BY DAVID COURTNEY
There’s been a lot of local consternation over BC Ferries (BCF) cancelling the ferry advisory committee (FAC) program in the 13 smaller communities across the system. While the recent news from BC Ferries management to axe and silence the FACs was not surprising, the truly disappointing part is that they didn’t have a plausible program to replace it. It was a knee-jerk reaction to those FACs that have been less than civil in the engagement process.
Over the last two decades, BCF has had “terms of reference” in dealing with the FACs. Tenure of the chairs has not been observed in some cases: “Members are expected to serve a term of four years, for a maximum of two consecutive terms. NOTE: a member can serve for greater than two terms under extenuating circumstances; however, they would be expected to only serve one year into the next term.” The idea was to adopt fresh ideas and approaches by electing a new chair from within every four years.
BCF felt they needed to approve members appointed to the committee. That instantly sends a red flag up the pole, when it comes to being biased. In other words, we would like to hear your constructive thoughts and opinions, but only from the people we approve of. The FAC chair and patrons on the Sunshine Coast increasingly became frustrated with BCF (they are not alone) and hostilities towards BCF unfortunately boiled over at a joint committee meeting.
Remember the outrage from patrons on Route 6 (Vesuvius Bay – Crofton) when everyone said, “Please be reasonable, don’t deploy the MV Quinitsa on Route 6?” This after concerned warnings from regular patrons and most importantly the commercial operators who provide our essential goods and services. What unfolded was an unmitigated disaster. BCF management refused to listen to their FAC and patrons, but more importantly the employees who were deployed on the service and live in our community.
Dec. 21, 2024 marks the third anniversary of “The Fix for Route Six” petition, 2,257 signatories strong, which is still active. It was encouraging to have the support and signatures of some FAC members over the last three years.
Where do we go from here? We feel the advocating and engagement process with BCF should come from the elected officials of the communities being served. In our case this means the Local Community Commission (LCC). If you don’t like the manner in which your commissioners address the issues with BCF, you have the opportunity to express your displeasure at the polls every four years.
Here’s the public request I am making on behalf of the 2,257 petitioners:
Dear chair Earl Rook, on behalf of the LCC, please consider advocating along with Mayor Rob Douglas and his North Cowichan Municipal Council in a joint communique to Premier David Eby and BCF CEO Nicolas Jimenez to restore the funding from service agreements 5 and 6 for the previous commitments to the infrastructure at Vesuvius Bay and Crofton terminals. Specifically, the 2019 approved design for Vesuvius Bay and Plan B, the preferred plan chosen by the residents of Crofton and the patrons of Route 6 for the Crofton terminal upgrade. Thank you!
Best of the season to all.