I live in Massachusetts and visit my family every summer and spend time on the Bay of Fundy. Now it takes me 14 hrs to drive, whereas when the ferry was operating, I almost looked forward to the trip. I don't know anyone who wants to drive there, but would visit if they could take a ferry. The price of an airline ticket from Boston to Halifax is outrageous, so most people vacation elsewhere. Why would you spend more to fly to NS than to Europe or any other place on this continent? Certainly the loss of the ferry service has hurt the tourist industry. I hope that it can be restored. Leah Legere

Living in New England, I travel to Maine yearly. I have always been impressed with the CAT leaving Bar Harbor. Thus when dear friends moved to southern Nova Scotia I was ready to jump on the ferry and see them as often as I did in New York. Unfortunately, that was the year after the close of the ferries. Luckily for Skype, we keep in touch. I am a lone traveler. It gets exhausting to add additional time (upto 8 hours) to make it through New Brunswick. Additionally, there is the price of fuel and physical exertion to keep driving. What wonders a boat ride would give as well as the thing we need most these days-community.

I've been taking a ferry every year since tbe late 1990s to Yarnouth from Portland. At first the Prince of Acadia, then the CAT. Very disappointed the CAT is discontinued. Much longer trip now. Wish there wascar ferry from either Philadelphia or New York City area (Long Island or New London CT to Yarmouth or even Poret aux Basques Newfoundland

My family and I would like to get to Nova Scotia more regularly to see and purchase art work by the many talented artisans who live and work there. Having made the trip both by the ferry from Maine and by driving all the way up and around, we have come to the conclusion that -- with the passing of years -- the driving trip is just too strenuous for any but the most occasional visit. The availability of the ferry to shorten and ease the drive to one of our favorite places is becoming more and more critical for us, as I know it is for others who must, for business and other reasons, travel those miles even more frequently. We all need that ferry!!

My wife and I recently bought a property in LaHave. We have moved up from New York as one of the lost Canadians noted in the recent act passed in Ottawa. We have been in business for 28 years and I am happy to report that we have always been profitable and successful. We are part of the creative community, both manufacturing and selling our work back to the United States as well as to the local community. I have a large mailing list of past customers who are excited at the opportunity of visiting Nova Scotia, a part of Canada that is quite unknown to most in the US. The most common misconception is that it is somewhere near the Arctic circle. I did my best to dispel that myth by travelling around the eastern US exhibiting at retail art shows, showing a banner and computer presentation on Nova Scotia. The customers were eager to sign up for updates on our new adventure and expressed a positive attitude towards the likelihood of visiting here. We have made a serious commitment to the local community during the last 18 months, purchasing a house, renovating an old barn/boathouse on the LaHave River, and moving up our entire inventory and equipment to set up our business. We are contributing new money into the economy and so are friends of ours who also moved here recently. We are the leading edge of what could be a considerable economic boost to the Nova Scotia economy. We are still 10 years away from retirement and as artists we may never retire. We do however think outside the box. I consider the baby boomers a positive force in the next 25 years. The demographic is living longer and healthier, bringing pensions into Nova Scotia as they retire to this wonderful part of Canada. They are looking for entertainment, they are decorating their new homes, they have disposable incomes and the habits of the most successful generation in history. I believe this to be a driving force for the economy in Nova Scotia. I also know that others from the United States recognize this, having met many of my customers who when seeing my display at shows were amazed since they too were embarking on this path. There are many Canadians living around the world, as well as in the US, who will be retiring here. We opened our showroom doors last August and have been meeting people every week who just moved here, others are looking to move here. I am amazed at how many fit into these categories. This is a very important time for Nova Scotia. Secondly, to attract the US tourism dollars which could result in hundreds of millions of dollars, we need to make it possible for them to get here. Flying is getting too expensive and is annoying, squashed into a tube you land and have all the hassles of renting a car and hopefully your luggage arrives with you. No one I speak to enjoys flying anymore. 15 Million people live within a four hour drive of Boston. A car ferry from there to the South Shore, Yarmouth, would benefit the entire South Shore region. Driving their own cars on and off the ferry, (as do many Europeans travelling between Dover and Calais) the visitors would feel happy and relaxed, ready to spend and pay taxes at 15%. In all honesty I have a bias here, my customers would be more likely to make the trip, if the ferry was running. I do find it strange to see $50 million being spent on paper mills that are a declining industry. The future of Nova Scotia is in tourism and the coming wave of retirees. Every one I speak to supports the ferry being reinstated, lets do it as soon as possible. I have a large mailing list of customers waiting to make the trip.

I live in Boston and have a summer home in the Digby area. I have been going up there for summers my entire life. The loss of the ferry from Portland won't stop me from going but, it will reduce the number of visits. Going up for anything less than two weeks with only the St. John ferry is painful. I also find it harder to get friends up there to join me. I don't think you need to be a rocket scientist to understand that this is hurting the tourist economy. Air Canada has monopoly from Boston to Halifax and they price accordingly, making air travel there prohibitively expensive for many, particularly since you need to incur rental car expenses. I hope the facts can be presented to support this position and resurrect a New England ferry service (either Boston, Portland, Bar Harbor). I can say that I've seen substantially less summer activity in the Digby area when I'm up there now that the US to NS services have been eliminated.

My parents and myself own a home in Argyle Sound NS. Every June I help my parents move from their permanent residence just outside of Boston, to their summer residence in Argyle Sound. My parents have been retired since the early 1990's. I have a unique work schedule at a major teaching hospital in Boston. I work seven straight ten hour overnight shifts and then I'm off the following seven days (7on/7off). It use to be so convenient when the Scotia Prince and in latter years the "Cat" operated out of Portland. I especially liked the Scotia Prince because of my schedule. I would finish up on Monday morning, catch a nap, leave Massachusetts at 3:00pm and meet my parents up in Portland after an easy 95 mile trip. We would have a nice meal in Portland then board the Scotia Prince. The Scotia Prince was nothing spectacular by today's standards, but it was a clean and comfortable ship, with adequate cabins for sleeping. Now the trip to Argyle Sound is a twelve hour endurance contest, in which, I arrive in Nova Scotia in an exhausted state. I lose two whole days getting there, and traveling back to Massachusetts, it's just plain awful now ! Please bring back the ferry service from any port city in Maine to Yarmouth NS !

When ferry service between Maine and Nova Scotia was at its peak, we hit the high point booking vacation travel to Nova Scotia. In 1999 Nova Scotia was the 16th most popular vacation destination among our Top 40. Our Nova Scotia business surpassed member requests for Quebec City, was more than New Brunswick and PEI combined, and surpassed Philadelphia, Myrtle Beach, Lake George, NY and Atlantic City in popularity. Scotia Prince/Nova Scotia marketing helped spur the business. The number of trips we booked to Nova Scotia last year, 2011, dropped significantly from 1999. Granted travelers can now do some planning themselves on-line. We do distribute 1000’s of Doers’ and Dreamers’ Guides each year so undoubtedly our members are finding their way to Nova Scotia. None the less, our Nova Scotia business now ranks behind the business we book to Quebec City, New Brunswick, Atlantic City, Philadelphia, Lake George NY, and Myrtle Beach. As far as the ferry service, The CAT and the Scotia Prince not only provided members with convenient travel options they helped market the destination. The benefit of cutting miles off the drive compared to the entertainment options aboard the Scotia Prince and excitement of a catamaran ride aboard The CAT. We look forward to the day when we can once again offer our members the option of a water ride between Maine and Nova Scotia. Carl G Richardson CTC | Director of Travel Center & Branch Sales/Administration AAA Southern New England

Having worked in the Hospitality Industry and having managed the Rooms Division of a Hotel in Bridgewater for several years, I can honestly say that the impact of visitor arrivals was clear, sudden, and strong once the ferry was cut. Small towns in Nova Scotia have a very limited seasonal window of Tourism, and this was a sharply felt blow. Please bring the Ferry back!

I am a Realtor in yarmouth NS, The negative spin off effects since the loss of the Yarmouth Ferry service to new England are almost unmeasurable. Economic losses, skilled workforce losses, (due to some having to move west for work). Struggling tourism related employers and many unable to continue to offer their unique tourism related products and services. This is a travesty, it`s not hard to figure out that if you CUT OFF this service, you are eliminating the millions of dollars which flowed into Nova Scotia for years from the USA. This is the main supply of customers for our Tourism business here in NS. I have been directly effected by this situation, through loss of income, due to less sales in our area and a dwindling local economy. Michael Pothier

"The loss of the ferry has been great for our business. More and more people and companies are going bankrupt due to the lost in revenue. " I ask that you please not print the above out of context. I state the above tongue-in-cheek. The loss of the ferry has hit many people and businesses on the South Shore extremely hard. It is devastating to see someone lose thier business, or have to struggle financially, over an event that could have ben avoided. The government invests in businesses that are doomed to fail and, in my opinion, has completely dropped the ball in this respect. The ferry has such a profound effect on Nova Scotia. I suspect we have only just begun to see the negative effects on the Nova Scotia Economy as a result of this tragic economic loss.

As a Director of the Hunting & Fishing Guide's Association of Nova Scotia and having been a licensed & registered guide since 1981, I know the importance of the ferry link between Yarmouth and New England. Over the years, I guided clients that travelled to Nova Scotia by that route including staff from Harvard Medical School, various State Police and military veterans from New Jersey. I have guided celebrities such as 'Mr. Shad' from the Connecticut River Shad Assoc. and several hunters from Safari Club International. The impact of losing that ferry service is costing Nova Scotia a lot more than was measured when it was shut down. RSS.

I have come to visit cousins and my father's birthplace for the last several years, attending Acadian reunions and family celebrations in Wedgeport and Sluice Point. The ferry from either Portland or Bar Harbor, Maine made the trip more direct and enjoyable to land in Yarmouth. Now I must fly to Halifax, where I land and leave immediately for the long drive home. It is fatiguing and therefore dangerous. I witness all around the Yarmouth area the economic decline and I grieve for these good people.

I live in Portsmouth, NH and each year, for the last three, I have tried to plan a vacation to Nova Scotia and each year I check to see if their is a ferry service from Portland. Every year I am disappointed, and decide, it is just too far to drive all the way around and so decide to just go to Montreal. Love to visit, would love to take a ferry, but without it the options for getting to Nova Scotia, take more time then I can allocate for a quick break away. If their way a ferry, I would be on it.

We, my wife & myself, would like very much to visit our friends in Halifax, NS, but it is such a long drive from Boston to Halifax. It would be so much easier and more restful if we could take the ferry from Portland, ME. Please reconsider putting the ferry back into action. Thank you, Frank & Ellen

Working in the financial services industry in Yarmouth, I have watched property values decline, small businesses in downtown Yarmouth being forced to close or lay off staff, restaurants being forced to cut back on hours of operation, people being forced to sell their properties just to be able to put food on the table and pay their bills. The list of hardships go on and on. Yarmouth used to be a thriving rural town, but over the last few years, it is dying a slow death. The shut down of the Yarmouth/Portland ferry has had such widespread negative impact, not only on Yarmouth and SW Nova, but on all areas outside of HRM. This needs to be corrected quickly, before we suffer more losses.

I have worked in the hospitality industry for almost 10 years between restaurants and hotels. When I started, this industry was thriving in Nova Scotia. Since losing the ferry service we are really noticing the impact on the South Shore. So many travellers previously stopped along the South Shore when leaving Yarmouth and travelling up our province. Now they just can't make the trek so we are losing out. Please bring this ferry back before it is too late for our province.

We bought a small house near Lockport NS in 2003. At the time there was talk about a ferry from Boston to Shelburne. Since that time, all ferry's have stopped except the St. Johns Ferry. We love our property, neighbors, friends, and area. Please bring back a ferry from Portland to Yarmouth. We have seen a big decline on the economy. Donna Macken

I thought things had been bad when the Scotia Prince Ferry stopped sailing. Then when we lost the Cat it seems there are no people left in downtown, Yarmouth in the summertime. Even our festivals seem to be lacking. We are losing our enthusiasm. We need a ferry and we need it soon.

I am a shopkeeper on Main Street in Yarmouth. The store was built in 1873 (one of the oldest buildings in Yarmouth). We have met travellers from all over the world and are known in the United States, often meeting grandchildren of former customers. I cannot imagine the rationale in not supporting a ferry that gives Nova Scotia access to the enormous market known as THE United States of America. The ferry has brought huge benefit to Nova Scotia and should continue to do so. Travellers from Quebec and Ontario saw their driving time significantly reduced by taking the ferry, and we should encourage Canadians to visit us. Having met many tourists over the years I think the "Cat" was considered a great ferry. Americans like "fast" and the "Cat" suited them. However, the introduction of two destinations confused people and I think that was a bad move. My thought is that we should have a smaller catamaran doing the Yarmouth/BarHarbor run. This should be done immediately...before there are no retailers left on Main Street. Sharon Lloyd