BC Ferries says the decision is final. We say Salt Spring deserves better.
At a recent community forum, BC Ferries CEO Nicolas Jimenez made it clear that the plan to homeport both new Route 6 vessels in Crofton is a done deal.
This move will remove all vessel-based jobs from the island, adding a two-hour commute for ferry workers. It will force some families to relocate. It will increase emergency response times. And it will disconnect ferry service from the community it’s supposed to serve.
The union, local officials and residents have all called for a fair solution: keep one vessel in Vesuvius Bay and one in Crofton, just like the successful model already in place on Gabriola Island.
Jimenez says Salt Spring has a hospital and more ferry terminals than Gabriola. That’s true, but only because Salt Spring has over twice the population and much greater demand; that’s not a reason to cut service, it’s a reason to strengthen it.
BC Ferries point to a one-time briefing and some online surveys as proof of consultation. But surveys aren’t collaboration. Real consultation means working with communities before decisions are made. Decisions like this should be made transparently, not behind closed doors and announced after the fact.
Salt Spring’s CRD and Local Community Commission oppose this decision. So do we. Because this is about more than schedules and staffing. It’s about whether the voices of ferry-dependent communities matter.
We’ve written to Minister of Transportation Mike Farnworth to ask for a review. We’re calling for transparency, accountability and a ferry system that puts communities first.
