Mr. Speaker, the decision to eliminate shore based [stevedoring positions] on the Marine Atlantic ferries makes no sense whatsoever. Dozens of full time workers and replacement crew in the Port aux Basques area alone will lose their jobs. It will hurt the local economy at the worst possible time.
This issue is of great concern to everyone for another reason. There is fear that if the plan goes ahead the safety of the public will be compromised for the sake of efficiency.
There is a real need for Marine Atlantic to take another look at the issue to see the logic of keeping the [stevedoring position] at those ports including Port aux Basques and North Sydney where it has served so well for so many years.