It’s not surprising that a Thursday, September 21, mid-afternoon meeting hosted by the Northern Sunshine Coast Ferry Advisory Committee (FAC) at Powell River Town Centre Hotel was packed with qathet residents concerned with the state of BC Ferries (BCF).
One note right off the top was that company CEO Nicolas Jimenez would not be in attendance, as previously stated by BC Ferries.
FAC chair Kim Barton-Bridges facilitated the meeting and directed questions and concerns to BCF. Barton-Bridges started by thanking vice president Brian Anderson, who attended virtually, and those from BCF who were there in-person, but expressed disappointment that Jimenez cancelled unexpectedly a few hours previous to the meeting.
First up were five-minute presentations from the public, and an opportunity to present information. Lee Mackenzie stood at the front in the middle of the two tables and read a piece about her concerns regarding BCF service and, in her opinion, the company's inability to solve problems quickly.
One thorn in the side of the FAC and folks at the meeting, including qathet resident Erin Innes, is a BC Ferries policy regarding ferry cancellations and reimbursement for expenses on route 7 (Earls Cove/Saltery Bay), a non-reservable route. Labour Day weekend (September 2, 3 and 4) saw multiple round-trip sailings cancellations on route 7, and people left stranded at Earls Cove had to sleep overnight in their cars.
“I was one of the people who was trapped at Earls Cove for 16 hours a couple of weeks ago,” said Innes. “I've heard a lot from BC Ferries about that particular incident, and something that’s been troubling me is their response: ‘we are sorry for the inconvenience.’
“I really need people to understand that it’s not just an inconvenience when you are a person with a disability; I rely on medications that I have to take at the same time, in the same way, and I have to do a lot of things to manage my condition.”
Innes emphasized to BCF that, “what happened on the Labour Day weekend is more than an inconvenience; that leaving people to sleep in their cars overnight, with no hotel option and the terminal [Earls Cove] being “in the middle of nowhere” is a serious safety issue.”
BCF customer service manager Natalie McCall chimed in via Zoom, stating that customers should expect four to six weeks for communication in regard to addressing compensation or cancellation issues.
Another pressing concern for qathet residents was the lack of medical services in qathet and travel for medical appointments to see specialists and dentists.
“More people are travelling for medical appointments,” said Innes. “I was not travelling at that time [Labour Day] for medical reasons, but I will be in a couple weeks.”
FAC member Jacquie Donaldson acknowledged that, “everything is not going to be resolved in this room today, and I accept that, but it has been a very long time and we keep hearing the same words from BCF.”
Anderson said that, “moving folks to appointments is unsustainable with a growing and aging population with changing expectations and requirements.”
Donaldson rebutted, saying, “if the model is unsustainable then why is the same system being used?” and added: “I slept in my car two times on unticketed, unreserved routes; I’m 67 years old and I shouldn’t be sleeping in my car.”
Anderson acknowledged that finding housing for workers is an issue in the qathet region and impacts staffing.
BCF captain Claudiu Raduta said there is global competition for certified mariners and that it takes time to get people certified.
Northern Sunshine Coast resident Graham Anderson addressed BCF with issues of ferry scheduling and time gaps.
“Say you have a medical appointment or any other business on Vancouver Island, even if it's just a half-hour, you must take a full day of your time and a full day off work to go to that appointment because there's no option to get home until 5 pm,” said Graham. “I was curious about these gaps in service.”
Graham said he understands BC Ferries is supposed to serve as the region’s highway.
“So, I'm wondering why these gaps exist,” he added. “It's my opinion that there should be no reason that we don't expect the same set standard of service here as other sorts of other similar communities in BC, and that there will be continuous service throughout the day.”
According to the FAC, route 17, Powell River (Westview) to Comox (Little River), had one of the worst records of cancellations for a three-month period: April to June of this year. FAC wants BCF leadership to address this issue.
BCF’s vice president said one win recently is a newly negotiated contract with the province, and that customers should see more sailings on route 7.
BC Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure executive director Brian Jonker also addressed the room and reported that the province provided BCF with $500 million to keep ferry fares down.
There is a new portal on the company’s website to address customer concerns regarding cancellations, according to BCF, at bcferries.com/contact-us/helping-you-during-a-service-disruption.
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