COASTAL MLAS ASK MINISTER TO PROTECT FERRY DEPENDENT COMMUNITIES

North Island MLA Claire Trevena is joining other coastal MLAs in petitioning the Minister of Transportation, Kevin Falcon, to block BC Ferries from hiking ferry fares again.

The corporation is requesting another fuel surcharge that will add up to 20 per cent to the cost of fares on the minor routes.

“This is simply outrageous,” said Trevena. “This is not like adding a fuel surcharge on air fares or taxis: people who live in ferry dependent communities have no choice of whether or not to use the ferry. It is simply our highway.

“We were promised stable fares when the Campbell Liberals privatized BC Ferries. But instead our fares have skyrocketed.”

The letter to Transportation Minister Falcon was signed by six NDP MLAs representing coastal communities, and asks the minister to step in to stop the second outrageous fare hike of the year.

“People will be driven from their homes because of this huge increase,” said Trevena. “It’s going to have an impact on the economy, on tourism and simply on how individual families manage.”

Gary Coons, the Official Opposition Ferries critic said: “The monopolistic practices of BC Ferry Services prove that this Campbell Liberal privatization scheme has been a spectacular failure for everyone except their friends on the company’s overpaid board of directors.”

Earlier this year, after raising fares by up to 7.3 per cent, the board of BC Ferry Services voted themselves pay raises ranging from between $18 000 and $35 000 a year.