‘Cynical’ ferry policies do harm, say BC Conservatives

The publication March 11 of historical data showing a sharp rise in BC Ferries fares proves anew that the people and businesses in ferry-dependent communities are being mistreated by the cynical policies of the BC Liberal Party government, the BC Conservative Party said in a news release.

It cited a study from the Southern Gulf Islands Ferry Advisory Committee which was reported on in the Vancouver Sun by columnist Stephen Hume, and included a graph showing that ferry fare increases had risen many times more than the rate of inflation since about 2004.

“Ferry services are a key and even critical part of the lives of about one million people on B.C.’s coast but they and those services have been harmed by the cynical political ploys being played by the Campbell and Clark Liberal regimes,” said BCCP president Corbin Mitchell, who speaks for the party in the absence of an elected leader.

“The new study provides more proof that the BC Liberals have been favouring regions where their voter support is high and punishing regions where it is low – namely the coastal ferry-dependent communities whose residents have no viable alternative to B.C. Ferries,” said Mitchell.

Submitted