Ferry fuel rebates to be withdrawn

VANCOUVER — B.C. Transportation Minister Claire Trevena says she is “extremely disappointed” with a plan by BC Ferries to remove fuel rebates, less than two months after the provincial government put a fare reduction strategy in place.

In a letter to BC Ferries board chairman Donald Hayes, Trevena says she was “surprised and disappointed” to learn last week that the ferry service was planning to announce the removal of fuel rebates of 2.9 per cent on major and minor routes and 1.9 per cent on northern routes.

But Mark Collins, the president and CEO of BC Ferries, said Tuesday he doesn’t know why the change would be a surprise because it has been negotiating with the Transportation Ministry about the future of the rebate system for the last six months. The rebate and surcharge system has been in place for 13 years, and Collins said the cost has been added or subtracted from fares 18 times since then.

Trevena told a conference call Tuesday that removing the rebate will mean an increase in costs, and the government has committed to making fares affordable. The government is willing to negotiate with BC Ferries to avoid the increase, she said.

Collins said until now the ministry only asked for a delay, but if the government wants to consider more funding then BC Ferries will give it a few weeks to see what it can come up with.