Will the NWT’s forgotten ferry ever make a comeback?

For more than a decade, a ferry that served the Northwest Territories for 40 years has lain idle within sight of the massive river bridge that replaced it.

The MV Merv Hardie was retired in November 2012 when the Deh Cho Bridge across the Mackenzie River superseded the ferry as the means by which road traffic travelled between Yellowknife, the North Slave and the south of Canada.

Now, one MLA wants to see the Merv Hardie float again.

“Last year, three of the government’s four territorially run ferries caused service disruptions because of mechanical issues and the timing of territorial and federal inspections,” Dehcho MLA Sheryl Yakeleya told the legislature on Thursday last week.

The NWT only has four ferries serving its highways. Last summer, three of them were withdrawn from service for days because of unscheduled emergency work.

Outside Wrigley, the MV Johnny Berens was out of action for nearly two weeks. At Tsiigehtchic, the MV Louis Cardinal was shut down for nearly six days. The MV Lafferty outside Fort Simpson was removed from service for a week.

“It could be time,” said Yakeleya, to bring back the MV Merv Hardie, “creating more jobs in the Dehcho region.”

Shortly after it was taken out of service when the bridge opened, there was discussion of sending the Merv Hardie – named for a former NWT MP and bush pilot who passed away in the 1960s – to Tsiigehtchic. That never happened, and the ferry has instead been parked on the riverbank since it last crossed the Mackenzie.

“We need to adapt to changing environmental conditions. The last several years have seen more fires, floods and fluctuating water levels than I can remember,” said Yakeleya.

“When the Merv Hardie ferry was retired, there was considerable discussion in this House about repurposing it, finding alternative uses for it elsewhere on the river, but those discussions did not lead to any concrete actions.

“Now, there’s pressure on the transportation system due to climate change and ageing infrastructure. Disrupted travel harms businesses and makes it more difficult for essential services to operate. I want to do something about the vulnerabilities we face with our current system.”

However, asked by Yakeleya if the Merv Hardie is salvageable and could be returned to service somewhere in the system, infrastructure minister Caroline Wawzonek appeared to rule out any comeback.

The GNWT “doesn’t have specific plans to attempt to refurbish the Merv Hardie or to get it back up to speed,” said Wawzonek.

Without providing specific figures, she said an examination of the issue had produced “a fairly high cost estimate” to have the ferry recertified.

“At this point, more likely would be an attempt to sell the asset than refurbish it,” she added.

Wawzonek added her department was taking particular care this year to ensure ferries are “inspected and ready to go.” Much of last year’s disruption appeared to be related to problems passing federal inspections.