North Island MLA Anna Kindy says an agreement with the BC Ferries CEO was productive in addressing constituent concerns about assigning the Queen of Quadra II to Route 25.
In a letter to Mike Farnworth, minister of transportation and transit, the BC Conservative MLA said she has strong support from the communities of Port McNeill, Sointula and Alert Bay, as well as the Namgis First Nation, and that changing the vessel for the route has had a significant impact on life in North Island communities.
“The region is used to having a vessel that has a capacity of 47 vehicles. Going from that to a 26-vehicle ferry for over six months isn’t acceptable and it’s unsafe,” she wrote.
Kindy said a limited ferry system is causing severe disruptions to health care, and reducing vehicle capacity will only add strain to an already stretched resource on the North Island.
“Accessing health care right now is a problem, and some people have to wait six months for an appointment,” she wrote. “When they finally get the appointment, they don’t make the ferry lineup in time and then they can’t make their appointment.”
She urged the province to treat North Island communities the same as other parts of Vancouver Island when it comes to transportation services.
Kindy said ferry service in remote communities is an essential service and should be treated as such.
“We should be able to replace a ferry with an equal-size vessel,” she wrote.
Talks between the North Island MLA and Nicolas Jimenez, BC Ferries president and CEO, led to assurances that downsizing vessel capacity won’t happen in the future and that the company will take necessary precautions.
“They actually have a backup now,” she wrote. “So, if they need to withdraw the ferry in the North Island, it’ll be replaced with one of the same size.”
According to Kindy, limiting ferry vehicle capacity also has economic impacts, increases community hardships and raises safety concerns.
