Gabriola Ferry Advisory Committee and other community organisations
Our message to BC Ferries : January 2014
In order to ensure wider representation of community views in our dialogue with BC Ferries and the Provincial government, Gabriola Ferry Advisory Committee (FAC) is working collaboratively with representatives of other community organisations on Gabriola Island. FAC members have joined with representatives of the Islands Trust’s Transportation Advisory Commission, Gabriola Chamber of Commerce, Gabriola Arts Council and other community groups to form an ad-hoc ferry service advisory group for the purpose of engaging with BC Ferries and the Ministry of Transportation in any future dialogue on cuts to our ferry service. We are pleased to have the support of Islands Trustees and our RDN Regional Director as part of the advisory group.
The advisory group held an initial meeting on January 7 to consider the next steps in responding to the 2013 Community Engagement Process. Emerging from that meeting were a number of key action points for the government and BC Ferries, to address the many genuine concerns we have heard from Gabriola Islanders.
There has been much anger and frustration at the way in which the community engagement process was conducted and, not surprisingly, there is widespread opposition to the proposed ferry cuts. We have obtained evidence of the significant hardship that cuts to late evening and early morning (weekend) sailings would have, both on residents and businesses. This evidence has been documented in our submissions to government.
Moving forward, we now await the consultants’ report to government on the 2013 Community Engagement process and, acknowledging that something has to be done to address the spiralling financial crisis in our ferry system, the advisory group is committed to working collaboratively on behalf of the community to achieve the best possible outcome for Gabriolans.
We therefore urge BC Ferries and the Provincial government to:
 Defer the implementation of any cuts to ferry services for a minimum of six months to limit damage to tourism and the local economy during the 2014 summer season and to ensure that the needs and dependencies of Gabriola residents and businesses are taken into account in the development of any proposed ferry schedule change;
 Commit to an honest and open dialogue with the Gabriola ferry service advisory group to provide group members with the confidence that their time and effort committed to developing alternative strategies that are less damaging to our community will not be wasted, but will be given full consideration by BC Ferries and the Provincial government;
 Provide access to accurate and specific information on the costs of providing our ferry service to enable the financial implications of any alternative strategies to be fully understood.
For our part, the FAC and other members of the ferry service advisory group undertake to enter into discussions with honesty and respect, engaging as necessary with members of the community to work towards an outcome that reflects and supports the needs of our community.
Continued….
Specifically, we ask BC Ferries (and/or the government) to provide comprehensive answers to the following questions to enable the advisory group to move forward with a genuine dialogue over the coming months:
1 An explanation of how the route-by-route apportionment of the proposed financial savings was arrived at, with specific reference to why 4% of the projected savings are expected to be found from Route 19.
2 A breakdown of the projected cost reductions on Route 19 in sufficient detail to identify:
(a) the number of hours at both standard rate and enhanced (overtime) rate for ferry crew and terminal staff that have been assumed in the estimated $280,000 annualised labour savings;
(b) the method of calculating the estimated $151,000 annualised fuel savings
3 An explanation of how the $35,000 estimated annualized allowance for revenue loss was determined, given the FAC’s estimation of “at risk” revenue of $336,000 on the affected sailings
In order to fully understand the financial implications of any alternative schedule option, the advisory group will also require the following information:
4 The number of hours at both standard and enhanced (overtime) rate that are currently payable to ferry crew and terminal staff in the operation of Route 19;
5 The minimum and maximum number of hours per shift that are payable to ferry crew and terminal staff at basic rates under the terms of the existing collective agreement;
6 The estimated financial saving per hour in labour cost from any change in the number of payable hours for ferry crew and terminal staff, subject to the constraints of (5) above
7 The estimated fuel consumption (litres/hour) of MV Quinsam at operating speeds of 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 knots
8 The minimum operating speed considered to be safe for the operation of Route 19
9 The current price of marine diesel fuel to BC Ferries (declared in November 2013 to be $1.09/litre)
10 Details of any other potential savings that have been assumed in the operation of Route 19
11 Details of any reductions in management costs to be implemented as part of the proposed cost savings on Route 19
To reiterate, it is the intention of the FAC and other advisory group members to enter into genuine dialogue and negotiation with BC Ferries and the government with the aim of ensuring the government’s stated financial objectives can be delivered with a minimum of adverse impact on the community of Gabriola. We therefore seek the assurance of BC Ferries and the Ministry of Transportation that they will work co-operatively to achieve this outcome and will meet all reasonable requests for information to enable that dialogue to be meaningful.
John Hodgkins, Chair, Gabriola FAC (on behalf of the ferry service advisory group).