Powell River hopes for consistent BC Ferries service after Labour Day weekend ordeal

The community of Powell River on B.C.’s Sunshine Coast is hoping to see a concrete plan to ensure regular BC Ferries service after a staff absence over the Labour Day weekend led to the town being effectively cut off from its neighbours.

On Sept. 2, BC Ferries cancelled multiple sailings between Saltery Bay and Earls Cove, disconnecting would-be riders from the rest of the Sunshine Coast for long periods of time. At that time, the ferry company said a single staff member was in a “motor vehicle incident,” and there was “difficulty sourcing [a] licensed officer.”

Ron Woznow, mayor of the coastal community, says the cancellations led to people being stranded at the Saltery Bay ferry terminal for up to 18 hours, with no nearby accommodation, restaurants, or washroom facilities available.

“Very simply, I think it’s unacceptable,” he told CityNews. “Certainly, management at BC Ferries would have a good indication that in a long weekend — given past history — that there may be challenges with employees being unable to meet requirements, and therefore they should have put in place a contingency plan.

“We put a man on the moon in 1969 and we can’t regularly schedule ferry service which is very important for Powell River.”

Woznow says the ordeal not only prevented locals from getting into Metro Vancouver for the weekend but also barred people from travelling the opposite way to visit the community. It’s something he says is even more crucial now, with about 200 people out of work after the recent closure of a prominent paper mill in the town.

“We are rebuilding our economy. Because we’re a fantastic place to hike, bike, fish, surf, whatever you want to do, then tourists have to feel comfortable they can get here and leave,” he said.

Ron Woznow, the Mayor of Powell River, B.C. (Source: powellriver.ca)

The mayor says it’s not just during long weekends when the unreliable ferry service is an issue.

“We are a very active community. Any given month we have music festivals, we have bike tours, we have races … the impact on the community whether it’s the long weekend or a regular weekend is significant, especially during the summer or the end of the summer,” he said.

Read More: Residents of Powell River express frustration over BC Ferries cancellations

Woznow says since the debacle, there has been dialogue about it with BC Ferries, but says he’d like to see tangible action taken.

“We haven’t seen a concrete plan on how they’re going to prevent this from happening in the future, and that’s what we’re hoping to see,” he said.

In a previous statement, BC Ferries says the Sunshine Coast is a region where “more work needs to be done to build resiliency” in regard to staffing challenges. It has previously attributed challenges to the ongoing worldwide mariner shortage.

CityNews has reached out to the company for an updated comment on staffing levels for Sunshine Coast routes.

In the meantime, Woznow remains hopeful that progress is being made on the issue, saying he brought it up with B.C. transportation minister Rob Fleming at last week’s Union of BC Municipalities meetings.

“We hope in the future, people will feel comfortable about being able to come to Powell River and making the appropriate ferries,” he said.

-With files from Pippa Norman