By Harold Swierenga
As of April 30, British Columbia Ferries (BCF) has a new approach to engage with the coastal public in general and ferry users in particular, and as part of this new approach the Ferry Advisory Committees (FACs), which have been the major contact between BCF and the public for over two decades, have been eliminated.
From my perspective as former chair of the Salt Spring Island FAC, there are a number of factors behind this change, but I will discuss only a few at this point. In my opinion, the FAC model of public engagement worked well until fairly recently. We had local in-person meetings as needed to deal with local issues and often to formulate an approach to BC Ferries. We would have bi-annual in-person public meetings with BCF, at which at least one member of the executive, the marine superintendent and other operational staff would attend. At the end of the meeting I often felt we had accomplished definite results.
Then Covid hit, the meetings largely went online and the sense of direct contact between the ferry-using community and the decision-makers at BCF was severely weakened. Then a member of the public made a serious threat of harm at an in-person FAC meeting on the mainland and meetings were suspended for some time. While all this was happening there were significant head-office staff changes at BCF, with a number of new personnel who had little or no memory of when the FAC model worked well. As a result of these and other reasons, the FAC process became less effective.
But the FAC chairs and members were rather shocked at an online session last November to be told the entire FAC model was to be scrapped and a new model was to be developed. The FAC members had not been asked for suggestions for improvement of the model and in my opinion it was a case of throwing out the baby with the bathwater.
An ongoing committee, representing the various and often diverse components of the ferry-using community to address ongoing issues seems very useful. However, the decision is one which BCF can make and a new model has been developed and is available to see on the BCF website. I had hoped for a hybrid model of some form of FAC and elements of the new model.
I leave my role as member and chair of the Salt Spring Island FAC with some optimism regarding ferry service to Salt Spring. Unless there are more retractions, the two-ship Island Class service on Route 6 (Vesuvius and Crofton) will begin in early 2027. The earlier announced amenities such as waiting rooms, washrooms, etc. are off the list for now for financial reasons. BC Ferries is staring in the face of major expenses for the new large ferries and the overhaul of the Horseshoe Bay terminal.
During peak periods, the Quinsam, now on Route 6, is slated to relocate to Fulford when it becomes available in 2027 to supplement the Skeena Queen by providing two-ship service to Swartz Bay. The long-awaited proposal to modify the Fulford terminal is still on the back-burner despite the best efforts of the FAC for over 30 years. However, on both routes 4 and 6, the introduction of two-ship service should greatly improve the ferry line-up issue. Still, a transportation service of any type has to keep evolving as technology, demographics and economic realities change.
Finally, I would like to thank all those who provided comments, suggestions and other input to the SSIFAC over the years. Some suggestions, such as “build a bridge,” were, thankfully, beyond our purview.
As well, I would like to thank all the volunteer members of the SSIFAC who served with me while I was chair. And finally, I would like to acknowledge the BC Ferries staff who worked with the SSIFAC over the years I have been involved.