By Rachael Lesosky | Valley Voice
After months of ferry strike action on Kootenay Lake, the Regional District of Central Kootenay is advocating for the Province to deem inland ferries an essential service for BC residents.
During its January 16 meeting, the board supported electoral Area E Director Cheryl Graham’s motion to send a letter to Premier David Eby and Minister of Transportation and Transit Mike Farnworth. The RDCK will also forward the letter to the union (BCGEU) and the employer (Western Pacific Marine).
Graham’s constituents in Harrop and Procter – along with Area I Director Andy Davidoff’s in Glade – were recently threatened by job action that would reduce ferry services to their water-access-only communities.
The Labour Relations Board (LRB) ruled on January 6 that the union could reduce Harrop-Procter and Glade sailings, although that ruling has been stayed and there has been no reduction of service yet. Harrop-Procter and Glade have 24/7 on-demand service.
“I don’t know if this ruling was made by someone who has never been to the area,” said Graham, “but to rule that eight runs [a day] would be sufficient to meet the basic needs of the people in Harrop-Procter is woefully inadequate.”
Graham has heard from residents that if sailings are reduced, they will resort to canoes and rowboats to cross the bitter-cold waters of Kootenay Lake.
The union feels that the stay removes its ability to pressure the employer by imposing some level of inconvenience on the public. But on January 23, the LRB ruled against the union’s request to lift it.
“We are not in a position to draw the line between what is a mere ‘inconvenience’ to members of the public and what amounts to a threat to their welfare,” reads the LRB’s decision.
Meanwhile, residents in Area A are still being inconvenienced since ferry workers on the Osprey sailing between Balfour and Kootenay Bay began strike action on November 3. Monday to Friday is limited to three sailings daily, and weekends see only two sailings each day.
While Harrop, Procter, and Glade can only be accessed by boat, residents in Kootenay Bay and Crawford Bay can technically still get to the west side of Kootenay Lake via Hwy 3 over the Kootenay Pass. However, instead of a 40-minute ferry ride, it’s an almost three-hour detour.
Kootenay-Columbia MP Rob Morrison is also taking a stand. On January 23, he met with Minister of Labour Jennifer Whiteside to discuss the ongoing service disruption.
“Our communities depend on these ferry services, and this prolonged disruption is causing significant hardship for families and businesses alike,” he said in a media release on January 24. “I’ve heard directly from constituents who are struggling to access essential services, and from business owners watching their operations suffer.”
The RDCK board also supported a motion from Area I Director Davidoff to urge the LRB to recognize, in the BC Labour Relations Code essential service provisions, the toll these kinds of disputes take on the mental health and welfare of BC residents.
“If you were in the community hall in Glade on New Year’s Eve like I was… the fear, anxiety, and pain in that room, about being used and trapped and having sailing reductions… that’s not something that I would ever want to go through again,” he told the board. “I’ve only felt that kind of pain at a funeral.”
