“Due to an unexpected staff shortage, the ship will be out of service from 08:00 on Sunday 7 August and will reopen at 19:00. The ship will be available at short notice to respond to emergency services only. Efforts to secure staff are ongoing and we appreciate your patience,” the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO) initially announced shortly after midnight Sunday morning. About eight hours later, however, the MTO announced that it had procured a qualified member of staff and that ferry service would finally be provided on Sunday, albeit modified throughout the morning. “We found a capable crew member. The ferry will operate today, but off schedule this morning,” the agency said. Over 1,000 people live on Wolfe Island and hundreds more also depend on the ferry service. As previously reported, the MTO service had ongoing staffing issues over the summer, but few answers as to the cause or potential solutions have been provided by the Department, despite numerous inquiries by the Kingstonist as well as municipal officials.
