A Gabriola Island woman is seeking public support for a petition she hopes will make a difference on ferry affordability.
Doris Gallas created the online petition calling for B.C. Ferries to return to public control as an essential service under the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure.
“Many communities on the B.C. coast are dependent on the ferry service to survive; the ferry is both public transit and an extension of the public highway,” she states on the petition. “The privately run corporation is losing customers, has overpaid upper management, and its finances are not open to public scrutiny despite $150 million per year of taxpayer-supported subsidies.”
Gallas, who has lived on Gabriola since 1993, said she fears only wealthy people will be able to live in such places in the future, but that “a healthy community requires people of all income levels.”
Hearing B.C. Ferries CEO David Hahn’s predictions that ferry fares will increase dramatically spurred her to try to make a difference.
“I think it’s going to radically affect the coastal community, especially northern communities like Haida Gwaii where it’s going to go up 100 per cent in the next four years,” Gallas said.
“It’s going to affect the price of food, how people get around, tourism – and I think there’s a lot of businesses that rely on tourism.”
With the recent outpouring of public support for OpenMedia’s campaign against user-based Internet fees, Gallas said she’s looking for a similar outcome.
The petition can be found at www.petitiononlinecanada.com/petition/return-bc-ferries-to-public-control/55.
– Black Press
