Attempts by the Newfoundland and Labrador government to have a $25-million trade tariff waived on the purchase of two new ferries have been dealt a blow.

In a May 4 letter to provincial Transportation and Works Minister David Brazil, federal Finance Minister Joe Oliver said he "cannot recommend" the removal of the tariff, which is applied to vessels under 129 metres purchased from countries that do not have a free trade agreement with Canada.

This has been excerpted from the 28 August 2015 edition of CBC News and is available in its entirety at:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/federal-finance-minister-rebuffs-n-l-ferry-tariff-request-1.3207024