Health Minister Jerome Kennedy admitted Wednesday his experience as a defence lawyer may have contributed to a charged atmosphere with a delegation from St. Anthony. (CBC)

The mayor of a northern Newfoundland town says Health Minister Jerome Kennedy intimidated and threatened a delegation trying to stop the transfer of an air ambulance service.

Ernest Simms made the claim in a letter sent to Premier Danny Williams in late April, amid an ongoing protest against government's decision to relocate an air ambulance from St. Anthony to Happy Valley-Goose Bay.

"Honestly I have never witnessed such an outburst of sarcasm, insinuation and accusations in my life. We felt threatened," Simms wrote to Williams.

"One of my councillors actually broke down and cried."

Simms wrote the letter on April 26, the same day that a delegation from St. Anthony protested in front of Confederation Building, and later made so much noise at the legislature that proceedings were temporarily halted.

The Liberal Opposition released the text of the letter on Wednesday, and raised the issue in the house of assembly.

"It was a position where they felt they were being threatened," Liberal MHA Marshall Dean told reporters later.

"They were being accused of lying, you know, and these kinds of things and when they left the meeting they were very, very discouraged with what had taken place."

In his letter, Simms wrote that the "atmosphere was at all times sour, tense and emotional" during his dealings with Kennedy, and said the minister even asked one employee of the regional health authority if he was willing to put his job on the line for his beliefs.

Kennedy has insisted that moving the air ambulance is logical, based on travel times and need. Labrador residents have long complained about waiting times and availability of the two-plane service.

Inside the legislature, Kennedy flatly denied he had intimidated anyone. But later, when he met with reporters, he admitted his years as a criminal defence attorney may have contributed to a charged atmosphere.

"So, there's no question that my style could have, of questioning, certainly — I mean, Mayor Simms said the next day [that] they felt they were being cross-examined," Kennedy said.

However, Kennedy said he has heard nothing from two meetings with a delegation from the St. Anthony area that would cause him to change his mind on the relocation of the air ambulance.