NL’s representative in the federal cabinet says Ottawa’s decision to cut Marine Atlantic rates will have a tremendous impact on the province.

Joanne Thompson was in PEI yesterday with Prime Minister Mark Carney who announced that Ottawa is providing funding to allow passenger rates on the Marine Atlantic service to be cut by 50 per cent starting this Friday.

“We are reliant on Marine Atlantic as part of our connection…with the rest of Canada. It is an important decision for us on connectivity. It is an important decision for our economy and it is an important decision for our families.”

The federal government is also freezing commercial freight rates.

Marine Atlantic, the country’s only constitutionally required ferry service, transports nearly 65 per cent of all goods to and from the island, including 90 per cent of all perishables including fresh produce, medical oxygen and propane for home heating.

Hospitality NL is welcoming Marine Atlantic fare reductions.

The chair of HNL, John Devereaux, says what they’d like to see is an increase in Marine Atlantic’s capacity to meet what they anticipate will be growing demand.

“So, now our attention must shift to how Marine Atlantic will handle the increased demand that’s expected to follow,” says Devereaux. “Basically, we’re going to need a clear plan around fleet capacity and long-term service planning to ensure that the success is sustainable also.”