This isn't local politics but it does have an effect on everyone in Tofino.Recent announcements from BC Ferries said that ridership is dropping to a 20 year low...BC Ferries CEO David Hahn blames high fuel costs and the strong Canadian dollar....
So what if we stopped running BC Ferries as a Crown Corporation and looked at how it fits in with the Province as a whole ???....The province gets zero HST from people who travel south for their vacations or business....If we slashed BC Ferries rates to the point where people traveled to Vancouver Island again the ferries might lose money but the Province would probably gain more in HST revenue than the ferry loss......
I took a ferry from Horseshoe Bay to Nanaimo this Friday and it wasn't anywhere near full...the round trip fare for a car and driver was nearly $150.00 !!.rather than raising rates let's lower them and get people vacationing and spending on Vancouver Island !!
Parks Canada and local tourism groups are all reporting that numbers of visitors are way down....the Province can't control the exchange rate with the US dollar but they have absolute control over BC Ferry fares.
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