NDP Leader John Horgan released the party’s full election platform Oct. 6 and compared to the NDP’s 2017 policy document it has very little to say about BC Ferries – an issue that’s typically front and centre for voters in Powell River-Sunshine Coast.
The 57-page NDP platform contains a single paragraph on ferries, which does not include many specifics.
“We will make BC Ferries more accountable to the people it serves and reset its priorities around you,” the platform says. “That means having it improve service at peak time, allocate more space to reservations and allow walk-on reservations, and coordinate with BC Transit and TransLink to align scheduling and provide a more seamless passenger experience.”
NDP incumbent Nicholas Simons told Coast Reporter after the platform announcement that he thinks it’s good the party has identified improved peak time service as something a re-elected NDP government would have to continue working on.
He also acknowledges the idea of having more reservable space on ferries is not something people in the riding have been calling for, but it may be something that other ferry-dependent communities might want, and “every community will be listened to” when it comes to implementing a policy.
“People just want to have reliable service,” he said.
In 2017 the NDP made several promises on BC Ferries, including a 15 per cent fare rollback on routes like Langdale-Horseshoe Bay and Powell River-Comox, a freeze for the major Vancouver Island routes and a restoration of free weekday travel for seniors.
In a campaign video released last week, Simons said he was “very pleased that we made promises about BC ferries that we’ve fulfilled.”
“Our commitments on BC Ferries are ongoing,” Simons said. “We know that there's still work to be done. We need another vessel for the Langdale route… It’s a work in progress.”
Simons expanded on the “work in progress” theme in an Oct. 2 online town hall, saying he plans to continue to push BC Ferries to live up to the letter of the government’s order on priority travel for medical appointments, which said priority must be given to people with a TAP form and a letter from their doctor.
“Unfortunately, BC Ferries has characterized that as only for urgent medical treatment, but if you look at the order there’s absolutely no mention of the word urgent,” Simons said.
On the question of priority for residents, Simons said, “That’s something that BC Ferries has been told about as a wish for the Sunshine Coast and I believe that their current public consultation includes discussions around priority for residents… Right now I think that we need to ensure that those travelling for medical reasons, who are unable to obtain medical services on the Sunshine Coast, should have priority.”
Liberal candidate Sandra Stoddart-Hansen said while in government, the NDP did not do one thing it could have done to improve ferry service.
“Despite changes to the Coastal Ferry Act brought about by the NDP, ferry services to our community, particularly the Langdale to Horseshoe Bay route, have continued to deteriorate,” she said. “The government has the ability through the contract with BC Ferry Services to contract for a higher level of service for our community but has failed to do so.”
Stoddart-Hansen said a Liberal government would review ferry services and “adjust service levels through the contract.”
Kim Darwin of the Greens, whose party's key promise on ferries in 2017 was to return the company to Crown corporation status with an oversight body similar to the BC Utilities Commission, said that's still what they want to see.
"There has been little to no improvement over the three years the Greens allowed the NDP to remain in government. In its current state, BC Ferries is essentially a private company operating as a monopoly utility providing a service," Darwin said.
Darwin said locally she’ll advocate for a two-ferry system with hourly sailings and to have the Powell River-Comox ferry homeported in Powell River.
