Lower North Shore Request to Enter the Newfoundland Bubble Has Been Submitted to the Office of Dr. Janice Fitzgerald

The whole of the Lower North Shore is not connected by road link to the rest of Quebec, Kegaska connects to the rest of the province to the west and Old Fort to Blanc-Sablon has 69 km of road which connects to Labrador

​LOCAL NEWS - JULY 23, 2020 – LOWER NORTH SHORE

CFBS received confirmation this morning from the Mayor of the Municipality of Blanc-Sablon, Wanda Beaudoin, that the proposal request letter to have the Lower North Shore included in the Newfoundland bubble was sent to the office of Dr. Janice Fitzgerald, the Chief Medical Officer of Health for Newfoundland and Labrador, yesterday afternoon. The letter was prepared by Randy Jones, Warden of the MRC du Golfe-du-Saint-Laurent, in collaboration with Mayor Beaudoin. A  second letter will also be sent today to the office of Dr. Janice Fitzgerald from the Quebec public health office to compliment the proposal letter from Warden Jones. 

CFBS was speaking with Warden Randy Jones and Mayor Wanda Beaudoin earlier this week following the meeting that had taken place on Monday morning (July 20) with Newfoundland and Labrador Premier, Dwight Ball, MHA Lisa Dempster, and Mayor and Chairperson of the Combined Councils of Labrador, Mr. Chad Letto of L'anse au Clair. The purpose of that meeting was to discuss the demands of the people of the Lower North Shore to have access to Newfoundland island following the recent peaceful protest at the federal wharf in Blanc-Sablon on July 16 & 17, which had caused hours of delays last week to the schedule of the Qajaq W. ferry operated by Labrador Marine Inc. The protesters feel that the Lower North Shore should be given access to Newfoundland the same as the access which was given recently to Labrador.

​With a lack of many essential services in the region and road access to the rest of the province, people of the Lower North Shore travel often to the island for business, services, and leisure, with many owning property in Newfoundland. It is not certain what the decision will be of Dr. Fitzgerald on the proposal, or how long it will take for a decision to be given to the request.

More to come .........

Abbygail Wellman
​CFBS Journalist