B.C. communities welcome late reprieve to keep vital ferries running amid contract dispute
Shaurya Kshatri | CBC News | Posted: January 6, 2025 3:44 AM | Last Updated: January 6
Strike escalation would have cut sailings across Kootenay Lake and Kootenay River by as much as 90%
Residents in the small B.C. communities of Glade, Harrop and Procter are celebrating a temporary reprieve in a labour dispute that threatened to drastically reduce ferry services vital to their daily lives.
Only accessible by cable ferry across Kootenay Lake or Kootenay River, the three communities were facing the possibility of a 90 per cent reduction in services starting Monday morning.
The move would have been part of escalating job action by the B.C. General Employees' Union (BCGEU) in its dispute with the ferry workers' employer, Western Pacific Marine (WPM).
Ferry workers have been on strike since Nov. 3, when service was reduced on the Kootenay Lake route between Balfour and Kootenay Bay, as they seek wage increases, scheduling adjustments and extended benefits for auxiliary workers.
The job action faced escalation following a B.C. Labour Board ruling on Dec. 27 granting the union approval to reduce service at the two cable ferries at Glade and Harrop-Procter.
On Sunday, WMP said the labour board granted a stay on its previous ruling, now allowing ferry services to continue as normal while the board reconsiders an essential service order.
In a statement, WMP general manager Odai Sirri said the board will announce the dates of the upcoming hearings next week, during which it will determine whether ferries can be reduced to essential service trips or not.
"To be clear, until the reconsideration hearing is held, all cable ferry services will continue as normal," he said.
'This is our highway'
For Glade resident Roxanne Reid, the ferry isn't just a convenience — it's a lifeline.
The mother of three said her husband would have been forced to paddle across the icy Kootenay River to get to work if ferry crossings had been reduced.
"We have it parked down by the beach, ready to go," Reid said of the family's canoe.
The Glade ferry, which typically operates 130 round trips daily across the river around 10 kilometres northeast of Castlegar, B.C., would have been reduced to just 16 sailings. The Harrop-Procter ferry, which runs a 24-hour on-demand schedule around 20 kilometres northeast of Nelson, B.C., would have been down to eight a day.
Reid said the cable ferry is the sole transportation link to access necessities for residents of the three villages, which have a combined population of about 900.
"We don't have any amenities here. There's no doctors, there's no grocery stores, there is nothing. The cable ferry is our highway to everything."
Community action
Under the essential service order, which the board will now reconsider, passengers would be limited to emergency and essential travel, such as health-care appointments and students commuting to primary and secondary schools.
"All jobs are essential," Reid said. "We use the ferry to get to our jobs that keep a roof over our heads, fill our fridge and provide the necessities of life."
She said the whole community jumped in on writing letters to the Ministry of Labour and the labour board and calling the employer to stop them from reducing sailing times.
"So we have been phoning their emergency line all day today and doing just that," she said.
Lee Vincent, chair of the Glade Ferry Committee, credits the community's collective efforts for the temporary stay but remains concerned about the long-term future of the service. She said community members formed the Glade Ferry Committee to unite and raise their voices against the proposed reduction in ferry sailings.
"The community has come together to do whatever we can to influence and have our voices heard to make sure that people understand that the original Labour Relations Board ruling is unacceptable," she said.
"We are still very concerned about the fact that the essential service order is being weaponized for action between labour and management, and communities are being held hostage for that."
WATCH | Kootenay ferry job action to escalate:
Andy Davidoff, a director with the Central Kootenay Regional District, echoed those concerns, calling for legislative changes to include more community consultation during labour disputes that affect essential services.
"The priority concern should be the mental health and welfare of residents," he said.
In a statement to CBC News, the B.C. Ministry of Labour outlined the current process for determining essential services during labour disputes. It stated that before the labour board can issue an order specifying the essential services that must continue, the union and employer must first identify the service levels needed to protect the health and safety of British Columbians.
It added that either party can request the board to designate specific services as essential in the event of a work stoppage.
The ministry did not address calls for legislative changes to include public consultation in determining essential services.
Labour dispute ongoing
BCGEU president Paul Finch said the union sympathizes with residents but blamed the employer for the ongoing dispute
"We'll continue this strike to the fullest extent possible until our members get a fair deal," he said.
For now, Vincent with the Glade Ferry Committee said the community is relieved there won't be a strike escalation on Monday but that they remain vigilant.
"You can't block a highway without permission from anybody else, so how on Earth can you block the sole access to these communities?"