Burned by the multiplication of ferry breakdowns F.-A.-Gauthierthe MP for Matane-Matapédia, Pascal Bérubé, is preparing to submit a draft insurance policy for users to the government.
“The Quebec government has a monopoly on the ferry between Matane and the North Shore. And since the arrival of F.-A.-Gauthier, too often, the ship is out of order,” he explained in an interview on Tuesday morning. “As soon as the government is unable to guarantee the crossing, it must compensate the users,” he said.
This “traverse insurance” would allow people affected by breakdowns to claim compensation from the Société des traversiers du Québec (STQ). This type of protection has existed since 2019 in the aviation sector, thanks to the Federal Travelers Charter. The latter provides for the compensation of passengers whose flights are cancelled.
In Matanie, the impact of ferry service cancellations is “considerable” – especially for workers, who have no choice but to make a detour via Quebec to reach the other shore, the equivalent of more than 10 hours on the road —, maintains the MP. “Let’s imagine a trucker who has to do Matane-Québec and Québec–Sept-Îles. You have to calculate fuel, overnight stays, meals…”
Repeated failures
The ferry’s most recent major breakdown F.-A.-Gauthier dated last October. Mechanical breakdowns then forced the shutdown of service for two days and the cancellation of more than 700 reservations. When this occurs, the service should normally be provided by a replacement vessel, the Saaremaa I, which serves the Maritimes. However, the latter was not available at the time.
Another breakdown, which occurred in June, had also forced the shutdown of the service for two days. Same thing in January 2022.
Since taking office in 2015, the F.-A.-Gauthier has multiplied the damage so much that Prime Minister François Legault has publicly called it a “lemon”. An investigation by the Auditor General of Quebec had established in 2020 that it had already resulted in no less than $235 million in unforeseen public expenditure at the time.
The problem did not arise before the arrival of this boat, notes MP Pascal Bérubé. “The Ferry Camille Marcouxwho was there previously, was there for 40 years, and we had no [problèmes] major except during periods of heavy ice. »
No need for a law, according to Pascal Bérubé
According to the elected representative of Matane-Matapédia, the creation of insurance for ferry users F.-A.-Gauthier does not require the adoption of a bill and could therefore go through the adoption of a “compensation policy” that he intends to submit to the new Minister of Transport, Geneviève Guilbault.
Joined on Tuesday, the latter’s cabinet said it was waiting to see Mr. Bérubé’s proposal before deciding. “It is essential for our government that Quebecers be able to travel from one region to another,” indicated the minister’s press attaché, Louis-Julien Dufresne. The STQ plays an important role in this regard. »
In parallel with his efforts with Minister Guilbault, the PQ MNA intends to solicit the support of the two new North Shore MNAs from the Coalition avenir Québec, Kateri Champagne Jourdain (Duplessis) and Yves Montigny (René-Lévesque).