June 18, 2015
For Immediate Release
June 18th, 2015
MP Jones Tables Motion Calling for Fixed Link Study
Yvonne Jones, MP for Labrador
For decades people in the Labrador Straits have known the frustration and complication with the ferry system linking their communities with the rest of the world. Now that the Trans Labrador Highway has replaced most of the marine freight and passenger travel to Newfoundland, the majority of Labradorians now share that frustration.
The Quebec Lower North Shore highway 138 is moving closer to completion from the southern Labrador border all the way to Montreal and the Ontario border where the majority of goods enter the country bound for eastern Canada. Western and Central Labradorians already enjoy cheaper goods and service, as well as improved access to market Labrador products to the outside world.
Once complete, Labrador and the Quebec Lower North Shore are in an opportune position to provide a more direct, cheaper, and more reliable route to supply the island of Newfoundland with goods and services as well as a route for Labrador and Newfoundland to export goods and services.
A fixed link between Labrador and Newfoundland could create a permanently reliable alternative to marine ferry and freight service which is increasingly expensive and fraught with challenges, particularly in winter for both Labrador and Newfoundland.
Today I am pleased to announce I have tabled a motion for Private Members Business calling on the federal government to work in cooperation with the government of Newfoundland and Labrador on evaluating the feasibility of a fixed link between Labrador and Newfoundland so that together we may create real change and real growth for Labrador, Newfoundland, and Quebec’s Lower North Shore.
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Media contact:
Christian von Donat
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