A planned meeting with a BC minister and coastal community representatives has been postponed.
Colin Palmer, Powell River Regional District chair, had organized the meeting with Blair Lekstrom, minister of transportation and infrastructure, and up to 10 regional district chairs, for June 13. Palmer reported at the June 9 committee-of-the-whole meeting that Lekstrom cancelled the meeting. “The initial reaction was a bit disappointing,” he said. “We agreed to arrange a meeting on July 19. There is still a reason to meet with the minister.”
BC Ferry Commissioner Gord Macatee is conducting a review of the Coastal Ferry Act. Macatee will investigate the financial relationship between BC Ferries and the government and whether rising ferry fares are affordable and sustainable.
BC’s government has amended the legislation to give the commissioner a mandate to recommend changes to better balance the interests of ferry users with the financial sustainability of BC Ferries. The amendment also prevents BC Ferries from cutting sailings until a final decision on price caps is made. Macatee’s report is expected to take six months.
The regional district has received a strong indication that Macatee can be in Powell River in September to meet with stakeholders, Palmer said. “The whole idea is to get him well informed as to what the issues are in the region,” he explained.
The commissioner had given preliminary approval in April to ferry rate increases for each of the next four years, including 4.15 per cent on major routes and 8.23 per cent on minor routes. The government capped the increase at 4.15 per cent for all major and minor routes, beginning April 2012.
Palmer distributed information about how the increase and a five per cent fuel surcharge announced by BC Ferries will impact Powell River routes. It will cost an additional $12.35 for a round trip from Powell River to Comox for a car, driver and passenger. “If you travel once a week on that ferry, you can imagine 52 times that amount is not a small amount of money,” he said.
A round trip to Vancouver from Powell River will cost $12.90 more, while a round trip from Powell River to Texada Island will cost $3.84 more. Texada residents who travel to Comox will shoulder a $16.19 increase per trip and to travel to Vancouver, they will have to pay $16.74 more. “People are talking about crisis and I think it’s genuine,” Palmer said. “This is really, really serious stuff.”
Palmer said he calculated the increases and pointed out the government might be persuaded to either lower or eliminate the 4.15 per cent increase. The fuel surcharge could either increase or decrease, depending on what happens to the price of oil, he said.
