Premier Eby to make an announcement regarding BC Ferries tomorrow
The Government of British Columbia is expected to make a significant announcement on BC Ferries this Sunday, February 26.
Media were informed today a press conference scheduled for early tomorrow afternoon will be held by Premier David Eby and BC minister of transportation and infrastructure Rob Fleming for an unspecified “announcement regarding BC Ferries.”
No other details have been provided, and the advisory does not indicate whether BC Ferries’ corporate leadership and board of directors will preside in the announcement.
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Sunday’s scheduled announcement comes just two days in advance of Eby’s 2023 provincial budget reveal on Tuesday, and the quickly approaching deadline to spend the $5 billion budget surplus for the 2022/2023 fiscal year by the end of the fiscal year on March 31, 2023.
It also comes almost exactly one year after Fleming tabled proposed legislation that could bring BC Ferries back under the direct control of the provincial government — but in a way that would be just short of reverting it back to a crown corporation.
The legislation, tabled last year on February 23, 2022, would provide BC Ferry Authority with new oversight powers that override BC Ferries’ corporate board of directors and corporation leaders.
The provincial government’s appointed board for BC Ferry Authority would be able to issue legally binding directions to BC Ferries and its corporate board, with all directions and resolutions made public. BC Ferries would then be required to comply with any direction by the authority board.
Under last year’s proposed legislation, the authority board would also be able to remove any directors of the corporate board and determine the compensation plan for BC Ferries’ corporate executives in alignment with the provincial government’s public sector.
Since forming provincial government in 2017, the BC NDP has been looking to rein in BC Ferries, starting with the 2018 completion of its Coastal Ferry Services Review.
During their Fall 2020 provincial election campaign, the party also made a campaign promise to implement a long-term BC shipbuilding strategy to create more jobs and bring more work to local shipyards. In late 2022, BC Ferries announced it had begun its procurement process for the first four vessels of a modern future fleet of 11 new vessels over 12 years, including four small ships and seven large ships.
In January 2023, BC Ferries’ corporate board of directors announced the appointment of Nicolas Jimenez as the new CEO of the ferry corporation. Jimenez previously held numerous senior roles at ICBC, becoming its president and CEO about five years ago, and leading structural reforms at the insurance crown corporation.
Daily Hive Urbanized will have coverage on Sunday’s announcement.
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