BC FERRIES ANSWERS TO NO ONE
GOVERNMENT PANEL CLAIMS
By
William Thomas

On October 16, 2007, the Campbell government's Select Standing Committee On Public Accounts met to discuss the Auditor General's Report, Changing Course - A New Direction for British Columbia's Coastal Ferry System: A Review of the Transformation of BC Ferries tabled the previous December.
After meeting for an hour to discuss the performance of the new BC Ferry Services corporation, four years after its secret inauguration in a backroom deal that saw the ships, terminals and Crown Land assets of BC Ferries transferred to the BC Transit Authority - and then leased back fro 60 years by its previous owners, the people of British Columbia - all back-slapping participants agreed:

A: BC Ferry Services is not accountable to the government or to shareholders.
B: The provincial government still sets all routes, schedules and ferry fares.
C: Everything is going great.

Specifically:

Minutes of that brief Tuesday morning confab reveal Jamie Orr, who sits on the British Columbia Ferry Authority Board of directors, telling the group:

“Government retains its ability to pursue public policy goals through the coastal ferry services contract. This covers the routes, the number of round trips in each route, the hours of operation and the capacity to be provided as well as the fees to be paid for these services.

“Although B.C. Ferries is responsible for setting fares within the price cap set by the regulator, the province can influence these through the service fees. To lower fares, government can increase its service fees thereby lowering the price caps and the fares. Conversely, lower service fees will result in higher fares.

“The independence granted to B.C. Ferries carries some risk. The new B.C. Ferries is neither a Crown corporation accountable to government nor a private sector corporation accountable to shareholders… In the absence of direct accountability to any owner, there may be, or there is, less incentive for the company to perform well.

“B.C. Ferries does not answer to any owners who would feel the effect of financial penalties and therefore cause the directors to avoid such penalized activity. We have some concerns over the absence of direct accountability to the owners.”

He means, us!

"BC FERRIES - AN ESSENTIAL SERVICE"
BC Chamber of Commerce

Note: This anti-union message more directly applies to the current BC Government: 

"In a province as vast and diverse as BC, reliable and affordable transportation has been recognized as a fundamental prerequisite to economic development.

"BC Ferry system is an essential service. It is a vital part of the highway network and should be given equal rights of access. British Columbians rely on marine transportation no less than they depend on any stretch of BC Highway. In 2002 BC Ferries carried 21.6 million passengers and 8.3 million vehicles. The volume of marine traffic rivals some BC roads, where access is deemed an inalienable right.

"[In] a recent Synovate Survey, the ferry system is recognized by 89% of British Columbians as 'important to the provincial economy' with 92% of respondents saying that BC Ferries should remain an essential service.

"The consequences of parties not abiding by their duty to perform must be significant enough to warrant sober second thought.

"The Chamber recommends that the provincial government introduces legislation to ensure that if essential service targets are not met, significant penalties must be levied on all parties. [bcchamber.org]


Photos by Will Thomas

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