Newfoundland and Labrador NDP Leader Jim Dinn is calling for immediate action from Premier-designate Tony Wakeham on the abrupt suspension of the Wabush Airport for planes with more than 19 passengers due to the lack of firefighting services.
In 2020, Transport Canada made the decision to pull firefighting services from the Wabush Airport, with much criticism from members of the community and politicians, including former NDP MHA Jordan Brown. In December of 2024, the federal government announced it would reinstate the service but was scant on the details of when it would be fully implemented.
Dinn says that while this rests on the federal government, the provincial government has a duty to do more to ensure this isn’t a repeating issue, impacting the essential travel needs of Labrador West.
“This suspension cannot be another issue that government puts on the back of the federal government and says their own hands are tied. We need to ensure that our provincial government is doing what they can, not only to advocate to the federal government, but to develop a plan so we know the Wabush Airport has the services it needs to run,” said Dinn. “It comes down to investment, plain and simple.”
Dinn says that the airport being shut down means many people impacted, such as residents booked in for healthcare appointments on the Island, workers, business, and personal travel. He said that any suspension, regardless of how long it extends on, is not good enough, and the newly elected government has a responsibility to address this issue, so it doesn’t happen again.
“We just heard the Tories talk about how important Labrador is, how important access to healthcare is, how important it is that we support our workers,” Dinn continued. “So, let’s make sure they stand by what they said and begin to develop a plan to ensure this does not happen again.”