It's not just the ferries that are late, federal funding given to BC Ferries to improve the Langdale terminal was reallocated after the project was delayed indefinitely.
During the biannual meeting between the Southern Sunshine Coast Ferry Advisory Committee (SSCFAC) and senior staff of BC Ferries, plans to improve the Langdale Terminal that never came to fruition were discussed.
In 2017, BC Ferries received $201 million through the Provincial-Territorial Infrastructure Component – National and Regional Projects (PTICNRP), for several upgrade projects and ferry purchases.
This funding included $17 million dedicated to the completion of the Langdale Terminal redevelopment.
Since then, however, no updates have been given.
During their meeting, Diana Mumford, chairperson of the committee asked what had happened to the development and why no update was provided.
Brian Anderson, BC Ferries’ vice president of strategy and community engagement attended the meeting remotely and responded that BC Ferries originally had “grand plans to do a major overhaul” to the terminal with the support of a federal government program.
“COVID happened, we rethought our entire capital plan, many projects got put on hold. And part of the impact was having that Langdale expansion and redevelopment put on hold, and instead focusing primarily on the safety and replacement components of the marine infrastructure,” Anderson said.
He then added that the remainder of the terminal upgrade project is now slated to occur outside of the time frame of the federal government program.
“As a result, the federal funding lapsed and has now probably been repurposed for some other means, through the federal government,” he said.
Anderson added that when Langdale Terminal improvements come up for debate and prioritization again, BC Ferries will look into other sources of federal projects or funding.
“That [federal] project as it existed back then no longer exists. It's been repackaged into some smaller components,” Anderson said. “And as a result, the funding that was earmarked for that project is now repurposed by the federal government to support other projects.”
Jordan Copp is the Coast Reporter’s civic and Indigenous affairs reporter. This reporting beat is made possible by the Local Journalism Initiative.
