Nanaimo Port Authority, in lease negotiations for a privately run foot ferry, will reach out to MLAs for more information on last week’s throne speech, which said the B.C. government will pursue a Nanaimo-to-Vancouver passenger ferry connection.
“We haven’t had any serious interactions the last little bit with the government because of the election and what not, so we will be reaching out to some of the MLAs and trying to get into the minister’s office to see what it all means, if the government is looking at some support or what exactly those comments were,” said Bernie Dumas, president and chief executive officer of the port authority.
The speech last Thursday laid out the government’s intentions for the coming session of the legislature.
Transportation Minister Todd Stone could not be reached for an interview, but in an e-mail statement said as per the Liberals’ Vancouver Island platform and reaffirmed in the throne speech, they are committed to working with local government officials and the third-party operator to make a passenger ferry between Nanaimo and Vancouver a reality.
The NPA is currently in negotiations with Island Ferries, the company that emerged from a competitive process as the preferred proponent for a passenger ferry service.
According to Dumas, discussions are preliminary with the port trying to give Island Ferries something it can use to secure its complete financial package and get the service going before the port works toward a formal lease.
“We told Island Ferries that negotiating a formal lease requires some facts; we’re not going to get into it unless they do have the financing,” said Dumas, although he added that the port is far more optimistic than it’s been in some time that Island Ferries can complete its financial package and be able to start the service.
“The dialogue has been much more positive over the last couple months with Island Ferries and their dealings with the other side in Vancouver,” he said. “It sounds like things are moving in the right direction and we just need to work together and then we’ll get in discussions with our partners and try to finalize.”
Dave Marshall, Island Ferries’ director of operations, said said the company is pleased with the way the conversation is going and to see the passenger ferry in the throne speech.
“We just want their support,” he said of the province, adding that Stone has stated the province would not permit B.C. Ferries to initiate a competing service from Nanaimo to Vancouver.
In 2014, the News Bulletin reported Stone doesn’t support the elimination of B.C. Ferries’ Nanaimo-to-Horseshoe Bay route or replacing it with passenger-only service.
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