Ferry fight continues this time with protesters on Fogo Island

Protesters on Fogo Island are refusing to let the Beaumont Hamel make its way to Bell Island as part of the agreed upon ferry swap.

"They say they're in there for the long haul," says Eugene Nippard, who is a citizen's representative on Fogo Island's Transportation Committee, although he said he was not speaking on thatgroup's behalf.

"We've been treated as second class and that's not fair."

• Protesters accept Bell Island ferry deal, Legionnaire could head to Fogo Wednesday night

After several days of protests by Bell Island ferry users, all sides agreed to a solution: the Legionnaire would service the Fogo Island-Change Islands route, while the MV Beaumont Hamel andFlanders will service Bell Island.

But Nippard said the goodwill didn't last long as ferry users on Fogo Island are calling for theirschedulingissues to be resolved.

"We presented a schedule to management and they came back with one that was 95 per cent different," he said.

Nippard said government has saidthey won't implement the requested schedule "because it's a different contract for the workers on the Legionnaire than it is on the Veteran It's a money issue."

'We got to fight back'

Due to the protests, the Department of Transportation will not allow the Legionnaire to sail until protesters let the Beaumont Hamel make its way to Bell Island, according to Nippard.

But a quick fix might not be in the works, he warned.

"We're just trying to prove a point, trying to keep the Beaumont Hamel and hopefully force the government to act as soon as possible, which they haven't been doing," he said.

"People don't want to take anymore and they says, 'Well, we got to fight back.' It worked in Bell Island they got their schedule changed."

'These are intra-provincialsystems'

As for government, Transportation Minister Steve Crocker is asking the demonstrators to be reasonable, andsaid the province'sferries are "owned by the taxpayers of the province."

"I think it's also important that people realize these areintra-provincialsystems," he told reporters Thursday afternoon. "And nodifferent than we would not impede people's ability to travel or commute on highways, these are highways."

People don't want to take anymore.- Eugene Nippard

Crocker saidwhen it comes to setting the schedules, the collective agreement between the province and workers on the Legionnaire follows the boat wherever it goes and that's what determinesthestart and stop times for the vessel each day.

Some protesters have been asking for later sailing times, as well as a fixed, year-round schedule.

Crocker said the provincial government will work with the demonstrators to see what flexibility exists to meet their requests.

But he also added that the government was "committed" to having two vessels on the Bell Island run, implying the Department of Transportation might move the Legionnaire back to Bell Island.

"This is very early on, but again, we've been clear on our commitments."