Marine Atlantic Holds 2016 Annual Public Meeting

For immediate release

St. John's, NL - Marine Atlantic held its 2016 Annual Public Meeting this afternoon (November 2nd) in St. John's, NL. Marine Atlantic's Acting Chair of the Board of Directors, Sharon Duggan, was joined by the President and CEO Paul Griffin and Vice President Finance Shawn Leamon in presenting the 2015-16 financial statements and an overview of the Corporation's activities.

The Annual Public Meeting is designed to provide an update on Marine Atlantic's fiscal year initiatives and investments, with this year's meeting focusing on the period April 1, 2015, to March 31, 2016. This year also marked the first time the event was live broadcast over the internet.

"The past 12 months has been another period of growth and improvement for our service as we continued making enhancements to better meet the needs of our customers in a safe, reliable and efficient manner," said Sharon Duggan. "From the purchase of the MV Blue Puttees and MV Highlanders to the opening of a new terminal building in North Sydney, our customers are experiencing a strengthened and reliable service that continues to play a vital role in the Atlantic Canadian economy.  These improvements are being brought to life by our employees, the women and men who keep our vessels in operation 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and are the backbone of our operation." 

The main highlights of this year's meeting included a financial overview, corporate and shareholder investment, infrastructure upgrades and business change, customer service initiatives and fleet renewal, all of which have led to increased customer satisfaction and service reliability.

The Corporation spent a total of $444.9 million during the fiscal year, $212 million of which was made available to purchase the MV Blue Puttees and MV Highlanders . In total, $106.9 million was generated through customer tariffs and related revenues, with the remaining shortfall received through subsidy from the taxpayers of Canada. Marine Atlantic's cost recovery was 65.8 per cent which falls within the targeted range established by the Government of Canada.

"With customer feedback remaining very positive and our key performance indicators remaining high, our focus on public trust, customer value and operational excellence is producing results," said Paul Griffin. "Through the many new initiatives that have been launched and our long-term fleet planning activities well underway, we are truly becoming a more modern and efficient service. We will continue moving forward with initiatives that promote a safe, reliable, transparent service for customers and stakeholders."

Marine Atlantic is a federal Crown Corporation that reports to the Government of Canada through Transport Canada.

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Media Contact:

Darrell Mercer, Corporate Communications
Telephone: (709) 772-0073 or (709) 727-2405
E-Mail: [email protected]