Last month, one thousand Prince Edward County area residents signed a petition demanding the Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO) to remedy service disruptions at the Glenora and Wolfe Island ferries by hiring more ferry workers and retaining them with fair and competitive wages.

The disruptions have have been ongoing since last year.

OPSEU Local 428 President and Captain of the Glenora Ferry Service Jody Pringle, who was at Queen’s Park to deliver the petition, had the following to say about the Ford government’s response:

Pringle also highlighted that ferry service positions come with an exceptionally high degree of personal responsibility and liability due to Transport Canada passenger safety mandates.

Concerning the situation surrounding the deployment of electric ferries at Wolfe Island, Pringle summed up the situation with the following:

MTO, in response to the petition, stated that “ferries are an integral part of Ontario’s transportation network, and we recognize the critical need to ensure these services are available to communities that rely on them. There is an industry-wide shortage of seafarers, which has resulted in staffing challenges for ferry services in general.”

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