BC Ferries faces growing pressure to keep volunteer advisory committees

BC Ferries is navigating more choppy waters, with growing pressure to reverse course on its decision to eliminate Ferry Advisory Committees.

The committees are made up of volunteers representing the concerns of 13 coastal regions served by BC Ferries.

“Thank you for your service, weve really appreciated it, you’ve brought value, but you’re fired,” is how Diana Mumford, the chair of the Ferry Advisor Committees, described finding out about the change last week over a conference call.

The advisory committees have existed for decades, but BC Ferries has decided they will be replaced with a largely digital system.

Spokesperson Jeff Groot said the change will help make sure “BC Ferries can hear directly from all of these people who have feedback for us."

Harman Bhangu, transportation critic for the B.C. Conservatives wants the company to change its mind, and is pushing for a meeting with BC Ferries CEO Nicolas Jiminez and board chair Joy MacPhail.

“The choice of action was to get rid of the volunteers,” said Bhangu on Wednesday. “Maybe start looking inside first, before you start getting rid fo the volunteers.”

News of the move to lose the committees came at a time when the company was already experiencing tough public relations, having warned that rates could soar by 30 percent in 2028.

BC Ferries issued a statement Wednesday defending its decision, saying the shift to digital reflects what communities and stakeholders told them – that they want a more inclusive and direct process for feedback.

The committees are scheduled to be scrapped by the spring. BC Ferries said a new system to lodge concerns and complaints will be in place by then.