The Opposition says while the departure of the Transocean Barents will not affect the future of the offshore, it will have devastating effects.

PC Opposition Critic Lloyd Parrott and Labour Critic Paul Dinn are expressing concern over the drill rig which finishes operations in the coming weeks.

Parrott says generations of workers have devoted their lives to this industry, and now they are left to sit back and watch it go down the drain. He states that the effects of this will spiral into more than 800 jobs lost if you include service companies.

Dinn states that in a province that under every scenario has a declining population, it’s critical to keep jobs in the province, every job loss is dire.