Ferries' goal should not be profit: Furstenau

B.C. Green Leader Sonia Furstenau says, if elected, her party would restore B.C. Ferries as a Crown corporation.

Speaking at a campaign stop in Brentwood Bay on Vancouver Island, Furstenau said the ferries system should be viewed as necessary infrastructure and not as a profit-driven business.

“It's not about whether they make a profit at the end of the year,” she said. “It's about whether they run smoothly and allow the economy to function optimally.”

B.C. Ferries, which was established as a Crown corporation in 1960, was transformed into a half public/half private entity in 2003 by the B.C. Liberals.

Although the service is still publicly owned and the B.C. government remains its sole shareholder, B.C. Ferries operates under the direction of an independent board and its fares are regulated by an independent ferry commissioner.

The province provides $200 million annually to B.C. Ferries.

Furstenau promised to conduct a full review of B.C. Ferries operations focused on providing an efficient, public service for British Columbians, and on improving the role of ferries in B.C.'s transportation network.

B.C. Ferries posted consolidated net earnings of $28.8 million for fiscal 2020 (April 1 to March 31), compared to earnings of $52.2 million in 2019. The corporation blamed the COVID-19 pandemic for the decline in revenue.

Federal environment minister Jonathan Wilkinson has said the ferry service would be eligible for some of the $540-million financial package meant to spur recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.