine Atlantic is able to transport whatever and all traffic that is requested,” said Byrne.
“That’s the constitutional obligation.”
Premier Dwight Ball says the provincial government is exploring all options to ensure the supply chain in Newfoundland and Labrador is unbroken. A few weeks ago, truckers were declared an essential service.
“We need to remember that although Oceanex is a big supplier, a big mover of goods, we also have Marine Atlantic,” said Ball.
“We have the trucking capacity, we have the Marine Atlantic capacity. Both are willing to step up.”
In a statement, Marine Atlantic says it has more than enough capacity to handle increased freight delivery should Oceanex be unable to continue its runs.
“We have a four-vessel fleet, with two vessels currently in service to meet demand. The two vessels in service are utilizing approximately 50 per cent of their overall capacity on a daily basis,” spokesperson Darrell Mercer stated.
“Should demand increase and additional capacity be required, Marine Atlantic has the ability to add additional crossings to the schedule with the two vessels currently in standby mode.”
Oceanex had an application to the Supreme Court of Canada to review the federal subsidy to Marine Atlantic, which was submitted in October 2019. The Supreme Court rejected the application on March 26.
In statements to other media, Oceanex CEO Sid Hynes has requested a $2-million weekly federal subsidy to keep Oceanex’s supply chain going.
Such a subsidy would amount to $104 million annually.
In 2018-19, the total federal subsidy to Marine Atlantic was approximately $124 million.
A request for comment from Oceanex was not returned by deadline.
@DavidMaherNL