Mr. Alghabra, tear down this fence: N.L. premier asks Ottawa to open up St. John's harbour

The harbourfence in St. John's has been a subject of fierce controversy and public outcry since it waserected nearly a decade ago by the St. John's Port Authority.

At the time, the fencebecame a source of debate, protest and a social media campaign to prevent it.

"Is there anything to like about the fence?" Premier Andrew Furey asked with a laugh during an interview with CBCNews.

"It prevents access. It prevents economic development in St. John's. People come to Newfoundland and Labrador because of our coastline and the beauty of it, and want access to it."

That's why Furey wrote a letter to Omar Alghabra, the federal minister of transport, to ask if anything can be done about thefence.

An access-to-information request from CBC News revealed thatFurey wrote the letter last summer and received a response from Alghabra in October. Alghabra said the St. John's Port Authority is the entity that designed and controls the fence and suggested they should be the ones to start the conversation on any changes.

Furey didn't interpret Alghabra's letter as a rejection

"He doesn't exclude that conversation," Furey said. "I think there's an appetite on his part to certainly consider different options."

Furey said the fence situation is worth revisiting to see if there's interest inreconsidering its purpose for the balance of security, industry and pedestrian access. He said the waterfront is a great tourism opportunity for residents and visitors alike.

Though the stated purpose of the fence is to enhance security, Furey said that doesn't make sense when you consider other notable harbours in the world.

"You look at Halifax, who for example has done a remarkable job with respect to pedestrian access to their harbourfront, yet they still have the industrial and security challenges that would exist in St. John's," he said.

"How about New York City, for that matter? You can walk around great parts of New York City's harbourfront while still, of course, they take security very seriously there as well."

Furey said there are other ways to offer security while still offering access to the harbourfront.

"I'd like to see portions, if not the entire fence, taken down," Furey said.

"Perhaps there will still need to be certain industrial areas that are fenced, or certain coast guard areas that are fenced, and fair enough. But to have a fence around the entire harbour doesn't seem to make sense to me and is difficult to reconcile when you look at some of the other harbours that we've talked about."

Furey hopes the port authority will reconsider the fence and said he will encourage the authority toengage with Alghabra on changing it.

"I'm not judging the decision a decade ago, but perhaps it's time to revisit it, and I would hope that there's a willingness in that federal agency to do so currently," he said.

"If there is an opportunity for them to change their current structure with new security information, new technologies, new information from these other jurisdictions that we've talked about, then I took that to be that the federal minister would be open to that recommendation or suggestion from the port authority."

The premier said it's a personal issue for him.

"I wasn't lobbied to do this. It's very specific and very local, but St. John's is the capital city and this came from me and only me," he said.

"It really truly came from travelling and looking around at other jurisdictions andme just scratching my head, saying, 'Why am I able to walk straight up to the harbourfront in Halifax and enjoy a beverage or a mealand I'm not able to do so in my hometown of St. John's?'"

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