April is Sikh Heritage Month, a time to recognize the history, culture and contributions of Sikh communities across British Columbia and Canada.

Sikh members are part of our crews across vessels, terminals and trades, helping keep people moving safely every day.

This month is also a chance to reflect on the importance of inclusion at work. Our union continues to support members impacted by workplace policies, including ongoing work related to religious accommodation and safety requirements.

We want to make sure every member is respected, supported and able to do their job with dignity.

We’re proud to stand with members and to keep pushing for solutions that respect both safety and individual rights.

Premier David Eby is heading to China to promote British Columbia as a stable place to do business. But here at home, there’s still no clear plan to build ferries.

The timing matters. BC Ferries’ fleet renewal timeline shows new vessels entering service starting in 2027, with more major ships coming through the end of the decade. Older vessels are already set for retirement.

The next round of procurement will begin soon. Last year, the premier said he would work to make sure future ferries are built in B.C. But there’s been no visible progress to make that possible.

The province’s Look West plan doesn’t mention ferries at all, focusing instead on military vessels funded through Ottawa’s National Shipbuilding Strategy.

B.C.’s ferry system gets just a fraction of the federal dollars other transportation systems do, and the gap is especially marked when compared to the Atlantic ferry system. Despite drawing attention to the discrepancy, there’s no indication that Eby has been pursuing equitable funding for our coastal transportation system.

Ferries aren’t optional in this province: they move people, workers and goods. They’re the backbone of our coastal economy and our coastal communities.

Building them here will take significant planning, investment and workforce development. Without starting that work now, the outcome is predictable.

B.C. is looking abroad for growth. But one of the biggest opportunities is already here. The question is whether we’re ready to take it.

Read more about the benefits of building ships at home here.

This week marks the anniversary of one of the darkest nights in B.C.’s coastal transportation history.

On March 22, 2006, the Queen of the North struck Gil Island in Wright Sound and sank in the early hours of the morning. Of the 101 passengers and crew on board, 99 survived. Two passengers, Gerald Foisy and Shirley Rosette, were never found.

In the moments after impact, the crew acted quickly to evacuate passengers, helping to prevent further loss of life.

Nearby fishing vessels were first on scene and assisted survivors in the water. The Gitga’at community of Hartley Bay mobilized to bring survivors ashore, opening their community hall and caring for them through the night while the coast guard led search and recovery efforts in challenging conditions.

Investigations later confirmed that the vessel missed a routine course change and continued for miles before striking Gil Island. The Transportation Safety Board concluded that safe navigation practices and bridge resource management weren’t followed and that company practices, fatigue, training and failures in safety management systems contributed to unsafe operations.

A navigating officer was later convicted in criminal court and sentenced to prison. The case also raised broader concerns across the marine industry about the criminalization of workers following major incidents.

But the sinking of the Queen of the North was never just about one person’s mistake. Major marine incidents are almost always the result of multiple failures, including systems, oversight, training and corporate culture.

Nearly two decades later, questions about accountability and the broader safety culture that allowed the disaster to occur still echo across the coast. For the families, those questions have never gone away.

In the years that followed, important safety improvements were made. BC Ferries and the union worked together to implement the SailSafe program, strengthening safety systems and support a just safety culture across the fleet.

Unfortunately, progress hasn’t been maintained. In 2023, the union withdrew from SailSafe after raising concerns that the program was moving away from its core safety purpose, pointing to the erosion of meaningful worker input, the weakening of site-based safety processes and a shift toward reporting “successes” instead of properly identifying risks, near-misses and other concerns.

For ferry workers, the anniversary is a reminder of the enormous responsibility crews carry every day. It’s also a reminder that safety at sea depends on strong systems, proper training and a culture where concerns can be raised without fear.

We remember those who were lost. We honour the crew, the first responders, the Gitga’at community of Hartley Bay and everyone who stepped forward when it mattered most.

This picture was taken by FSU Electrician Brian McNeil during the annual changing of the aft mast light on the Spirit of Vancouver Island.  Pictured from left to right is Josh Yeung, Grant Stevens, Mark Armstrong, Matt Mansley and Devon Hall.

Deckhand Mark will retire in April after 38 years of dedication to BC Ferries, and has been an incredible wealth of knowledge and experience in countless ship refits in this time. His generosity and patience in sharing his expertise with the up-and-coming deckhands is beyond appreciated. All the best to Mark on his well deserved retirement. We’ll be keeping him on speed dial, knowing that when any department on the ships have questions, he’ll have the answers.

Tara Landry, shop steward, Swartz Bay.

Federal officials have confirmed that there has been no national security review of BC Ferries’ new vessel order from a Chinese state-owned shipyard, despite the project receiving taxpayer financing from the Canada Infrastructure Bank.

The admission came during testimony before the House of Commons Transport Committee February 25.

Public safety officials said Ottawa had no mechanism to review the procurement, because the decision was made by the province, through BC Ferries.

A decision that sends work overseas

Last year, BCFMWU President Eric McNeely warned the committee that offshore construction comes with long-term consequences: the loss of jobs, apprenticeships, supply chain work and the industrial capacity needed to build and maintain vessels at home.

Ferry workers deal with the operational challenges that come with overseas-built vessels every day, from specialized parts that require specialized shipping to proprietary systems that need foreign technicians to repair.

No clear accountability

The controversy has also exposed long-standing concerns about BC Ferries’ arms-length governance structure. The company operates like a private enterprise, but relies heavily on public funding, creating a situation where major public decisions can move forward without clear political accountability. During earlier testimony to the committee, McNeely described it as a “jurisdictional game of finger-pointing with public money at stake.”

The province says procurement decisions belong to BC Ferries. Ottawa says it has no authority to review provincial procurement. The result is a billion-dollar project financed with public money, with no clear government responsible for the final decision.

Promises made, and broken

In 2017, the B.C. NDP election platform acknowledged that outsourcing ferry construction had sent thousands of jobs overseas and promised to ensure B.C. shipyards could compete to build new vessels.

The government later announced a Made-in-B.C. shipbuilding strategy and created a Shipbuilding Advisory Committee to rebuild domestic capacity and create jobs.

Yet despite those commitments, the contract for four major BC Ferries vessels was ultimately awarded to a Chinese shipyard and the province has made no move to ensure the next round of vessel procurement will stay in British Columbia.

A bigger question

The debate in Ottawa highlights a larger policy gap. Federal officials acknowledged that Canada doesn’t have clear legislation to review this kind of procurement for national security concerns, particularly when foreign state-owned companies are involved.

For ferry workers, the issue goes beyond jurisdictional finger-pointing. Public infrastructure should strengthen Canadian industry, support skilled trades and keep strategic work here at home.

Canada has the workers, the shipyards and the expertise to build these vessels. The question is whether governments are willing to use public investment to make that happen.

Visit buildthemhere.ca to learn more about the costs of outsourcing our infrastructure.