Hundreds of Gulf Islands electric vehicle (EV) owners were left feeling uniquely stranded by BC Ferries this week, as the company made public a new internal policy prohibiting EVs that can’t drive themselves aboard. 

BC Ferries’ current interpretation of federal Transportation of Dangerous Goods (TDG) regulations means if any of the islands’ numerous electric cars, trucks or buses need a tow elsewhere to be serviced, they won’t be allowed on board any vessel within the ferry system. 

On Salt Spring alone, according to ICBC statistics, that leaves nearly 1,000 currently registered electric and hybrid-electric cars and trucks — nearly one in seven passenger vehicles on the island — unable to be brought off for service or repair, unless they can make the trip under their own power or hire private barge service. 

“We recognize this presents challenges for customers and commercial operators, particularly as EV adoption increases,” said BC Ferries senior communications advisor Sonia Lowe. “However, the safety risks associated with transporting damaged or potentially damaged high-voltage batteries, especially when the vehicle cannot be assessed under its own power, require a cautious approach.” 

It’s unclear what prompted the operational change. BC Ferries vessels must comply with Transport Canada’s safety guidance, and a Ship Safety Bulletin in 2024 noted EVs are “not more prone to fires than vehicles with an internal combustion engine,” although it recommended crews train specifically for fighting EV fires — which, the bulletin noted, can burn hotter and are more likely to re-ignite once extinguished. 

Days before the policy shift became public, BC Ferries president and chief executive officer Nicolas Jimenez told islanders on Salt Spring there was “some communication” coming on the subject; Jimenez was on-island to participate in the ASK Salt Spring public forum at SIMS on Friday, June 27.  

Responding to a question about EVs and fire risk on ferries, Jimenez said the company was “very much alive to the fact that this is a concern for people.” 

“We are very much convinced, currently, that the fire suppression systems we have are appropriate for the risk in place for EVs,” said Jimenez. “What I also know is there are a lot of people who just won’t agree with that.” 

Noting what he characterized as “different perceptions of risk” in the community, Jimenez said the company was “monitoring recent research.” By that weekend, the new policy was in place. 

Since 2017, the TDG Act has regulated lithium batteries as “dangerous goods” on passenger vessels — much as it does gasoline and propane — and damaged or defective batteries have been required to be packed for transport following specific regulated instructions.  

That would necessitate removing them from a vehicle, work that few independent mechanics perform; and, like gas or diesel vehicles, an EV can break down from problems unrelated to its “fuel” system — leaving some inoperable vehicles with fully functional batteries likely to be denied boarding. 

Gulf Islands “institutional” EV users were just as surprised by the changes as private vehicle owners, and said in the absence of guidance from BC Ferries they were working to find alternative solutions should they need to bring fleet vehicles to Vancouver Island or the Lower Mainland for service.  

Gulf Islands School District director of operations Colin Whyte said the district’s five electric school buses — nearly half the fleet, serving multiple islands and all less than three years old — are still under warranty, although they may need to be transported at some point for repairs. Whyte said it’s not yet clear how that would be accomplished given BC Ferries’ new policy. 

“Normal mechanical issues, we just do the work here,” said Whyte. “But for any of the high-voltage drive components — batteries, motors, etc. — that are under warranty, the service centre for the four big buses is in Victoria.” 

The manufacturer for the smaller electric bus serving Mayne Island is in Vancouver, Whyte said, but tends to send crews over to do work in the field. 

“If we have a bus that’s disabled, if we can’t even put it on a flat deck or a tow truck or something to get it over for service, it’s going to be challenging,” said Whyte. 

Salt Spring’s Capital Regional District (CRD) manager Dan Ovington said not being able to transport one of their fleet vehicles off island would be an issue for both administration and the Parks and Recreation departments, as both have also been working in recent years to replace fossil-fuel vehicles — and equipment — with electric alternatives. 

“We currently have a hybrid SUV, two fully electric trucks and an electric mower,” said Ovington, adding they have two gas-powered parks trucks remaining — and both are scheduled to be replaced with fully electric vehicles in 2026 and 2027. 

“As this area evolves and [BC Ferries] gathers additional data, we will look at whether safe, regulatory compliant options can be introduced in the future,” said Lowe. 

As of the end of 2024, ICBC statistics show Salt Spring Island with 558 registered electric vehicles and 423 hybrid-electric; on Pender Island there were 103 electric and 94 hybrid. For Saturna Island there were 61 electric and 38 hybrid, and on Mayne Island ICBC tallied 33 electric and 39 hybrid. 

A group of waterfront property owners above Salt Spring’s Baker Beach have appealed an Islands Trust staff decision to deny a permit for their shoreline erosion mitigation project — and the island’s Local Trust Committee (LTC) will deliberate Thursday, July 10 whether to uphold that decision or grant the project permission. 

A consultant team has delivered, as expected, a highly technical response to staff’s itemized concerns with the project, largely surrounding water quality and habitat impact on the popular island beach. 

Much of the appeal centres on directing trustees’ attention in greater detail to documents already submitted, arguing they should satisfy staff concerns over conflicts with Salt Spring’s Official Community Plan (OCP). Across several points, the appeal takes exception to staff’s interpretation and characterization of the work proposed as the permit was denied — such as referring to the proposed sediment material to be added as “fill” and suggesting the project would create “additional land” in the sense used in the island’s OCP. 

“We respectfully submit that the proposed material placement should not be categorized as fill in the regulatory sense implied by the guideline,” reads the appeal document in part. “The intent and functional effect does not create additional upland or extend property boundaries . . . and the intended elevation is transitory by design; it is subject to tidal reshaping by wave energy [and] aligns with the Province of British Columbia’s endorsement of beach nourishment as a low-impact, nature-based strategy for mitigating coastal erosion.” 

The decision to deny the permit fell to staff rather than trustees since authority for marine shoreline DPA permit issuances had been delegated to them, through a 2022 bylaw passed by the current LTC, characterized as an effort to “improve process efficiency, reduce the size of LTC agendas and provide greater certainty to the applicants.” 

Trustees are now tasked to either uphold staff’s decision, or amend it, wholly or partially. If that decision is further delayed, the appeal notes the approved window for in-water work within the site’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans area ends Sept. 1, which would push any efforts there to next June. 

The LTC meeting begins at 9:30 a.m. at Meaden Hall.

When BC Ferries brings two-vessel service to the Vesuvius-Crofton route by 2027, both will homeport on Vancouver Island rather than Salt Spring — a business decision made and settled, according to the company’s chief executive officer (CEO). 

Ferry company CEO Nicolas Jimenez faced criticism from local elected officials, staff and the ferry-dependent public Friday, June 27, as a returning guest at the ASK Salt Spring forum. Around 30 islanders peppered Jimenez with questions and critiques on ferry issues generally — and on that homeporting issue most specifically.  

Salt Spring’s Local Community Commission (LCC) had last week joined the broader Capital Regional District (CRD) board and the BC Ferry and Marine Workers’ Union in opposing the plan, largely over local job and community loss fears. Salt Spring’s CRD director Gary Holman reiterated those concerns directly to Jimenez Friday, backed up by fellow LCC members Earl Rook and Brian Webster.  

All three decried the lack of “meaningful” consultation with local elected officials — the ferry company later pointed to an April 15 briefing call that included Holman, although the LCC wasn’t specifically invited.  

And all three, with public support in the room, urged Jimenez to reconsider an alternative “dual-homeporting” plan first suggested by the union — to keep one ferry on each side overnight, meaning some crew could still easily live on Salt Spring and work on the vessel.  

That did not appear likely. 

“We made this decision, and there are lots of business reasons for it,” said Jimenez. “You may not agree with what we’re saying, and I respect that, but running a system as challenging as the one we’ve got, sometimes you make hard decisions that benefit most, but not all — because it’s better than the version of whatever operating parameters you have currently.” 

As Holman and others pointed to the current dual-homeporting arrangement in place on the Gabriola Island/Nanaimo route, Jimenez said the situation wasn’t exactly comparable. 

“For one, they don’t have a hospital on Gabriola,” said Jimenez. “Having the homeport provides some level of support service there. In the event there are issues and water taxis aren’t available, then our teams can be deployed.” 

Another difference, Jimenez said, was that the Gabriola route stands alone on that island — whereas Salt Spring has two other terminals. 

“In fact, this island has more terminals than any other part of our network,” said Jimenez.  

But the big underlying concern for the ferry company, he said, was attracting — and keeping — licensed officer crew members. Jimenez said that highly certified segment represented the bulk of the company’s system-wide staff, and as a group they have a lot of career options, all over the world. 

“Just coming over on the Quinsam this morning, one [crew member] had been working on the Great Lakes before, another was working ‘deep sea’ before he came here,” said Jimenez. “People choose to come here, which is great, but they also have choices to go work for other operators.” 

And while he agreed he had met many crew members who “loved” being on Salt Spring, he said there remained a stubbornly high turnover rate here among those difficult-to-recruit officers — pointing out the average cost of a Salt Spring home is twice that of one in the Cowichan Valley area — and that it had memorably affected BC Ferries’ ability to provide on-time sailings, when they’ve been unable to field adequate regular or relief crew.  

“The challenge we have is to provide an environment where we can faithfully provide service — and not put it at risk with that high turnover rate,” said Jimenez. “That’s just a simple fact; you might not believe me, but that is the reality of your network.” 

On the matter of electrification, according to Jimenez, while the two hybrid-electric Island Class ferries that will serve the Vesuvius-Crofton route are indeed capable of running fully under electric power — and the same class of ferry will soon do so elsewhere, on the Gabriola Island/Nanaimo and Quadra Island/Campbell River routes — the infrastructure needed to charge the vessels serving Salt Spring is at least five years away, if not more.  

Jimenez said for the moment, all that could be said of any effort to build a charging station that might serve that route was that it was “not in the five-year plan.” 

A 911 call warning of a structure fire — and an aircraft report of flames and black smoke rising above Salt Spring — sent firefighters racing up Mount Maxwell Road as part of a busy summer day for island fire crews. 

Salt Spring Island Fire Rescue (SSIFR) Chief Jamie Holmes said no one was injured at the fire, which was reported around 6 p.m. July 7 and destroyed a 20-by-20-foot shed; thanks to quick action by the homeowner and quick response by firefighters, the flames were contained to the structure and did not threaten the surrounding forest.  

The fire was first discovered by the property’s owner, Holmes said, who arrived home to find a shed burning, called 911 and grabbed a hose to water down the area surrounding the blaze — from a safe distance. 

Even as trucks were on their way, fire crews received an update from the Ministry of Forests’ Cobble Hill Fire Base — relaying news that an aircraft flying above Mount Maxwell had contacted them to report “visible flames and black smoke.” 

“That’s one nice thing about being on the flight path to Victoria,” said Holmes. “When pilots flying over forested areas see something, they notify Cobble Hill — and then they pass that on to us.” 

Holmes said since the report was adjacent to a lot of rapidly drying forest near a watershed area, SSIFR moved quickly to get as many firefighters into position as they could. 

“You want to get a lot of ants on the hill, so to speak,” said Holmes. “Fortunately, the shed was well-spaced from trees and other structures on the property, and the homeowner was trying to get whatever water they could around to make sure it didn’t spread.” 

It was a good tactic, Holmes said, noting that even “misting” the area around a fire with a residential hose can increase humidity and help keep a fire from spreading. And importantly, he added, the homeowner kept a safe distance until firefighters arrived.  

“They didn’t go running in; they stayed safe and called 911,” said Holmes. “If you want to get closer, we’ll gladly welcome you to join the department, and we’ll put you in the right safety gear.” 

Crews shuttled water tender trucks up and down the long driveway, he said, then thoroughly sprayed the area before leaving. Holmes said some 4,500 gallons of water were used, and 25 SSIFR members spent about three hours at the site. 

The fire up Mount Maxwell Road was just one of the department’s nine emergency calls for the day, according to Holmes, ticking off a list from every corner of Salt Spring that included multiple alarm bells, four medical calls and a motor vehicle collision on Stewart Road — activating response from crews across Salt Spring’s multiple fire halls.  

“Our career firefighters are here for that quick response, but we also really rely on our paid-on-call volunteers dropping everything they’re doing and going out,” said Holmes. “They all did a lot in one day. But that’s a summer Monday for us.” 

Owners of property in the Maliview Sewer Local Service Area (MSLSA) are facing a massive 30-year bill to pay for a mandated wastewater treatment plant upgrade which is finally close to going out for tender. 

On Wednesday, June 18 the MSLSA Commission of the Capital Regional District (CRD) passed a motion to increase the long-in-the-works project budget by $1,726,000, from the $2,260,000 that was estimated in 2020 for expected completion in 2022 to $3,986,000 now. The additional funds will come from $47,000 in capital on hand and proposed new debt of $1,679,000.

Schuyler Witman and Sharon Bywater are two Maliview area property owners who attended the meeting about the project.

“People were saying they’re considering selling their homes because they can’t afford these utility bills, which are already really high,” said Witman.

“We’re a working-class neighbourhood, and lo and behold, [at the meeting] people were raising their hands and saying, ‘I’m a plumber, I’m a construction worker,’ and me, personally, I’m a teacher.”

She was also critical of the short notice provided for the June 18 meeting, and its mid-afternoon Wednesday timing, since so many residents are workers. 

Witman said she and her husband bought one of the least expensive Salt Spring houses they could find a few years ago and were shocked when they received their first quarterly MSLSA water/sewer bill.

MSLSA property owners already pay almost $2,000 per year for a fixed-use charge, an annual $56.77 parcel tax and a $1.75 per cubic metre water consumption charge, with water supplied from St. Mary Lake by the CRD’s Highland/Fernwood water system.

The CRD is unable to state the exact per property cost of borrowing the proposed $1,679,000, but “for analytical purposes only” estimate the impact will be a further $1,779.

“It’s a sad situation,” said Bywater, “because Maliview has always been a place where blue-collar folks could maybe buy a home or rent affordably, and our infrastructure costs have just grown and grown over the years.”

Bywater served on the MSLSA Commission for a time in the past, so knows the inherent challenges faced by the CRD and commission. 

“A small number of [property owners] maintain a large, expensive piece of infrastructure,” she said, “and we’ve been caught in a breakdown-repair cycle.”

That has resulted in capital reserves being depleted so that the new upgrade project cost hits the approximately 100 property owners even harder.

CRD senior manager Dan Ovington said the older system does require emergency repairs and ongoing maintenance, which increases costs to users. 

“The CRD has also been mandated by the Ministry of Environment to investigate the infiltration and inflow — or I&I — which will ultimately reduce the amount of ‘small fixes,’ and the I&I is included in the overall costs of the upgrade project.”

In late 2019 and early 2020, the CRD received notices from federal and provincial government environmental authorities that the Maliview wastewater plant was out of regulatory compliance when it comes to its effluent quality. 

According to a CRD staff report, the CRD made operational changes to mitigate non-compliance events, and started on the path to upgrading the plant. In August 2022 the project was approved for $1.98 million in federal-provincial government infrastructure funding. At the time the CRD gave an estimated 18-month completion timeframe for the project and said only $271,000 more debt would need to be carried by ratepayers.

But various factors resulted in progress not being made as planned.

“Staff turnover, staff capacity and competing priorities have caused a delay,” said Ovington. “Despite this, staff have completed detailed designs, updated cost estimates and have purchased major equipment components that are already on Salt Spring Island.”

On the funding front, Ovington said CRD director Gary Holman has committed an additional $200,000 of Community Works (gas tax) funding to support the project, in addition to a previously committed amount of $343,620.

Ratepayer approval is required to authorize the borrowing, but must be forthcoming one way or another since the project has been mandated by the provincial and federal governments. The CRD is proposing a method that would need owners of 50 per cent of properties representing at least 50 per cent of net taxable value in the area to give borrowing approval. CRD materials state, “If the petition is not successful, an alternative approval process (AAP) will be initiated at further cost to the ratepayers,” should the AAP fail. 

Ovington said the AAP would cost about $20,000 and a full referendum as much as $70,000 — all borne by the ratepayers. 

Bywater said she would support the borrowing petition and that she and her husband can handle the increase somehow, even if it means deferring the taxes as seniors. 

“We can make it work. It’s just a matter of how. But there are other people on the street who aren’t in that situation, and so that’s troubling.”

“If I had a message to send out to the government bodies,” she added, “it would be ‘is there any more money you can put onto this street?’ Because this is where your hospital employees are, this is where your teachers are, this is where your ferry workers are, this is where the gardeners are . . . all those people.”