ST. JOHN’S, Nfld. (Jan. 5, 2004) — A recently announced hike for the ferry service between Nova Scotia and Newfoundland will damage trucking and tourism, say local politicians and industry groups.

Ottawa recently approved rate increases for Marine Atlantic, a federally subsidized Crown corporation, just before Christmas. The new, one-way rates jumped from $1 to $2 for passengers, $3.75 and up for regular trucks and cars, and as much as $75 for commercial vehicles. Accommodation rates rose about 10 per cent across the board.

Despite criticisms from the tourism and trucking industries, Roger Flood, president of Marine Atlantic, said those who use the ferry service can afford the new rates. “I don’t think it will have an adverse affect,” he told Canadian Press “Our costs go up the same as everybody else’s costs go up.”

— Via Canadian Press