Provincial MHA Gerry Byrne says Newfoundland and Labrador cannot and will not participate in a Canada-wide free trade agreement because of what he called a “barbed wire, chain-link gate,” namely, Marine Atlantic.
Prime Minister Mark Carney hopes to have the deal finalized by Canada Day, but Bryne says he and the premier want the government to deal with Marine Atlantic “barriers” before that happens.
(VOCM file photo.)
He says the deal would mean Newfoundland is “handcuffed” by understaffing by Transport Canada through Marine Atlantic and that Ottawa is charging “exorbitant fees” to move goods.
“Newfoundland and Labrador is insisting that there must be radical revision and reform to Transport Canada’s treatment of Marine Atlantic,” he told VOCM News.
“You can’t have a free trade agreement when Ottawa at the same time is stopping trade.”
