MHA Ray Hunter says he was not consulted about the decision to build a new ferry for Long Island instead of a causeway. (CBC)

A usually quiet backbench Conservative MHA has taken a swipe at officials in the Newfoundland and Labrador Transportation Department, saying two senior bureaucrats in the department should be fired.

Grand Falls-Windsor-Green Bay South MHA Ray Hunter said Thursday he was furious that he wasn't in the loop when the province decided to build a new ferry for the northeast coast community of Long Island instead of a causeway.

Hunter said the way he has been treated by the province has been inexcusable as he has been lobbying to get a causeway for the island community for the last few months.

Hunter was invited to meet with Transportation Minister Dianne Whalen on Wednesday, but he stormed out of the meeting when she didn't bring the news he wanted.

"The attitude was, 'I don't care, the decision is made. Cabinet made the decision. Here's the news, take it or leave it.' To me it wasn't acceptable. I just said, 'Well it's only a waste of my time,'" he said.

Hunter said at no point did he receive a real explanation of the department's decision.

"A kindergarten [student] could probably do just as good a presentation on what happened yesterday. It was just a few figures tossed around by a few contractors based on no solid facts and information," he said.

Whalen said she thinks Hunter did not want to hear any of the answers she was giving him.

"But at the end of the day, government has made a decision and we're going to move forward with improvements in our marine ferry fleet," she said.

A causeway could cost as much as $100 million, double what community representatives estimate, Whalen said.

The ferry will also run to nearby Little Bay Islands. Long Island causeway committee member Barbara Colbourne said that will mean downgraded service of seven runs a day instead of 11.

Hunter is the second Tory MHA within the last month to clash with Whalen. Former deputy premier Tom Rideout resigned his seat from cabinet after he was accused of intimidating Whalen to obtain more money for roads with his district.

Rideout, who was denounced by Premier Danny Williams and then a succession of other ministers, denied the allegation, and says he quit after an official in the premier's office instructed him to withdraw a news release announcing funding that Whalen had agreed to.

Hunter said he is not worried about political fallout from his decision to speak out against Whalen.

"Why would I be worried?" he told CBC News. "I'm trying to get answers for the people that I represent."