Ferries petition
A petition to demand the provincial government take back control of BC Ferries has been reopened.
Powell River resident Laural Eacott, with the help of independent MLA Vicki Huntingdon, delivered the petition to the provincial legislature Tuesday, February 24. Eacott said she created the online petition on www.change.org in November 2013 after fares increased and she could no longer afford to use the service. The online petition gathered over 20,000 signatures. It urges the government to return the quasi-private ferry corporation back into the ministry of transportation and infrastructure to help reduce costs and fares.
Transportation minister Todd Stone responded by saying the province was not about to take the coastal ferry service back and that it was focused on a wide array of measures to bring the ferries to a place of long-term affordability.
The ferry service was a part of the government highway system in the early 1970s before it was transformed into a Crown corporation. After the BC Liberal Party formed government in 2001, the ferry corporation was transformed into a private company that receives a taxpayer subsidy.
Another round of fare price hikes are expected April 1.
After news of the petition spread just before it was delivered, Eacott said she was asked to reopen it by people who said they had not signed but wanted to.
“Since then we’ve almost received another 3,000 signatures,” she said. She is also going to start collecting signatures on hardcopy for those who are not connected to the Internet.
She is aiming for 25,000 signatures. Readers can view the petition online.
