The following is an open letter to BC Ferries Commissioner Eva Hage
Dear Ms. Hage,
BCF’s July 22, 2022 response to your recommendations on the need to strengthen engagement with communities is both timely and applauded as BCF has systematically ignored Denman Islanders’ feedback in three major areas that profoundly affect our safety and quality of life.
These areas are failing to mitigate the problem of traffic safety caused by Hornby drivers speeding across Denman to and from the Gravelly Bay terminal, failing to implement islanders’ choice of the greenest and least expensive of the three options for the Gravelly Bay Terminal expansion; and failure to include islanders’ unanimous and strong opposition to replacing the Quinitsa with a cable ferry.
BCF has received numerous complaints about how its policies are putting islanders at peril as Hornby-bound drivers race back and forth across Denman. Pedestrians and cyclists fear for their safety, cars are frequently being run off the road, and social and environmental concerns are escalating. One respondent to the 2017 Gravelly Bay Terminal expansion survey fears this problem is a tragedy waiting to happen. To date, however, BCF has failed to engage with the community and suggestions for mitigation have been ignored.
BCF failed to consult meaningfully with the community regarding the Gravelly Bay Terminal expansion. Advertising was scanty and consultation in 2017/18 was inadequate—only 67 residents attended the in-house event and only 45 submitted a survey from a then population of 1,600. On its website, BCF states islanders chose the greenest and least expensive plan that reflected Denman’s core value of preserving and protecting a natural environment. However, BCF approved the least green and most expensive plan that involved cutting down 127 trees and triggering the current protest. Rather than interpreting this protest as an opportunity for community engagement, a BCF spokesperson characterized the protestors as “stalling” a work order and BCF has yet to explain why it dismissed the islanders’ green choice.
BCF has been inundated since 2015 with complaints about the unreliability of the cable ferry that was approved by your predecessor despite strong and well-argued island feedback. The excessively long wait times due to mechanical failures, which have been dismissed by BCF as “anticipated maintenance,” have created profound safety fears especially for school children stranded overnight or for hours at Buckley Bay and are the direct cause of off-island service workers doubling and tripling transportation fees. Many islanders who are struggling financially are considering moving to where they are not dependent on BCF. To date, however, BCF has ignored community feedback despite our fears for the children.
I am hopeful that BCF will honour its commitment to meaningfully engage with Denman Islanders to resolve the above problems. However, if islander feedback continues to be misinterpreted or ignored, BCF’s highly promoted engagement policy will remain mere marketing and its policies paternalistic.
Respectfully
Sharon Small
Denman Island Resident