Ferry frustration makes waves in Powell River-Sunshine Coast riding

Getting to Powell River by car always involvesdriving off a ferry. Frustration here with BC Ferries is as common as a ferry lineup.

Located on the northern end of the Sunshine Coast,the community of nearly 20,000 peopledepends onferry serviceto connect to theLower Mainland and Vancouver Island.

Owners of small businesses such as Townsite Brewing feel that frustration acutely.

"Most of our business is done on the Sunshine Coast and Powell River, but we still need to get our product out to the major markets," saidUlrich Herl, a partner atTownsite.

Herl said he's waited for many a ferry to deliver kegs of beer.

Changing economy

The mill in Powell River used to be one of the largest paper producers in the world, butmany of thosejobs have since disappeared and small businesses like the brewery area growing part of the economy.

"It's a town that used to be a mill town andnow you sort of have to come and bring your job, or make your job when you are up here," Herl said.

But that's hard when ferry service has not kept pace, he adds.

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Fares on Powell River routeshave jumped by more than 100 per cent since 2003, according to data compiled by the ferry advisory committee. Sailings have also been cut back.

'Totally insulting'

City councillor and acting mayor Karen Skadsheim said there's one thing that really rankles: free ferry rides in B.C.'s Interior.

Those free rides provide an unfair advantage tousers in the Interior,Skadsheimsaid.

"To say that the coastal ferries are somehow different when in fact you can get to every single one of those Interior communities without a ferry, andyou cannot get to any one of these communities on the coast without a ferry," she said.

"To say that those ferries are a highway and these are not is totally insulting."

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It is not the first time BC Ferries has been an election issue. In 2013, former provincial politician and Powell River resident Gordon Wilson authored a report on ferry woes.

He found costs were unfairly high for coastal communities and that BC Ferries should be treated like a toll highway and financed through the B.C. Transportation and Finance Authority.

Loyalty and WiFi

At one time, BC Ferries was a Crown corporation before the B.C. Liberals transformed it into an independent commercial organization in 2002.

DespiteWilson's recommendations, BC Ferries remains an independententity.

Wilson's son Mathewis now running for the Liberals in Powell River-Sunshine Coast.

The younger Wilsonsaidhe has had plenty of conversations with his father about BC Ferries, but he ison board with the B.C. Liberals in wanting to keepthe ferries independent.

"There's a significant debt with the corporation and to bring that back onto the public books doesn't appear to be a direction the government wants to go in, and I support them in doing so," Wilson said

The Liberal plan for ferries includesa tax break andloyalty program for frequent users, as well as money for better WiFi service at terminals and on ships.

Wilson saidhe would also knock on federal doors looking for funding on par with what ferries in the Atlantic provinces receive.

Call for federal bail out

Green candidate Kim Darwin saidher party thinksBC Ferries shouldbe turned back into a crown corporation, but not with its debt of roughly $1.2 billion.Darwin saidshe would turn to the federal government forhelp with that.

"I would like to invite every MP from the Interior provinces to Powell River on July 1, the long weekend, make sure they have to travel on both ferries and I'm sure there will be some sailing waits," she said.

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"Until they actually experience what we experience on a daily basis they really won't understand why it is important."

In the short-term, Darwin saidcreating a regulatory body that BC Ferries has to answer to could also help.

Betting on fares

The NDP has also made promises around ferries: a15 per cent fare reductionon minor routesand afare freeze on major routes. The party also plans torestorefree weekday travel for seniors.

Powell River-Sunshine Coast incumbent Nicholas Simons saidhis partywould also look at moving BC Ferries back under the government umbrella potentially even with its debt.

"The current government says restoring the service to a crown [corporation] or under the ministry of highways would create a problem for the British Columbia balance book. I think what we need to do is assess whether that is in fact true," he said.

'We are here'

Back at Townsite Brewing, the crew is filling kegs for Ulrich Herl's next delivery.

Like a growing number of people living in Powell River, Herl moved here for a change in lifestyle and to be able to afford a home.

"Communities like ours will never be a money maker, he said. "To say that we choose to live here, to a pointthat is true, but you still need to support us as a government because we are here."