Masset Mayor Must Be On Dope Like Rob Ford

[Dogbreath]

This Guy must be on the pipe this is the most idiotic thing I've heard this year.The fact is that the few thousand people who live in back of beyond don't have guns to their heads keeping them their neither can they put a piece to the head of other BCers to have us pay for their little hidey holes in the bush.

Toll Vancouver bridges to save BC Ferries routes: mayor


Andrew Merilees, the mayor of Masset, says Vancouver needs to pay up and help northern communities

CBC News Posted: Dec 06, 2013 12:16 PM PT Last Updated: Dec 06, 2013 12:16 PM PT

Masset mayor Andrew Merilees thinks Lower Mainland bridges, including Vancouver's Lions Gate, should be tolled, with money funneled north to pay for BC Ferries service.




The mayor of Masset on Haida Gwaii thinks Vancouver should start paying to help his community in the wake of dramatic BC Ferries cuts.
Andrew Merilees admits his idea is radical: toll bridges in the Lower Mainland, with the sole purpose of subsidizing the ferry system and saving northern routes from the chopping block. He wants to start with Vancouver’s busy Lions Gate Bridge.
“If every vehicle was a quarter, they would raise millions and millions and millions of dollars that could go to supporting the transportation infrastructure of the province,” says Merilees.
The province recently announced that service between Haida Gwaii and Prince Rupert will be cut by 52 sailings a year, starting in April 2014.
Merilees says the cuts will affect everything from medical treatment to groceries to tourism, and he believes it’s only fair that Vancouver help affected communities such as his.
“They’re being subsidized to a way larger extent than we are, and we’re not getting the basic services that the rest of the province is getting.”

 

[Fish Assassin]

That's a great idea.... Unless you live in the mainland, who's going to care.

Maybe another gas tax in Vancouver would help

 

[pescador]

No subsidizing. User pay is the responsible way to charge for all BC Ferry operations. If you wish to live on an Island, there are consequences. Some good, some not so good.

 

[Hookin'up]

No subsidizing. User pay is the responsible way to charge for all BC Ferry operations. If you wish to live on an Island, there are consequences. Some good, some not so good.

This......... X10

 

[Fish Assassin]

Maybe they should just raise the price for users..... That way I'd never feel like going to Vancouver and it would keep the mainlanders over there.....

 

[Sharphooks]

hey, wait a minute--I just moved to an island. Isn't there some small way that all the other islanders could cover my island habit? Nobody warned me I'd have to take a ferry to get on and off---just doesn't seem equitable to me that now I have to pay.

I'm all for subsidies and socialistic entitlement pay outs---I just hope all the other people's money holds out while I'm busy spending it for them...

 

[Sculpin]

No subsidizing. User pay is the responsible way to charge for all BC Ferry operations. If you wish to live on an Island, there are consequences. Some good, some not so good.

And who pays for a lot of the infrastructure on the LML and metro Vancouver area? No subsidization??? If you wish to live in a crammed up, worst thought out transportation system for a big city there are consequences. Some good, some not so good. Like dealing with your own garbage!!! You choose to live there with millions of others then grow up and deal with the mess you make.

I went to school with the mayor of Masset and Andrew is a great guy. Sure the idea doesn't turn everyone's crank but look in the mirror before throwing stones. It's probably a reach but a least it's an idea.

I guess what I am getting at is why are you pissed if he is looking for something from another community when your mayor is looking for something from another community. Not totally apples to apples but I hope you can see the similarities.

Have you seen the old bill board on the way to Cache Creek?

 

[Dogbreath]

Everyone who lives in the Lower Mainland pays many times over for transportation and garbage disposal-this wingnut in Masset want us to pay for his too!

Classic wingnuttery that.

 

[bigbruce]

Then how do you explain the millions and millions both the Federal Government and Provincial Government sunk into the Canada Line?? Some of that was my money and I don't live anywhere near where it is being spent.

 

[Sculpin]

Everyone who lives in the Lower Mainland pays many times over for transportation and garbage disposal-this wingnut in Masset want us to pay for his too!

Classic wingnuttery that.

Everyone in the Province pitches in something towards your so called transportation system not just those living there. Ask the folks in Masset, Vancouver Island, Prince George or any other Community in BC how they feel about that. I don't think his request was that far off now that I think about it. We are one Province remember!!! We are a GREAT Province at that, where everyone helps each other out, and we make it through thick and thin. Why are you so special that you can slam a coastal community, that you have frequented at your convenience for fishing, but have asked them to "just suck it up buttercup" when push comes to shove.

If the folks running the LML communities could get their act together and come up with a transportation system that is up to snuff with the rest of the world then it wouldn't hurt as much (failed project after project). Every single person in this Province contributes to those failures that you keep voting into power.

Take a look at Sydney Australia for a great example of how a transportation system should be.

Subsidization was the hot key for me and others. Look into it before throwing stones and being so self righteous.

 

[Dogbreath]

Mixed up doesn't begin to describe the POV of some posters here.

 

[Sculpin]

Mixed up doesn't begin to describe the POV of some posters here.

Nothing mixed up here. Just common sense is all. "If you choose to live somewhere".........LOL. Look in the mirror folks. It's not that hard to grasp.

Look for more reach outs in the near future .

If you choose to live in a density such as the LML than that is your choice. The bigger the density the bigger the impact on the Province as a whole. Not that hard to figure out.

Move out of the city is my recommendation ha ha.

 

[sly_karma]

The nuttery is the concept that BC Ferries should be run as a profit-making business. If there were a viable, profitable business opportunity in our coastal ferries, private enterprise would already be there making money. Whilst I'm all for sensible business practices being employed, BC's coastal ferries will never be a money maker. The current management model using the big volume routes to subsidise the smaller ones has caused large price increases and significant drops in ridership as a result. That's a cut in business viability for communities all up and down the coast. Now we see cuts to sailings for a lot of small communities. That will cause more businesses to leave those communities or reduce their presence there. That in turn causes another round of impacts to coastal towns and villages.

If we want our province to thrive, we have to embrace it all, as it is. You can't blame people for living where they choose to live. Many grew up in those communities, many more came there with a not unreasonable expectation that there would be continued ferry service. A lot of those 'newcomers' brought capital and business activity with them. Now you want to dump them? How will it impact YOUR community when those newly unemployed coastal folks move in and compete for jobs with you or your kids?

If we let one part sink, we all sink sooner or later. Being part of BC - and Canada - means accepting there are parts that need support and that other parts must help with that. The only thing 'broken' about the BC ferries system is the self-funding model. Safety is good, facilities are good, efficiency is decent - how about YOU try loading 300 vehicles on a ship in under 15 minutes? A 'loss' of a few million shouldn't be viewed as a loss at all, it should be seen as a reasonable cost to maintain a network of communities and settlements on the difficult geography of the west coast and inside passage. I think continuation of fees for service is reasonable, but we need to accept there is cost involved in keeping the lifelines open to the islands. We won't be abandoning towns, we'll be giving up on people.

 

[Last Chance]

Not trying to derail the thread, here is how my logic sees it:

This sort of thing grinds me gears. If someone wants to live on a remote gulf island, then maybe 2 sailings a day should be it. The main routes that subsidize the rest of the other routes have a real economic contribution to Vancouver Island; the Cortes Island ferry, as an example does not. (And I quite like Cortes Island, white sandy beaches and all)

I will live on Vancouver Island and pay my share to go to the mainland. If I want to live on Cortes Island, I'll expect to pay more.

It's a fine line, but in the end, money talks, the main routes to Vancouver Island support a major economic backbone, as well as the provincial capital. The gulf islands support a lifestyle.

As for running for profit? BC Ferries, being in the shipping business, regrettably, should have to turn a profit, as salt water is darn corrosive. The money should be sitting there for replacement ships, maintenance, etc, just like a private business. It’s not like a bridge that you have to plow from time to time, or a highway that needs resurfacing every 40 years, these are large dynamic costs that have to be dealt with. If it were back as a Crown Corp, it would be like ICBC, where it's just a cash cow for whatever government is in power, at least semi private, it's somewhat harder for the hands to hit the cookie jar.

At the end of the day, a bridge would fix all the problems, but we don’t have a spare 100 Billion around, so I feel we should stick with a user pay system. I will pay for my Horseshoe Bay-Tswassen ferry, and the folks on the Gulf Islands should pay for theirs. And no, I don't think there should be free rides for anyone either. As far as CEO Pay, if you can get the same sort of talent for less money, then great, but otherwise, that is what these guys cost, they tend to be highly educated and do a job that many of us would thrown their hands up at. If there is someone who wants to be at the helm of a 600 million dollar company for $50K a year, that, to me, would be like having a surgeon work on me for $14 an hour, I will pass. Is it fair? Nope. It just happens to be how business works.

Rising costs are a fact of life. Maybe the Islanders should form their own ferry company or co-op, just saying.

Last, but not least, BC Ferries has a darn good safety record in my books, considering the volume of transport they do, I bet it’s right up there with major airlines, trains, and beats the pants out of transit buses when compared to comparable volume.

The Robin Hood mentality in our government has to stop. For anything other then life and death services (OAS, CPP, Medical and maybe education), User pay is the "right" thing. As far as safety, a Medivac costs a hell of a lot less and is faster then even one extra ferry run a week.

 

[Aces]

Not trying to derail the thread, here is how my logic sees it:

This sort of thing grinds me gears. If someone wants to live on a remote gulf island, then maybe 2 sailings a day should be it. The main routes that subsidize the rest of the other routes have a real economic contribution to Vancouver Island; the Cortes Island ferry, as an example does not. (And I quite like Cortes Island, white sandy beaches and all)

I will live on Vancouver Island and pay my share to go to the mainland. If I want to live on Cortes Island, I'll expect to pay more.

It's a fine line, but in the end, money talks, the main routes to Vancouver Island support a major economic backbone, as well as the provincial capital. The gulf islands support a lifestyle.

As for running for profit? BC Ferries, being in the shipping business, regrettably, should have to turn a profit, as salt water is darn corrosive. The money should be sitting there for replacement ships, maintenance, etc, just like a private business. It’s not like a bridge that you have to plow from time to time, or a highway that needs resurfacing every 40 years, these are large dynamic costs that have to be dealt with. If it were back as a Crown Corp, it would be like ICBC, where it's just a cash cow for whatever government is in power, at least semi private, it's somewhat harder for the hands to hit the cookie jar.

At the end of the day, a bridge would fix all the problems, but we don’t have a spare 100 Billion around, so I feel we should stick with a user pay system. I will pay for my Horseshoe Bay-Tswassen ferry, and the folks on the Gulf Islands should pay for theirs. And no, I don't think there should be free rides for anyone either. As far as CEO Pay, if you can get the same sort of talent for less money, then great, but otherwise, that is what these guys cost, they tend to be highly educated and do a job that many of us would thrown their hands up at. If there is someone who wants to be at the helm of a 600 million dollar company for $50K a year, that, to me, would be like having a surgeon work on me for $14 an hour, I will pass. Is it fair? Nope. It just happens to be how business works.

Rising costs are a fact of life. Maybe the Islanders should form their own ferry company or co-op, just saying.

Last, but not least, BC Ferries has a darn good safety record in my books, considering the volume of transport they do, I bet it’s right up there with major airlines, trains, and beats the pants out of transit buses when compared to comparable volume.

The Robin Hood mentality in our government has to stop. For anything other then life and death services (OAS, CPP, Medical and maybe education), User pay is the "right" thing. As far as safety, a Medivac costs a hell of a lot less and is faster then even one extra ferry run a week.

X 2 Last Chance

 

[bigbruce]

The Ferry Corp is not, and will never be, a profit making enterprise as long as it is saddled with serving all of the minor routes the Government requires it to service. So we won't ever have to worry about any Government syphoning off money from the Ferry Corp like they do ICBC and BC Hydro regardless of the FC's corporate structure.
I mostly agree with your comments, LastChance, except that just as the folks in "back and beyond" BC expect the Government to build and maintain the road to their community, the folks who live on the Island should be able to expect that the Government make some contribution to the cost of their transportation infrastructure. I would suggest that the initial capital cost of road building is similar to the cost of ferries serving routes of similar distance the "tolls" that ferry users pay to travel their routes should cover the difference in cost to maintain those routes relative to the maintenance costs of the roads serving other areas of the Province. Given the rather harsh climate conditions in some of the more remote areas of the Province, I'd suggest the maintenance costs (e.g. snow clearing) are not insignificant.

 

[Last Chance]

There are strong arguments on both side of the table. Let's take back all of our Lucky cans from the Island, that ought to pay for a couple bridges!

 

[sly_karma]

The 'economic backbone is Victoria/Nanaimo' that Last Chance is putting out there is too simplistic. We're far from being in total disagreement, but there is economic activity in varying degrees everywhere the ferries serve, and most of it depends on that service. Cortes Island may not have the economic horsepower that the big centres do, but it does have some. Reducing service sure as hell won't stimulate further growth. Everyone has a different opinion as to where the line is drawn between 'not worth it' and 'must be supported'. I can only imagine how I'd feel if I had a business in a ferry-served community, wondering if it can remain viable now or whether relocation makes more sense - or giving up and finding other employment. That's more economic activity removed from the already struggling community - a self-fulfilling prophecy if you use lack of traffic to justify service reductions. Businesses and individuals set up shop in those places with existing ferry service at least somewhat in mind. This is a serious move of the goalposts that will affect many livelihoods, not just a few less choices for residents wanting the occasional junket to the mainland.