Derek Neary
Northern News Services

Fort Simpson (Oct 10/05) - Ferry service to Fort Simpson may be disrupted Wednesday as unionized crew members threaten strike action.

A month after being asked to rule, the Canada Industrial Relations Board declared last week that the Liard River ferry is not an essential service. On Oct. 5, the board concluded that a ferry strike or lockout at Fort Simpson would not result in an immediate and serious threat to the health and safety of the public.

The union, which is seeking its first collective agreement with ferry contractor Rowe's Construction, subsequently announced its plans to strike.

"We could be withdrawing our services as early as Wednesday," Jean Francois Des Lauriers, regional vice-president of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, said last Friday.

Ferry may run anyway

Owen Rowe, of Rowe's Construction in Fort Simpson, stated in August that the ferry would continue to run even if the workers strike.

On Friday, owner Jack Rowe's tone was more equivocal. "What I've got to do is touch base with the Department of Transportation and put an action plan together," he said. "We can't unilaterally make that decision."

Neither was the Department of Transportation promising that the ferry will continue to run.

"We'll be looking at all the options available," but "we don't want to speculate on what that might consist of," said Bob Kelly, the department's manager of public affairs.

Raymond Michaud, mayor of Fort Simpson, said he's extremely disappointed that the ferry was not declared an essential service. If the service is severed by a strike, it will affect businesses, consumers and everyone with travel plans, he suggested.

"It's not good," he said, adding that residents in outlying communities will also be inconvenienced.

Jack Rowe noted that his company has put forth dates to return to the bargaining table.

Asked if the union has lost bargaining power now that only about three weeks remain in the ferry season before freeze-up, Des Lauriers replied, "We would have preferred that this (essential service decision) be done much earlier but we have no control over that. We will take what we've got."