Ted Hsu is calling on the provincial government to provide answers to Wolfe Island residents after extensive delays to the construction of two ferry docks.
On July 9, Hsu, the MPP for Kingston and the Islands, sent Ontario’s Auditor General Shelley Spence a letter requesting that she investigate the prolonged delays and cost overruns for the Wolfe Islander IV ferry docks.
“The new Wolfe Islander IV ferry was commissioned to provide enhanced capacity and reliability for this crucial route. However, despite the ferry being delivered years ago, it has only been in service since August 2024, in part due to the protracted and seemingly unending delays in completing necessary dock infrastructure,” he said in the letter.
In 2017, Ontario’s Ministry of Transportation (MTO), which operates the ferry service, purchased two electric ferries, one to service Wolfe Island and one to service Amherst Island. The ferries were part of the province’s green initiative and were estimated to remove 7.4 million kilograms of carbon dioxide per year, the same as taking 1,357 cars off the road, compared to diesel ferries.
The Wolfe Island ferry, known as the Wolfe Islander IV, was expected to start service in 2021. However, as Hsu mentioned, its maiden voyage didn’t happen until August 2024. The Wolfe Islander IV was then temporarily removed from service in December 2024 after sustaining damage to its hull while en route from Wolfe Island to Kingston.
The ferry is now back in service but is still using temporary docks while the MTO completes construction on a Kingston dock and a dock at Marysville on Wolfe Island. The Marysville dock is expected to be completed this fall, but the Kingston dock, which was supposed to be completed in 2023, has now been scheduled for completion in 2027.
“The constant delays have had adverse effects on the island,” said Hsu. “Some residents have moved from the island to the mainland to mitigate the reliability issues. A medical clinic that was serving the island and its 1,400-plus residents is closed for similar reasons.”
Hsu added that due to the incomplete docks, the ferry runs on a longer 80-minute schedule as opposed to the 60-minute schedule the old ferry operated on.
Part of the dock infrastructure is a charging port for the electric ferry. But as this has yet to be built, the MTO is using onboard, diesel-powered generators to charge the Wolfe Islander IV’s batteries. “The ministry is working closely with construction vendors to complete the required infrastructure upgrades to accommodate the vessel operating in a fully electric mode,” said the MTO.
Charging infrastructure for the Amherst Island ferry, known as the Amherst Islander II, is complete, but the MTO said it is not yet fully operational in electric mode. The charging port is being used intermittently while the agency performs tests on the shore-based infrastructure and monitoring systems.
A freedom of information request submitted by the CBC found that the litres of fuel consumed by the two electric ferries are costing taxpayers between $150,000 to $200,000 per month per ferry.
As part of his letter, Hsu has asked the Auditor General to audit the dock’s planning, budget, and procurement processes; the reasons for delays and cost increases; the effectiveness of the MTO’s oversight; the impact on the community; as well as providing recommendations for improving project delivery and accountability in the future.
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