Adding to a list of studies it has set in motion, the provincial government is going to review B.C. Ferries. It’s a sensible move because any new administration finds that the complexities of public policy are much more obvious from the government side of the house than from the opposition benches. And it keeps a campaign promise.
As with the Site C dam, the NDP promised during the election to do a review before making any major changes. It did, however, promise to cut fares by 15 per cent on minor routes and freeze them on major ones this spring, and it promised to restore the full seniors discount for mid-week travel.
“The rate freezes and the cuts are going ahead,” said Transportation Minister Claire Trevena. “They are going ahead as planned in April next year.”
The government will have to hope that the review doesn’t decide that the cuts and freezes are a bad idea. Blair Redlin, a former deputy minister of transportation, will supervise the review, and his final report is due by the end of June, after the cuts take effect.
Trevena called it a “soup to nuts review,” which suggests it will cover everything — but it won’t cover everything.
The question of whether to turn it back into a Crown corporation, let the Transportation Ministry swallow it, or leave it as it is will be off the table. That will be a disappointment for many who think the government should resume direct responsibility for the operation.
In 2003, the B.C. Liberals transformed the Crown corporation into a strange, quasi-private company with the province as its sole shareholder. The government provides an annual subsidy, and an independent B.C. Ferries commissioner regulates fares by setting a price cap on the average level of fares.
Those who believe it should be seen as part of the highway system argue strenuously for bringing it back into government, but Trevena wouldn’t commit.
“These are hard-felt commitments by people, but in the end what we need is a ferry system that really is responsive for people, is working in the public interest,” she said.
Dragging the ferries back into government would be a huge task, and it’s no wonder Trevena doesn’t want to make that kind of a promise. Whether it’s in government or out, she knows the government will get blamed for everything that ferry riders don’t like.
The Liberals probably hoped that turning it into a private company would insulate them from some of the controversy that always accompanies B.C. Ferries, but it was a fantasy. Riders and taxpayers know who ultimately calls the shots, especially as transportation ministers can’t seem to stop interfering with the corporation.
Even without that option under consideration, Redlin will have lots of scope for his review. The conundrum of how to provide service to ferry-dependent communities for an affordable price has never been solved.
