MP wants compensation for causeway losses, but cruise company has its doubts

The MP forKingston and the Islands is calling on his owngovernment to provide compensation to local businesses that have lost moneydue tothe damagedLaSalle Causeway.

But according to a cruise boat companythat's spent monthshelplessly watching most oftheir vessels sit idle, the federal department responsible for the crossing has no plans to pay up.

Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) "has given us complete assurance that they will not pay a single dollar of compensation," said Eric Ferguson, general manager ofKingston 1000 Islands Cruises.

He said both PSPCand the office of itsminister, Jean-Yves Duclos, havemade it clear there's "no mechanism" within thedepartment to cover the costs of cruise cancellations and other damages.

"It is extraordinary to us thatPSPC has been so dismissive of their responsibility to make some compensation," said Ferguson. "That's unacceptable."

PSPC says demolishing bridge is the priority

The causeway connects downtown Kingston with the city's eastern suburbs.

Part of it is a century-old Bascule bridge that uses a heavy counterweight to lift, allowing boats to pass through.It's been closed since it was damaged during maintenance work on March 30.

This week, PSPC announced it plans to demolish the bridge, starting as early as next week.

The decision came nearly twomonths to the day the crossing was shut down, during which time cruise boat companies and other area businesses have repeatedlypushedthe government for action.

Guillaume Bertrand, spokesperson for Duclos, said he did not have any comment in response to questions about compensation.

"The priority right now is to demolish the causeway rapidly and find a temporary solution," he wrote.

Layoffs and financial losses

Meanwhile the marine season has begun, and busy weekends that bring intourist traffichave come and gone.

In early May,the president of St. Lawrence Cruise Lines whose sole ship, the Canadian Empress, is stuck on the wrong side of the bridge told reporters he'd been forced to cancel two cruises for a loss of $350,000 in ticket revenue.

In the weeks that followed, the company said the causewayclosure had forced it to lay off 20 employees.

Ontario Morning9:48Layoffs for local businesses as the LaSalle Causeway remains closed

Nearly two months after the LaSalle Causeway was forced to close, a number of commercial ships and vessels remain stranded in the inner harbor. Daniel Beals is the Operations and Human Resources for St. Lawrence Cruise Lines. He spoke with host Molly Thomas about how the local businesses are feeling the effect.

Those losses have compounded since, according to Ferguson.

"That's a vessel that's refunding six figure amounts every week as their bought-and-paid-for cruises have to be cancelled," he said, pointing at the Empress.

Kingston 1000 Islands Cruises was fortunate enough to have one boat on the right side of thebridge before the damage occurred. It also managed tofree another bysqueezing it beneath a different part of the causeway.

Still, the company is feeling the pinch too, said Ferguson,describing a messagehe sent over the Victoria Day long weekend.

"I had to write an email to the owners of our company to say that over the next day and a half ... we would expect to lose $100,000."

Further delays couldincrease costs

In an interview this week on CBC Radio's All In A Day,Kingston and the Islands MP Mark Gerretsen saidhe believes the government has a role to play when it comes to"making these businesses whole."

Gerretsensaid he's written a letter to Duclos and PSPC, urging them to find a way to support companies that are suffering.

Local businesses aren't at fault for the causeway closure," Gerretsensaid, adding it could be argued that with "proper foresight"the bridge would not have been damaged.

Even with the demolition plans, the remaining cruise boats aren't expected to be freed until July.

Ferguson said there's also a "significant risk" the temporary bridge that replaces it will block access to Davis Dry Dock, the only facility of its kind on thatside of Lake Ontario.

Vessels of all sizes rely on the dock for maintenance and emergency repairs, he said.

Ferguson cautioned the government not to delay any decisiontoreimburse the companies, like it did when it came to demolishingthe bridge.

"IfPSPC were to act immediately, I believe that for some of the operators, they would be able to hold the amount of compensation into the hundreds of thousandsof dollars," Ferguson said.

"But by delaying, clearly it's going to be millions."

11:00LaSalle causeway's 100 year legacy comes to a close

Public Services and Procurement announced Tuesday that Kingston's LaSalle causeway will need to be demolished and rebuilt from scratch, ending over 100 years of service.