Latest news with #B.C. Ferries
CBC
01-08-2025
- CBC
What travellers can expect during the B.C. Day long weekend
Social Sharing As British Columbians gear up to celebrate B.C. Day, officials are urging the public to plan ahead and stay safe amid expected travel congestion on ferries, highways and at airports. B.C. Ferries says the long weekend is its busiest of the year, and it's anticipating a five per cent increase in vehicles and a 10 per cent increase in passengers on routes between the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island compared to an average summer weekend. Traffic is expected to match last year's levels, and the corporation says all 37 vessels in its fleet are deployed and operating at full capacity, including the 61-year-old Queen of New Westminster. "In just the past month, that one vessel has experienced 10 mechanical and electrical issues: engine leaks, power interruptions, faulty alarms," said the company in a statement to CBC News. While none of the issues caused delays or cancellations, all required immediate attention. The ferry operator says its aging fleet wasn't built for current demand and is calling for fleet upgrades, adding that travel demand is projected to rise by 15 per cent over the next few years — "outpacing our capacity even with four new vessels." Ferries have faced significant challenges in recent years, from staffing shortages to last-minute cancellations and sailing waits. Last year, the propeller fell off the Queen of New Westminster, leading to 200 days of travel disruptions and costing the corporation roughly $15 million. On Friday, there were sailing delays across several routes due to heavy traffic, with crews taking extra time to load additional vehicles. More delays are expected throughout the day. All vehicle reservations on major routes are currently full, and travellers without bookings are being urged to consider off-peak times, alternate routes, or walk-on travel options. Busy summer traffic at Vancouver airport Vancouver International Airport says August is expected to be the busiest month of the summer, with more than 2.7 million passengers travelling through the airport, which accounts for 40 per cent of its total summer travels between mid-June and early September. The airport expects to welcome approximately 359,586 travellers, a 7.4 per cent increase from last year, during this long weekend alone from Aug 1 to Aug. 4. Friday is expected to be the busiest day, with nearly 92,000 passengers passing through the airport. The most popular destinations from YVR this weekend include Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton and Montreal, with San Francisco taking the fifth spot as the top U.S. spot. As travellers pack into YVR, staffing shortages at Nav Canada, the country's air navigation service provider, caused delays to dozens of flights on Thursday. While the situation was resolved later that evening, flight disruptions tied to air traffic control have been reported across Canada in recent months. WATCH | More than 200 flights delayed at YVR: Vancouver airport slammed with long weekend flight delays 1 month ago The airport was slammed with over 200 flight delays on the Canada Day long weekend as well, largely due to a critical shortage of air traffic controllers. Border delays persist amid drop in southbound travel Border wait times for southbound travel at the Peace Arch and Pacific Highway crossings exceeded one hour on Friday afternoon. But overall, southbound traffic from B.C. into Washington state has dropped significantly in recent months. Data from the Whatcom Council of Governments shows southbound travel from B.C. into Washington state was down 43 per cent in June compared to the same time last year. Traffic has declined each month since February, when U.S. President Donald Trump began seriously talking about tariffing Canadian goods. Now, he has signed an executive order increasing the tariff rate, which had been set at 25 per cent since March, to 35 per cent as of Friday. Last month, nearly 89,000 fewer crossings were recorded across the Lower Mainland's five major entry points compared to the previous June. WATCH | Border sees drop in southbound crossings from B.C.: Border crossings from B.C. to U.S. down for 5th month in a row 29 days ago ICBC and police urge caution on the roads With so many people expected to travel by car, ICBC is warning drivers to take precautions against fatigue, particularly during long, hot drives. "Seventy-one per cent more people are injured or killed in fatigue-related crashes in July and August in B.C. compared to the rest of the year," the corporation said in a statement this week. "Consider how you feel before getting behind the wheel," said Kathleen Nadalin, ICBC's road safety manager. "If you're feeling rested, keep in mind that hot summer weather can be draining, especially on long drives." On average, the B.C. Day long weekend sees two people killed and over 560 injured in more than 2,000 crashes provincewide, including nearly 400 injuries in the Lower Mainland alone. B.C. RCMP and B.C. Highway Patrol say officers will be conducting roadside checks throughout the weekend. In a social media post, Cpl. Michael McLaughlin says officers are focused on curbing speed-related crashes after "a high number of fatalities in recent weeks."
CBC
14-07-2025
- Business
- CBC
Calls to cancel B.C. Ferries contract with China misguided, say mayors in ferry-reliant communities
Social Sharing B.C. Ferries' announcement that its four new vessels will be built in China has made waves, with the ripple effects reaching all the way to Ottawa. Canada's transport minister, Chrystia Freeland, has said she's disappointed with the decision and the Conservatives, both federally and in B.C., have gone further, saying the deal should be scrapped entirely. But no Canadian companies bid on the contract, and B.C. Ferries says it would have cost at least $1 billion more to have the ferries built in Europe. Some mayors in ferry-dependent communities say residents don't care where the new ships are built, as long as it results in more reliable service and affordable fares. Marine industry association weighs in on shipbuilding growth in B.C. 3 days ago Duration 7:04 Sechelt Mayor John Henderson says the political rhetoric ignores the needs of people in his community who rely on the ferries as their highway system. "We need these built, we need them built yesterday," Henderson said. "As ferry-dependent users, we don't really care [where they're built], because we need them." Henderson acknowledges the new vessels will service the larger routes, and not smaller communities like his, but they will help improve the overall reliability of B.C. Ferries' aging fleet. "To stop this process and start it again in a new fashion, we're not talking months, we're talking years, and we don't have years." Andrew Leonard, the mayor of Bowen Island, says his residents are affected when B.C. Ferries ships that are well past their lifespan break down and are out of service. "The trickle-down effect is that does cause chaos in the Horseshoe Bay terminal," said Leonard, which can in turn disrupt the smaller ferries heading to Bowen Island. That's why, he says, the political debate about where the ferries will be made is "disconnected" from the needs of local residents. "I'm not sure how big of a deal it is if there's not Canadian capacity to build those vessels," Leonard said. North Vancouver's Seaspan, B.C.'s largest shipyard, did not bid on the contract because it's busy building ships for the Royal Canadian Navy. "I think going forward, there's a huge opportunity to work with the federal government to ensure our shipbuilding industry has the opportunity to build these ferries right here in Canada," said Premier David Eby. Eby also points out that B.C. Ferries is getting short shrift when it comes to federal cash for ferries, compared to ferries in Atlantic Canada. B.C. Ferries received $35.6 million from Ottawa last year. Based on 22.7 million passengers that year, that amounts to $1.50 per passenger. Compare that to Marine Atlantic, which received $192 million from the federal government while servicing 367,786 passengers. That breaks down to $522 per passenger. Transport committee launching study of B.C. Ferries' $1B loan for Chinese ships 6 days ago Duration 2:28 The controversial decision to buy a new B.C. Ferries vessel from China has caught the attention of the federal government. The Transport Committee in Ottawa is promising to investigate a loan the Canada Infrastructure Bank gave B.C. Ferries for the purchase. Michelle Morton has more on the concerns being raised about how taxpayer dollars are being invested while Canada faces a trade war. Trevor Heaver, a UBC professor emeritus who specializes in transport economics, says the federal government's relationship with Marine Atlantic — a federal Crown corporation that operates ferries between Newfoundland and Nova Scotia — is different than that with B.C. Ferries, a private company owned by the B.C. government. "[Marine Atlantic's] relationship with the federal government is completely different than B.C. Ferries because Canada has an obligation under Confederation to support those ferries," Heaver said. The federal government agreed to provide subsidies for ferries when Atlantic provinces joined Confederation in 1867, whereas Ottawa's funding for B.C. Ferries was negotiated by former premier Bill Bennett in 1977. Nonetheless, Eby is using that disparity to bolster his argument that B.C. is consistently forgotten by Ottawa, while central and Atlantic Canada reap the rewards. The premier also points out that one of Marine Atlantic's newest ships was built in the same Chinese state-owned company, CMI Weihei Shipyards, without a similar backlash. "In fact, a [Marine Atlantic] ferry was built at the exact same Chinese shipyard as the B.C. Ferries [ships] are going to be built and their ferry[is] paid for in its entirety, whereas the West Coast only qualifies for a loan." It follows criticism from provincial and federal Conservatives, who say the loan contradicts statements from Freeland that no federal money would subsidize the contract with China. Kiel Giddens, the B.C. Conservative labour critic, says a key piece of legislation passed to respond to tariff threats — Bill 7 — gives the power to overturn procurement decisions to prioritize a made-in-Canada approach. "We think [the NDP] government should actually be cancelling this contract and bringing some of these jobs back home," Giddens said. "If not full capacity here, design your procurement in a way that it will be possible for some Canadian jobs and the rest with Canada's allies." Heaver says demanding that the ships be made in Canada — even at a higher cost — ignores the principles of global free trade. "The notion that ships to be operated by BC Ferries should be constructed in Canada is acting rather like Mr. Trump," said Heaver, pointing to the U.S. president's protectionist policies such as tariffs. B.C. shipyard contracted to build federal vessels but not local ferries 18 days ago Duration 2:07 There have been questions over why a B.C. Ferries' contract went to a Chinese shipyard instead of North Vancouver's Seaspan. As Leanne Yu reports, B.C.'s largest shipyard is already busy with federal projects. "We have fundamentally to accept that we can't do all things," Heaver said. "And that we rely on a competitive process to use resources most efficiently for the benefit of consumers." Some ferry users who spoke to CBC News at the Swartz Bay terminal in North Saanich say the upgraded vessels can't come fast enough. "I'm always concerned about value for dollars," says Erroll Winter, who lives on the Lower Mainland. "Certainly I'd like [the contract] to go toward Canadian builders if it's possible, but I'm also torn between the costs of the ferries. They're already very expensive."
CBC
14-07-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Calls to cancel B.C. Ferries contract with China misguided, say some mayors
B.C. Ferries' announcement that its four new ships will be built in China has caused a political storm. Some federal and provincial politicians are calling for the deal to be scrapped entirely. But as Katie DeRosa reports, local mayors say the criticism ignores the pressing needs of people in ferry-dependent communities.
