Hearings to be held on reduced Wood Islands ferry service

Legislative hearings on the reduced Wood Islands ferry service are going ahead.

TheStanding Committee on Education and Economic Development has agreed to BelfastMurray River MLADarleneCompton's request to hold the hearingsabout the ferry and the economic impacts of the reduced service.

• P.E.I. ferry problem must be resolved 'as quickly as possible'
• P.E.I. premier wants 2nd ferry for Caribou-Wood Islands run
• Plans in the works for extra P.E.I. - Nova Scotia sailings

"The issues with the ferry service have put a lot of strain on the workers, truckers and local businesses," Compton said in a news release.

"The latest tourism stats show that ferry traffic was down about 15 per cent in July alone so I felt it was a good idea for a legislative committee to hear directly what the challenges are on the ground in the community and get a better sense of the economic impacts on eastern Prince Edward Island."

Increased use

Compton said she's hoping themeeting will take place as soon as possible becausecommercial, tourism and post-secondary student traffic heavily use the service at this time of year.

The MV Holiday Islandwas taken out of service for the seasonwhen it was found to need more maintenance work than initially thought, leaving just the MV Confederation operating along the route. Extra sailings were added to the schedule to help with the long waits.

Premier Wade MacLauchlancalled on Transport Canadaearlier this month to add a second ferry, sayingthe lack of action and solutions on the part of Transport Canada is disappointing and unacceptable.

Prime Minster Justin Trudeau announced days later his government was committed to ensuring there was ferry service for P.E.I. and Nova Scotia.

• MORE P.E.I. NEWS |Confederation Bridge tolls: Your comments
• MORE P.E.I. NEWS |Early eye exams can prevent future problems, says optometrist