Transportation Minister Rob Fleming said he does not want a repeat of BC Ferries害羞草研究所� performance during the Canada Day long weekend on the B.C. Day long weekend and beyond.
害羞草研究所淲e do not want to happen again, we do not expect that to happen again for the B.C. Day weekend or Labour Day weekend,害羞草研究所� Fleming said Tuesday (July 4) at an unrelated event in Greater Victoria.
He made those comment after travellers on BC Ferries had to endure cancellations, long waits and periodic outages of the company害羞草研究所檚 website for the second long weekend in a row. Travellers also experienced disruptions on the Victoria Day long weekend.
害羞草研究所淲hat we saw this (Canada Day) weekend was unacceptable,害羞草研究所� Fleming, adding that the loss of a major vessel 害羞草研究所� the Coastal Celebration 害羞草研究所� serving the Greater Victoria-Greater Vancouver route exacerbated the situation.
BC Ferries had to cancel 48 sailings ahead of the Canada Day long weekend because crews had discovered problems with the vessel害羞草研究所檚 propulsion while it was undergoing refitting. It returned to service Tuesday (July 4), well behind the original return date of June 15.
These sail cancellations forced BC Ferries to spread reservations onto other vessels, cutting space for stand-by travellers. Labour shortages also led to cancellations.
Fleming害羞草研究所檚 assessment of BC Ferries害羞草研究所� performance came after its president and chief Nicholas Jimenez had publicly said that this past long weekend represented the new normal in the face of labour shortages.
害羞草研究所淚 think Mr. Jimenez is correct 害羞草研究所� every long weekend is always a challenge,害羞草研究所� Fleming said.
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But what made this weekend additionally stressful was the system害羞草研究所檚 reduced capacity stemming from the Coastal Celebration being out of service and labour shortages on later runs, Fleming added before issuing his expectation that future long weekends will unfold more smoothly.
All refit activities for the year are complete and all 20 vessels have done their safety trials, he said. BC Ferries has also just wrapped up what Fleming called the busiest hiring period in the company害羞草研究所檚 history.
害羞草研究所淲e have to do better,害羞草研究所� Fleming said. 害羞草研究所淚 said that before the long weekend and we will do better and I know that Mr. Jimenez is working on that and we害羞草研究所檒l be sharing how that害羞草研究所檚 going to happen in advance of the B.C. Day weekend.害羞草研究所�
Like all companies in the transportation industry, BC Ferries is dealing with labour shortages, Fleming said, adding that the company is moving in the right direction.
While Fleming did not directly answer whether Jimenez was down to his last strike after the Victoria Day and Canada Day long weekends, Fleming made it clear that the spotlight will be on him.
害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 up to Mr. Jimenez and his executive team and everybody who works at BC Ferries to pull together and do better for the B.C. Day long weekend, which, in fact, I believe is busier than the Canada Day long weekend,害羞草研究所� Fleming said. 害羞草研究所淪o yes, it will be proving time that long weekend to make sure that what is always a testing, busy, long weekend is managed as well as it can be.害羞草研究所�
Fleming also appeared to signal that BC Ferries should not necessarily expect any additional support from the province in pointing to a long list of investments since the NDP came to office, including $500 million to limit fare hikes.
Fleming praised BC Ferries害羞草研究所� decision to look at wages, even though the current labour agreement is valid through Oct. 31, 2025.
害羞草研究所淚 think it害羞草研究所檚 very good, very positive that BC Ferries is doing a wage re-opener that they don害羞草研究所檛 have to,害羞草研究所� he said. 害羞草研究所淲e want BC Ferries to be competitive and attracting skilled personnel.害羞草研究所�
But he paired this statement with the expectation that some of the additional money from the province go toward that goal.
害羞草研究所淲e expect some of our additional money to go into those activities and make the company more efficient as well,害羞草研究所� Fleming said.
害羞草研究所淲e have to solve the labour shortages in order to increase the reliability of the sailings害羞草研究所π卟菅芯克鶟
wolfgang.depner@blackpress.ca
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