“Frustrated.”
That was the comment most heard from participants at the BC Ferries Southern Sunshine Coast Community Prioritization Workshop, held June 17 at the Sunshine Coast Botanical Garden.
And, despite the fact the RSVP-only event had been fully booked prior, the room was only half full with about 20 people in attendance, five of which were from the local Ferry Advisory Committee (FAC).
Workshop facilitator Zach Bukic told the group the focus of the workshop was to share information and also practice “active listening.”
“We're not unaware the community is frustrated and doesn't feel heard. So, we really want to have a posture of active listening this evening and share what we have heard and get your feedback respectively,” Bukic said. “We also want to bring you in to some of the actions that BC Ferries has taken since we've heard some of your feedback.”
Bukic noted the event was for gathering information and not for making any major decisions. He added, the goal of the evening was to prioritize items of concern. Bukic also requested of the group that, while there may be differing opinions in the room, to treat each other with respect and compassion.
It’s the first in-person community event hosted by BC Ferries (BCF) on the Sunshine Coast since the ferry corporation moved meetings online last fall due to what was described as “aggressive, threatening and abusive behaviour” at a public meeting in Gibsons.
Carrie McIntosh, director of community relations for BC Ferries, told participants the FAC members had identified priority actions they would like to see focused on to improve ferry service.
McIntosh also made a point to explain BC Ferries' financial structure and limitations. She said BC Ferries is under contract to provide a service for the provincial government under the constraints of a budget, which gets reviewed every four years.
“This is our opportunity to look across our system to see where the hot spots are, what's the service that's required, and what kind of asset renewal maintenance and all that good stuff is needed,” said McIntosh. “So that includes new vessels, includes terminal upgrades, terminal maintenance, all of those things. And we provide that to the BC Ferries commissioner to say this is what we'd like to be able to do over the next four years. Here's the amount of investment that we believe will be required… And from that she then determines how much we can raise fares over the next four years in order to be able to invest in the infrastructure that we need to be able to support that service.”
Following McIntosh’s comments and before breaking into groups to discuss priorities, Bukic opened the floor to questions and the 15 minutes dedicated for the opening presentation, stretched on for nearly an hour with the majority of speakers questioning the redundancy of the process.
“Let me ask you a question,” participant Eugene Fielder asked Bukic. “How does this differentiate between these meetings we have here and a survey because, I mean, we just do surveys here every year? You know, you get these nice people to come here and we ask the same questions and they give the same answers.”
Silas White, mayor for the Town of Gibsons, told the Coast Reporter participants attending the workshop were clearly frustrated with the repetitiveness of the process and he’d like to see more open dialogue with BC Ferries’ representatives, in particular technical staff, which would allow them to build for future events.
At a special council meeting May 21, Gibsons town council moved a motion that BC Ferries be contacted to request they change their community engagement procedures and that other local governments from the Sunshine Coast be contacted to seek their support in that request.
White believes BC Ferries is taking a slightly different approach to community engagement, including the restructuring of staff and some of the processes.
“And I think they're coming to our community in good faith, but what I saw most strikingly was the low turnout. It was a really disappointing turnout from our community members,” says White. “And I think what that shows is that the changes BC Ferries is trying to embark on are not enough to kind of win our trust and greater participation at this point.”
White said some of the frustration he heard at the event was “clearly disillusionment” with BC Ferries past engagement practices and their lack of progress and track record in implementing feedback from the community.
“I think one thing I heard loud and clear, especially at the end, was that people want the provincial government to step up and take more responsibility and BC Ferries is actually acknowledging more now that they're a public service,” says White. “We heard that last night, which is very positive step, because in past private incarnations, they were more oriented to tourism. I think they're acknowledging more that they're responsible to our communities and then essential transportation. But if that's really going to work, the provincial government also needs to step up and ensure that the service is funded.”
For anyone who couldn’t attend the workshop, an online survey is available at bcferriesprojects.ca/southern-sunshine-coast.
