BC Conservatives pledge to ‘overhaul’ BC Ferries as campaign enters home stretch

BC Conservative Party Leader John Rustad unveiled a connection Thursday to “overhaul” BC Ferries if elected.

Speaking astatine shipbuilding institution Seaspan’s North Vancouver works yard, Rusdad said nether the BC NDP authorities the province’s ferry work had go unaccountable and plagued by service, mechanical and staffing problems.

Rustad promised a caller flat-fee programme for predominant ferry users.

“Locals that usage the ferries connected a day-to-day ground conflict sometimes to adjacent get connected the ferry due to the fact that determination tin beryllium truthful galore bookings successful presumption of reservations and they are conscionable asking, saying, ‘Look, we request to beryllium capable to usage it, this is our lifeline, this is the mode we get backmost and distant to enactment and to services,'” helium said.

“So we privation to marque definite that determination is simply a precedence for locals.”

Rustad added that BC Ferries is not presently delivering a profit, but simultaneously pledged to “protect the rates arsenic champion we tin successful the state truthful that they are arsenic affordable arsenic possible.”

He said a Conservative authorities would make a BC Ferries Charter to specify show and work expectations for the Ferry Authority and necktie enforcement wage to performance.

Rustad besides pledged that a Conservative authorities would prioritize gathering caller ferries successful British Columbia.

BC Ferries is successful the midst of a large vas replacement process that aims to present 7 caller ample ferries successful 2 phases implicit the adjacent decade.

Seaspan has said the ferry company’s absorption connected low-cost bids has pushed it retired of contention owed to planetary competitors having little labour costs.

Rustad said helium would similar to spot astatine slightest the 2 vessels to beryllium delivered successful the 2nd signifier built successful B.C.

“There’s much than 4,000 workers present astatine Seaspan, some present and successful Victoria. They’re arrogant each time of the enactment that they do,” helium said.

“As Canadians and British Columbians, we should beryllium arrogant and supportive of our shipbuilding manufacture successful British Columbia.

The BC Conservatives, Rustad said, would propulsion the national authorities for bigger contributions successful bid to assistance wage for caller ferry operation and work improvements.

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“We privation to marque definite we combat hard with Ottawa to get our just stock of the backing that’s needed for infrastructure to beryllium upgraded, for america to person that enactment we request for BC Ferries.”

Much of the question-and-answer period, however, was dominated by Rustad’s effect to decade-old societal media comments by South Surrey campaigner Brent Chapman calling Palestinian children “little inbred walking talking breathing clip bombs.”

Rustad said Chapman had apologized for the “unacceptable” comments, and that helium had accepted the apology.

BC NDP Leader David Eby, meanwhile, was campaigning successful Coquitlam wherever helium pledged to prosecute much doctors if re-elected.

Eby said his authorities had connected 250,000 radical with a household doc successful the past 2 years, and estimated different 160,000 radical would beryllium connected with a doc successful the adjacent six months.

“We’re doing things similar we volition beryllium directing the College of Physicians and Surgeons to contented provisional licences to internationally-trained doctors and nurses wrong six weeks and directing them to contented contiguous provisional licences to doctors from different provinces successful Canada to signifier successful British Columbia, the aforesaid happening for nurses,” Eby said.

BC Green Party Leader Sonia Furstenau was successful Victoria connected Friday, wherever the enactment is honing successful connected what it sees arsenic “winnable ridings.”

Furstenau has moved from the Cowichan Valley riding to the territory of Victoria-Beacon Hill wherever she is challenging NDP furniture curate Grace Lore.

The archetypal of six days of aboriginal voting opened crossed British Columbia connected Thursday.

Election time is Oct. 19.