The idea of a working group to tackle issues around BC Ferries may have been scuttled, but regional district chairs from coastal B.C. will get a much-anticipated meeting with Transportation Minister Todd Stone.
Sunshine Coast Regional District chair Garry Nohr told the July 28 board meeting that Stone will meet the chairs during the Union of BC Municipalities AGM in September. The proposed working group (which would have included Stone) was supposed to have met for the first time in April. That meeting was cancelled and, in June, Stone sent a letter saying the working group idea wasn’t going to be practical (as reported in our July 15 issue).
Word that a meeting with Stone will finally go ahead followed a weekend of near chaos on the route connecting Earls Cove and Saltery Bay, after the MV Island Sky was shifted to the Powell River - Comox run because the Queen of Burnaby needed repairs. The smaller, and slower, replacement vessels - North Island Princess and Quinitsa - couldn’t keep up with the traffic volume, leading to delays and overloads.
At one point traffic at Earls Cove was backed up on Highway 101 past the Egmont turn off.
Powell River Sunshine Coast MLA Nicholas Simons blames BC Ferries’ decision to sell off the Queen of Chilliwack, which would normally back up the Burnaby.
“It’s a problem, it’s going to be a problem until we get our new ship,” he said.
Simons also said he’s still hearing from constituents who were caught up in the problems June 25 and 26, but the bigger worry is the reaction from tourists. “[Residents of ferry dependent communities] know we have to deal with it,” he said. “Our concerns on the Sunshine Coast are that people who have come here for the first time are not going to be making rave comments about how [easy it is] to get around.”
That’s also a concern for Colin Palmer, a director with the Powell River Regional District and a leading figure in the regional district chairs group. Palmer told the Powell River Peak he fears the area’s tourism sector has been “severely damaged, not only this year, but for a few more to come.”
The Queen of Burnaby and the Island Sky were back on their regular routes for the B.C. Day long weekend. Traffic was heavy, but on par with a typical August long weekend. BC Ferries added an extra round trip Aug. 1 to deal with a post-holiday spike in volume, and this coming weekend will also be busy as Sechelt hosts the Sleepy Hollow Rod Run and Show ‘n’ Shine and drag races at the airport.
– With files from Powell River Peak
