Beneath the giant blue hull of a vessel in the Seaspan Shipyards in North Vancouver, BC Conservative Leader John Rustad proclaimed his plan to overhaul the provincial ferry operator.
At a press event Thursday morning, Rustad said that the BC NDP’s mismanagement of the “vital” BC Ferries service has left residents stranded and frustrated.
At the announcement, the party leader was flanked by his local MLA candidates Sam Chandola for North Vancouver-Seymour and David Splett for North Vancouver-Lonsdale.
Rustad described the BC Ferries fleet as unreliable and wrought with aging vessels. He then outlined his plan to make big changes to how the Crown corporation is run.
“We need a bold new approach to ensure BC Ferries is reliable, cost-effective, and forward thinking,” he said.
If elected to power on Oct. 19, Rustad said his party would create a BC Ferries Charter to define performance and service expectations.
“If BC Ferries leadership fails to meet these expectations, we’ll find new leadership capable of delivering the reliable service that coastal residents deserve,” he said. “We will also tie executive compensation to performance, ensuring that the leadership team is directly responsible for meeting service delivery commitments.”
To support people who rely on BC Ferries for work and daily life, Rustad said he would consult with commuters and other frequent users to develop a monthly flat-fee program.
“The people who rely on BC Ferries the most are being punished with high costs and unreliable service,” he said. “Our plan will bring relief to commuters and frequent users, ensuring they have a dependable and affordable service to get to work, visit family, or access essential services.”
Rustad vowed to address the aging ferry fleet and resolve over-capacity issues on high-demand routes like Horseshoe Bay (West Vancouver) to Departure Bay (Nanaimo).
“We will introduce open and competitive procurement processes for fleet renewal, with a focus on considering domestic content scenarios to ensure British Columbians benefit from shipbuilding and related industries,” he said.
How do the BC Conservatives plan to pay for all these improvements?
A key aspect to Rustad’s plan is securing federal funding for BC Ferries infrastructure.
“We will fight for B.C.’s fair share of federal support to modernize BC Ferries’ infrastructure and explore new technologies that improve service,” he said, adding that small, electric autonomous ferries for walk-on passengers have been implemented in Europe.
But British Columbians can't trust that Rustad has any intention to deliver on these promises, said Bowinn Ma, BC NDP MLA candidate for North Vancouver-Lonsdale.
"Under John Rustad’s BC Liberals, ferry fares soared by over 70 per cent. He cut sailings and cancelled the free passenger fare for seniors, which the BC NDP brought back," she said.
“BC Ferries is procuring new vessels right now to improve reliability and we want Canadian shipbuilding companies to be part of that," Ma said. "The BC NDP strongly supports BC shipbuilding, and (Premier) David Eby is going to continue to press Ottawa to do their part so that our shipbuilders can deliver world-class ships and ferries."
Eby is taking action to cap BC Ferries fare increases for the next four years, she said.
"We will work with BC Ferries to support affordable and reliable ferry service for people and businesses who rely on our marine highway,” Ma said.
This article has been updated to include comment from North Vancouver-Lonsdale MLA candidate Bowinn Ma.
