The Tyee.ca

Rumours fly across the inland waters at least as swiftly as one of Glen Clark’s fast cats, and stories are thick as fog on the Georgia Strait about big changes coming to BC Ferries. My Brother the Lawyer, for example, came off his latest crossing from Victoria fretful about what he’d heard from a ferry crewman down on the car deck -- a troubling account of luxury business class lounges, open only to high rollers willing to pay extra for the top end of two tier travel.

If true, that would mark a social, well, sea change here in B.C.  Up till now, no matter what else divided folks across the province, we all traveled together on the ferries, (unless, like Jimmy Pattison, we have our own yacht, or are so poor we can’t afford to travel at all) and we all braved together the uncertain mercies of the Sunshine Breakfast. But now I’d heard that BC Ferries, following the broader trend in this province, was about to sort citizens into first class and steerage.

So I called up Mark Stefanson, the VP for Corporate Communications over at the BC Ferry Services Incorporated headquarters in Victoria, to ask him about the rumours. He confirmed what was already posted on the webpage, that the Spirit of British Columbia is out of service until mid March for upgrade and re-fit (a process to be repeated later in the spring for the Spirit of Vancouver Island.) The Spirit of British Columbia, he told me, still echoing the contents of the webpage, will receive a “complete passenger amenities renovation”, including an expanded passenger gift shop and upgraded cafeteria, a re-designed buffet, renovated washrooms, re-upholstered seating, new flooring and carpeting. In addition, four new big screen TV’s will be installed in the upper passenger lounges and on the car deck, the pet waiting area will be improved.

Floating business lounge

So far, so good. Most of this sounded pretty straightforward to me, although the argument for TV screens on a ferry passing through some of the most heart-stopping scenery in the world is a bit unclear. However, notable by its absence from Mr. Stefanson’s account was anything about the luxury business lounges. When pressed, the BC Ferries spokesman did admit that,  “…in response to customer requests,” the refit on the two ferries was going to include the possibility of new luxury business lounges, and that a “pilot project” involving two-tier travel was in the works for the spring.  The “premium lounges,” he told me, will feature free coffee and pastry, newspapers and magazines, and, as technological glitches are resolved, satellite linked internet access.

Mr. Stefanson was unable or unwilling to tell The Tyee how much the premium lounge infrastructure installation was going to add to the cost of the refit, what the luxury passengers would pay for their softer ride through Active Pass, how long the pilot study would last, how much of the ferry space would be given over to the new lounges, or why the premium lounge installation was not listed with the rest of the planned refit on the BC Ferries website. 

The administration, he said, was unwilling to say anything further on these questions for at least another two weeks, at which point he could arrange an interview with yet another Vice President, who might have the details of the pilot project in hand and be able to speak for attribution about it. But for the present, no further comment.

Why the hush hush?

I wondered what the union that represents ferry workers had to say on this question, so I placed several calls to Jackie Miller, the president of the BC Ferry and Marine Workers. After three days of messages left and not answered, I got a voicemail from one of the president’s aides indicating that the union had no comment on this matter.

As that well-known political pundit Alice in Wonderland would say -- “curiouser and curiouser.”  Just why, I’m left wondering, is this topic left out of public notice on the ferry refits, why is BC Ferry’s Vice President for Corporate Communication so uncommunicative about the matter, and why, finally, is the union so reluctant to comment?

Is someone in the BC Ferry boardroom nervous that British Columbians might not approve a transition to class coded travel on our ferries?

Is the union, bruised from its last run-in with management at the end of 2003, unwilling to pick another fight in public?

Will the new luxury two tier business lounges be justified as required by the financial crisis of the ferry services, a crisis caused, at least according to one well informed observer (Patrick Brown, writing in the Jan. 29, 2004 “Island Tides”) by the three quarter billion dollar asset stripping that occurred when the former BC Ferry Corporation was privatized and morphed into the BC Ferry Services Incorporated?

Sunny side up

Perhaps all these questions will be answered when the promised interview is granted to The Tyee in few weeks, or perhaps the curious silence on these matters will continue. In either case, The Tyee is intrigued now, and will keep our readership informed. Meanwhile, next time you’re on board the Spirit of British Columbia, you can go watch the giant TVs or check into the first class lounge if you like. I’ll just hang around on deck and watch for whales until it’s time to go enjoy the Sunshine Breakfast.

Vancouver writer Tom Sandborn is a frequent contributor to The Tyee.