BY MIKE STACEY
When the green and white flag was torn off every funnel BC Ferries (BCF) owned and some idiot took it upon himself to fill the void with the striking image of two amorous slugs caught in a moment of indiscretion, it was clear that the beloved “Dogwood Fleet” was sunk, and whatever it was that had taken its place was sailing off in the wrong direction.
David Hahn was hired. However, the “new improved company” was required to have a means of gathering constructive input from ferry-dependent communities. Enter the ferry advisory committees (FACs). These groups have volunteer members representing schools, business, etc., gathering information, opinions and complaints from the residents and holding meetings to discuss the issues. They then pass the results on to BCF, along with recommendations for improvement. A fair chunk of this is more or less ignored by the company, although some makes it through.
A classic case of OOPS! was the introduction of a far-too-minor vessel on Route 6 in 2019. The committee said, “Ain’t gonna work.”
BCF said, “Sure it will!” When the whole thing went south, someone from the company came to us with a piece of paper covered with numbers showing conclusively that it was running like a Swiss watch.
“So, why are the cars lined up halfway to town?” we asked.
Oddly, that information was not readily available.
It was decided that a little get-together would help, with concerned ferry patrons welcome to attend. I fondly remember this event as “The Great Harbour House Pie Fight.” The locals came in swinging, assailing the committee members for doing such a foolish thing. We had not actually done the deed, but were the only target in sight. Eventually the issue was resolved, for which someone else took credit.
A week or so ago we were all invited to sit in front of our computers for another online meeting with those in charge. Compliments regarding the wonderful job we had been doing were followed by our “digital dismissal.” No more FAC. No alternative was yet in place, but they wanted people to be able to go online to voice their concerns directly to those in charge. Made sense to me. Far easier to ignore folks on an individual basis as opposed to a group.
The first thought of most, if not all, members of our group was “How could they do this to Harold?”
Harold Swierenga, chair of our committee, has dedicated years to his task, seemingly spending half of his life travelling to meetings with the company, never blowing his own horn (unlike some), fielding offensive emails recommending that he and most other members quit, largely unseen by those he has been serving.
As for “digital input” from the patrons, judging by the efficiency of our Covid/violence-driven online meetings of the past few years, it will be a waste of time and effort.
On a more positive note, since being canned we have all been invited to figure out what they should replace us with. I can hardly wait. Most, if not all, members will be staying until the bitter end and doing all we can to help. I promise not to cause any problems . . . again . . . really! I promise!
Thank you for sailing with BC Ferries! Like we have another choice.
The writer is a Salt Spring FAC member.