Dear editor,
I was pleased to see the articles regarding the discussions on ferry fares.
It is time that something was done to recognize that the Islands are being unfairly treated by the BC Liberal government.
During the "spare no expense" run up to the Olympics, the road to Whistler was the recipient of hundreds of millions of dollars and yet no toll booths were erected to help pay for the cost. Are the wealthy Whistler homeowners and tourists not able to help pay for their highway?
The former premier even removed the toll booths from the Coquihalla. Did he think that there wouldn't be ongoing maintenance costs to keep the highway open?
Why is it that Islanders are expected to pay for their "highway" while the rest of the province's citizens ride for free?
BC Ferries CEO David Hahn claims that he is cleaning up a ferry system that was losing money. Well, now that the ferries are losing even more money, should we fire the expensive Mr. Hahn as a loser as well?
How dim is he not to see the connection between raising fares and dropping passenger numbers?
It is time to look at the whole provincial transportation picture and see that everything is interconnected.
I hope that CVRD director Edwin Grieve makes lots of progress in the talks with the transportation minister and the new premier.
Craig Freeman,
Courtenay
