qathet Regional District’s committee of the whole is recommending the regional board write a letter of support for the Town of Gibsons to request BC Ferries change their community engagements procedures.
At the June 26 committee of the whole meeting, City of Powell River director Cindy Elliott said she sits as a member of the qathet Sunshine Coast Ferry Advisory Committee and said she was supportive of Town of Gibsons mayor Silas White’s position. She wondered if the regional district should coordinate with the chair of the qathet Sunshine Coast Ferry Advisory Committee to ensure the regional district is not saying anything contradictory to the local committee if it was to write correspondence to White.
Elliott said changes that are being made are controlled by BC Ferries for even how the flow of the meetings go. She said that local committee chair Kim Barton-Bridges would have some good input for the letter and suggested the motion from the committee stipulate that Barton-Bridges be consulted regarding the regional district’s draft of the letter.
City director George Doubt said he was in favour of the recommendation.
“The real issue the chair of the advisory committee is concerned about is getting some real responses from BC Ferries to the concerns that are brought up over and over again,” said Doubt. “I agree with the idea of trying to make it a more effective consultation group, and hopefully, this will help.”
Electoral Area D director and committee chair Sandy McCormick said she understands and sympathizes with the frustration that members of the ferry advisory committee are experiencing.
“One of the frustrations stems from the ferry advisory committee being part of BC Ferries,” said McCormick. “BC Ferries strikes the committee, they organize and plan. They [the committee] is a function of BC Ferries. Should there be a community-based ferry committee? That’s a question for another day, but that’s something we can all keep in mind.”
Electoral Area B director Mark Gisborne said that White’s letter is based upon three points. He said the first is that change is needed in how BC Ferries advances and regards community engagement in ferry-dependent communities.
“I think we can all agree that BC Ferries has recently dropped the ball, cutting out the engagement part,” said Gisborne. “That is quite frustrating. I completely support the first point.”
Gisborne said the second point was that ferry advisory committees, in representing their communities, should not be solely accountable to BC Ferries, but also, to local communities via local governments. He said the committees are currently under BC Ferries mandate. He added that there are other options available. That might have to result in some structural change, and he supports that notion.
“I understand the lower coast is quite frustrated with BC Ferries,” said Gisborne. “I recall a couple of years ago there was an announcement about service changes and BC Ferries said they had support of local government. I called up one of my councillor friends down there and asked if they supported this and he said they didn’t support it – they [BC Ferries] just informed local government. I can see why the lower coast is pushing back.”
Gisborne said the last point in White’s letter was that in coordination with the role of ferry advisory committee, BC Ferries should pursue a model of dedicated engagement with local governments of ferry-dependent communities. He said he supported that point 100 per cent.
Elliott said on the lower coast, as a result of some difficult meetings last year, with some people in attendance having difficulty with self-control at the meetings, BC Ferries shut down public engagement and ferry advisory committee meetings for quite a while, then came out with new rules. She said one of the items is to sign a code of conduct.
“It’s hampering the ability of the ferry advisory committee to maintain priorities that are not being addressed by BC Ferries,” said Elliott. “They are now trying to tell us what we can and cannot talk about. That’s the real issue.”
The committee unanimously carried the motion to recommend to the regional board that the board write a letter of support, in consultation with the chair of qathet Sunshine Coast Ferry Advisory Committee for the Town of Gibsons’ position, as outlined in the letter from mayor Silas White.
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