In an article in the Times 91原创 (鈥淣orthern coast ferry service changing, but alive,鈥� comment, March 2), Transportation Minister Todd Stone and Tourism Minister Naomi Yamamoto said they value the tourism industry along the circle routes fed by the scenic Discovery Coast and Inside Passage ferries that connect Port Hardy, Bella Coola and Prince Rupert. The group I chair, Save the Discovery Coast Ferry, finds that statement difficult to believe.
Their decision to cancel the Discovery Coast direct service while slashing the Inside Passage route by one-third will severely jeopardize central and northern British Columbia鈥檚 $1-billion tourism industry. It will put hundreds of people out of work, close dozens of tourism-related businesses and have a serious ripple effect throughout British Columbia. All to save B.C. Ferries $2.6听million a year.
When the NDP government instituted the Discovery Coast ferry service in 1996, they encouraged businesses throughout the Cariboo Chilcotin Coast and northern 91原创 Island to build tourism. And build they did, to the tune of tens of millions of dollars. In the lead-up to the Great Bear Rainforest Agreements of 2006, the B.C. Liberal government told central and northern coastal communities their future was not in logging, but in tourism. Even more investments were made.
Now Stone says he has a new plan. He will cancel the Discovery Coast direct service, replace the 115-vehicle Queen of Chilliwack with the 16-vehicle Nimpkish, and combine the two services by having Discovery Coast passengers transfer at Bella Bella to the Inside Passage service that sails between Prince Rupert and Port Hardy.
The tiny Nimpkish has variously been described as a 鈥済lorified car barge鈥� and an 鈥渙versized rowboat.鈥� It is the smallest vessel in the B.C. Ferries fleet, 41 years old, and has no amenities other than a washroom 鈥� not even food or a proper passenger lounge. Many people will wind up stuck in their cars. The trip from Bella Coola to Bella Bella will take 9.5听hours in good weather. In bad weather, the winds that come up the coastal fjords cause waves to break over the deck.
The tourism industry has warned the government since last November that this plan was unworkable. It would result in international tourism abandoning the Discovery Coast route, and severely handicap the Inside Passage route. They refused to listen to us, but perhaps they will listen to the largest international tour wholesaler in Canada.
Upon review of this ridiculous new plan, Bill Knowlton, vice-president of marketing for Jonview Canada, stated: 鈥淲e will not even contemplate subjecting our international visitors to the proposed new schedule.鈥� Jonview is responsible for sending almost 100,000 visitors to B.C. every year. They have called the Discovery Coast a 鈥渃ornerstone鈥� of future tourism growth in the province. Now, thanks to Stone and Yamamoto, they will abandon the route.
A consortium of seven large German tour companies reflected the attitude of tourism operators worldwide when they referred to the government鈥檚 actions as 鈥渢ourism-hostile,鈥� and questioned 鈥渨hether B.C. Ferries can be considered a reliable partner for international tourism any longer.鈥�
Stone has put forward various justifications for this foolish plan. Lately he has taken to floating economic arguments that are not only misleading but avoid the real issues. The fact is, fares are at an all-time high while passenger traffic is at a 22-year low. The government鈥檚 answer is to keep raising fares while slashing service.
Fares on the Discovery Coast route have increased 135 per cent since 2003, while those on the Inside Passage have risen 165 per cent. Not surprisingly, traffic on the routes has dropped 25 to 30听per cent.
About 94 per cent of B.C. Ferries鈥� operational costs are funded directly by passenger fares 鈥� one of the highest rates for any ferry system in the world, and much higher than for any other system of public transportation in British Columbia. Yet B.C. Ferries has already imposed a fuel surcharge and raised fares this year.
B.C. Ferries is in a death spiral of falling revenue, rising fares and declining ridership. Its answer is to punish local communities, devastate regional economies, and give B.C. a black eye on the international stage.
Simply put, the current semi-private, profit-seeking 鈥渦ser pay鈥澨齭tructure of B.C. Ferries instituted by the Gordon Campbell government and now defended by Christy Clark is not sustainable, and is not going to work.
I hope this government will come to its senses and change course before it is too late.
听
Petrus Rykes chairs the group Save the Discovery Coast Ferry.
