Residents of Powell River express frustration over BC Ferries cancellations
Posted September 3, 2023 2:41 pm.
Last Updated September 26, 2023 11:29 am.
Residents of Powell River are expressing frustration after BC Ferries cancelled multiple sailings from Saltery Bay (Powell River) to Earls Cove (Sechelt Peninsula) Saturday and Sunday, leaving them unable to reach Vancouver for long weekend festivities.
Ken White, a longtime resident of Powell River, said he was outraged when the ferry company announced afternoon cancellations over social media, mere minutes before they were scheduled to depart.
“The BC Ferries corporation held this community hostage yesterday,” he said.
BC Ferries posted to social media Saturday at 2:54 p.m. that that day’s 4:55 p.m., 7:05 p.m. and 9 p.m. sailings were at risk due to a shortage of crew members.
At 4:49 p.m., the company’s X account posted an update signifying that the evening’s 4:55 p.m. sailing had been cancelled, as well as the 5:35 a.m. sailing out of Saltery Cove Sunday morning.
It followed up that post with another at 6:26 p.m., signifying that the 7:05 p.m. sailing out of Saltery Bay had also been cancelled.
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White said anyone from Powell River wanting to get to Vancouver or head to the PNE this weekend couldn’t make it there due to the cancellations.
He added that communication by BC Ferries about the cancellations was “poor” and led to hundreds of people lining up for the ferry anyways, unaware of the potential for cancelled sailings.
“Everybody was lining up to catch a ferry and they were turned away,” White said. “There was hundreds of vehicles headed to Saltery Bay from Powell River and they were turned away.”
In the future, White said he’d like to see more action from Premier David Eby and his local MLA on this issue of ferry cancellations.
BC Ferries said in a statement to CityNews that a staff member was in a “motor vehicle incident” and there was “difficulty sourcing licensed officer” to replace them.
