Season preview Nanaimo Clippers
hockey team ready to hit the ice.
PAGE 24 C&S TRANSMISSION SPECIALTIES LTD.
“EXPERT SERVICE SERVED RIGHT”
6852 Mart Rd. LANTZVILLE
www.nanaimobulletin.com
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2015
Hall monitor
Chad Lintott, Wellington Secondary School principal, left, helps point students in the right direction to get them to their classes Wednesday morning. Orange construction tarps form corridors through much of the building, which is under construction for seismic upgrades, adding confusion about how to get to classes for the school’s nearly 800 students. CHRIS BUSH THE NEWS BULLETIN
Mayor seeks meeting to boost foot ferry
I
ANNUAL CIVIC conference takes place next week.
BY TAMARA CUNNINGHAM THE NEWS BULLETIN
Nanaimo’s mayor wants a non-compete agreement and assurances from B.C. Premier Christy Clark that a private passenger-only ferry won’t come under attack by B.C. Ferries. Mayor Bill McKay plans to meet with the premier during the Union of B.C. Municipalities convention next week in Vancouver to discuss Island Ferries’ proposed foot-ferry service between Nanaimo and Vancouver.
The foot ferry company, which has been searching for final investment since October 2013, hopes to win $14 million from the federal government’s New Building Canada Fund and wants the province to prioritize its project application. The money would be the impetus for the ferry, according to Dave Marshall, Island Ferries’ spokesman and director of marine operations, who said the federal government is intrigued by the application, but wants to see interest from the province. McKay will call on Clark to endorse Island Ferries’ service and prioritize its application. He’ll also call for a non-compete agreement that neither the province
Quality & Service at Budget Prices Quote Of The Week
My Plan “A” didn’t work, but I still got 25 more letters.
nor B.C. Ferries will start up a foot ferry, as well as assurances Island Ferries will not be under attack by the company. When a company is getting provincial subsidies, those dollars should not be used to compete against private enterprise, McKay said. “Imagine what it’d look like if you’re taking a heavily subsidized private, quasipublic organization like B.C. Ferries and you’re trying to compete with them with no subsidy and all of a sudden you find out that ... they’re having a half-price passenger sale on and that’s the business you’re in,” he said. Marshall said the company is hopeful the province will prioritize its application.
250.390.1871
VOL. 27, NO. 36
“If you are playing dominoes and you put all the dominoes on end, that’s the first domino that kicks over and all of them fall after that. It’s a big deal,” he said of the $14 million. When asked why Island Ferries should get taxpayer money, Marshall pointed out “the other private ferry company that operates in this province” receives federal and provincial money. It’s unknown when the meeting will be held with the premier. Todd Stone, B.C. Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure, was not made available to comment and his ministry did not respond to questions about the application or the mayor’s requests. news@nanaimobulletin.com
Great time to close in that sundeck and make a cozy room 3900 ISLAND HWY. N.
| 250.758.3374
Candidates support foot ferry, Island rail BY CHRIS BUSH THE NEWS BULLETIN
Nanaimo-Ladysmith federal election candidates see major infrastructure projects, such as the foot passenger ferry and passenger rail as priorities for the region. Paul Manly, Green Party candidate, said a foot passenger ferry will be viable if it’s fast and inexpensive, but all ferry services here should receive federal government subsidies as in the Maritime provinces. “Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland have a good ferry subsidy based on their deal with Confederation,” Manly said. Tim Tessier, Liberal candidate, said ferry service to the mainland is “our highway.” He is among a growing number of commuters For more election coverage, see page 3. w h o re p re sent a changing model for ferry service that provincial and federal governments and private business should be partnering to make happen. “While I love taking the ferry out of here and it’s a wonderful ride, it’s a model that was designed decades ago and we have to move forward,” Tessier said. A foot ferry dock represents an important transportation hub to other public transport, said Sheila Malcolmson, NDP candidate. “If it’s a private ferry, then it’s an easy one for the federal government to partner with the city on the dock infrastructure and especially this transportation hub,” Malcolmson said. Mark MacDonald, Conservative Party candidate, said he has worked on the funding for Island Ferry Services’ $63-million project since 2013, starting as Nanaimo Daily News managing editor. “I believe, as far as infrastructure goes, that this is the single most important thing that would benefit the economy in the NanaimoLadysmith riding,” MacDonald said. See ‘CANDIDATES’ /4
No need to go to ICBC, come directly to us!
| www.budgetglass.com