Opposition pushes NDP to fix BC Ferries’ ‘litany of failures’

After months of cancelled sailings, chronic staffing shortages and inconsistent service, the B.C. government is coming to the defence of BC Ferries.

The issue came up in the Legislature on Tuesday and things got heated between the ruling NDP and Opposition BC United.

BCU MLA for West Vancouver-Sea to Sky Jordan Sturdy brought up BC Ferries, asking when the government was going to do something to fix the ongoing challenges facing the company.

He says people are waiting several hours for a sailing more often than they should, there are daily late departures, issues with the reservation system — all part of what he describes as a “litany of failures” on the part of the government.

“Can the premier [explain] why the NDP thinks expanding BC Ferries bloated executive ranks by four more VPs is more important than delivering reliable service.”

Sturdy is accusing the NDP of politicizing the issues plaguing BC Ferries.

“The NDP has handed out multiple bailouts, including the $500 million blank cheque and still delivers terrible results. This is now the BC NDP’s new normal. Over the Labour Day long weekend, routes up and down the coast were plagued by cancellations, including multiple sailings between Saltery Bay and Earls Cove,” he said.

Transportation Minister Rob Fleming says BC Ferries has hired 1,200 employees in recent months and claims things are improving.

“There is some evidence, after the difficulties of the summer, that activity is improving. The fall results on sailings are now back up at 99.1 per cent of all scheduled sailings sailing on time and as scheduled,” he told the chamber. “We dipped down to 98.3 per cent in the summer and that left a lot of people stranded. Their vacation plans were interfered with, we know the frustrations. We have to get back up to a higher level of reliability.”

The BC Ferry and Marine Workers’ Union (BCFMWU) says that number is accurate but it used to be better. At one time, BC Ferries would post reliability reports and that figure used to be around 99.7 or 99.8 per cent.

“BC Ferries used to be near perfect, but it’s no longer the case,” Union President Eric McNeely told CityNews.

BCU Kamloops-North Thomson MLA Peter Milobar echoes that sentiment, saying the province is seeing “record-high spending, yet B.C.’ers are seeing record-low results.”

While BCU Surrey-White Rock MLA Trevor Halford isn’t buying anything the government is saying.

“Does [the transportation] minister have any idea what is going on with BC Ferries? Any idea? This minister gets up and mentions ‘seniors.’ We had two seniors sleeping in their car because this minister, this premier could not get their act together when it came to BC Ferries,” he said.

“That is how bad the situation has gotten. Four new executives making upwards of $460,000, that is this minister’s, this premier’s priority when it comes to BC Ferries.”

Earlier this month the B.C. government announced it was going to penalize BC Ferries when it cancels “core sailings” due to a lack of staffing.

“They had a lot of cancellations in the last year,” said Fleming. “I know they’re working on the problem very hard … but we want to make sure that over the next four years, we are able to hold them accountable.”

The province has also provided $500 million to help mitigate fare increases, saying the company has confirmed annual increases of 3.2 per cent over the next four years. Without the provincial funding, the Transportation Ministry says fare increases would have been about 9.2 per cent each year over the same time period.

“At a time of high-interest rates, we made a prudent investment that allows BC Ferries to continue with its longer-term capital plans that will improve capacity and reliability while keeping fare increases low,” Fleming said.

The BC Ferries capital plan includes spending on new ships, more staff, and terminal and technology upgrades.

–With files from The Canadian Press