The Wolfe Islander IV before it arrived in Kingston in 2021. Photo via Ontario Power Generation (OPG) website.
Editor’s note: The following is a submitted open letter regarding the upcoming commencement of the Wolfe Islander IV taking over service for the Wolfe Islander III on Saturday, Aug 17, 2024. The views and opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of Kingstonist.
The Honourable Prabmeet Singh Sarkaria
Minister of Transportation
Government of Ontario
Dear Minister Sarkaria,
I write to you as a concerned and displeased resident of Wolfe Island, in response to the recent announcement to operate the Wolfe Islander IV ferry as soon as August 17, 2024. As you may be aware, Wolfe Island is the largest of the 1000 islands. Our community is an agricultural hub and cottage community located between upstate New York and downtown Kingston where Lake Ontario meets the St. Lawrence River.
Wolfe Island is home to approximately 1300-1800 residents, which fluctuates seasonally. We rely on the Wolfe Islander III ferry to access basic goods and services such as groceries and medical care, and to commute to work. Our ferry is our lifeline. Having lived north of the 60th parallel (I called Whitehorse home for nearly a decade), I am used to delays, inconveniences, and having to act quickly when emergencies occur. One of our biggest concerns on Wolfe Island is the lack of paramedic services. I provide this context in hopes you will understand the challenges we are currently facing.
I understand that Wolfe Islanders were promised more efficient ferry services several years ago. The project has been costly to taxpayers and we have experienced many false promises. For the past three or four years, the Wolfe Islander III ferry, in operation since the 1970s, has been operating out of Dawson’s Point (the winter dock). This has had a detrimental impact on island residents and businesses. In the past, pedestrians and cyclists would board the ferry from Kingston to visit our humble bakery, to ride their bicycles to the beach, and to enjoy a meal and live music at one of our three waterfront restaurants and diners. Tourists are now forced to drive if they wish to visit Wolfe Island, which fills our ferry quickly causing massive lineups and extended wait times. As I mentioned, this is also an agricultural and cottager community, meaning our ferry is also often filled with tractors, horse trailers, jet skis, and boat trailers in addition to regular traffic. While the Wolfe Island IV boasts more car space, we are certain the delayed schedule will mean full ferries, less daily trips back and forth, and estimates of 300 cars less each day. This is not an improvement. Missing a ferry, or the boat being full, will mean a three-hour wait once the Wolfe Islander IV is in operation.
In less than two weeks’ time, school buses will be taking high schoolers back and forth on the new Wolfe Islander IV ferry. There is no secondary school on Wolfe Island. Anyone wishing to pursue studies beyond grade 8 begins commuting by ferry at age 14. Many of us are concerned that students will not arrive at school on time, given the new schedule will push back arrival times significantly. This is unfair to high school students and their families.
One of the most significant concerns islanders are faced with is the removal of ambulance and paramedic services that I understand occurred prior to the pandemic. When there is an emergency on Wolfe Island, firefighters are our first responders who attend while the ferry travels to Kingston to bring paramedics to Wolfe Island. This causes delays in attending to emergencies and necessitates the ferry service being paused, often for hours at a time, leaving residents and tourists stranded on either side of the water on the mainland and the island. Typically, the ferry can make it to Kingston in 15 or 20 minutes; however, the announcement of a 40 minute commute each way will likely translate to a minimum of a 90 minute wait for paramedics to arrive on the scene.
Delayed paramedic services are a huge concern. In an agricultural community, accidents happen. We also have a predominantly aging demographic on the island, which appears to produce a high volume of emergency calls. In recent years, many parents have moved off-island, choosing the mainland because of the unpredictability and unreliability of the ferry service and lack of emergency services.
With the most recent announcement of 80-minute ferry service, I understand that many new real estate listings have been published in the last few weeks. Anecdotally, I have friends that have shared that they are looking to rent homes on the mainland because their commutes have doubled. The Ministry of Transportation’s decision to operate on an 80-minute schedule comes with a significant social and economic impact on my community.
When I worked at Queen’s University, an eight-hour workday required a two-hour commute, turning into a 10-hour day. The majority of working islanders work on the mainland, in or around Kingston. Typically, those of us who work 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. board the 7:30 a.m. ferry in the morning and return on the 5 o’clock ferry, which arrives on Wolfe Island around 5:30 p.m. After August 17th, should the new Wolfe Islander IV ferry go into service, people working 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. will now have to board the 6:20 a.m. ferry and will not be able to return home from Kingston until the 5:40 p.m. ferry departs the mainland, arriving to the island at 6:20 p.m. Anyone with children or eldercare obligations, or even hobbies, will likely have a grand total of 10 minutes of quality time with their families before they have to get ready for the commute again. This is incredibly unfair. We live on Wolfe Island because it is a convenient 20-minute ferry ride from Kingston that operates hourly. Services should be improving, not declining.
At this point, I would much rather maintain the hourly schedule and the 20 minute voyage that the Wolfe Islander III operates on. We understand that, despite being years behind schedule, the Wolfe Island IV will be capable of faster service once dock construction and other preparations are complete. In the meantime, many of my community members would prefer to continue Wolfe Islander III service. We shouldn’t have to take a three-hour return trip to get groceries. An eight-hour workday shouldn’t require a commute double its current length. We deserve access to ambulance services in under 90 minutes.
A common complaint throughout this multi-year, multi-million-dollar ferry project is the lack of transparency. Residents have not been consulted throughout this process. Announcements are made without community input and often lack crucial details that have real life consequences for all of us. For example, when this awful 80-minute service announcement was made, the MTO did not articulate which dock the Wolfe Islander IV would be operating from. Islanders understand it will continue to operate from Dawson’s Point (which is terribly inconvenient for residents and tourists and causes more traffic); however, the announcement did not clearly state this would be the case. Even so, we have a right to understand why the decision has been made NOT to operate out of Marysville and continue service out of Dawson’s Point.
Until I read in the Toronto Sun and a CP24 article that Olivia Chow intends to lease our Wolfe Island III, I was prepared to accept the major inconvenience of the Wolfe Islander IV operating with much slower and less frequent service; however, this is something I can no longer accept. Toronto does not get to take our beloved Wolfe Islander III ferry. This ferry is our lifeline to the outside world. This ferry brings me to my friends and family. Our ferry gets us to work, it takes us to the doctor. Our lovely General Store built in the 1800s does not have the resources to support our community. We have to take the ferry to get groceries. As I mentioned, the ferry is also relied upon to bring emergency services to our community. The 80-minute service is absolutely unacceptable. It’s downright dangerous.
The objective of this letter is to request the MTO:
Engage in consultation with our community; Retract its decision to operate the Wolfe Islander IV until it is capable of more efficient service; Continue operating the Wolfe Islander III; and Operate the Wolfe Islander III out of Marysville, or at least explain why it is not possible.
Please consider my plea, our community depends on your response.
Sincerely,
Jessica L. Kish
Wolfe Island resident