Mayne Island Community Page

We've gathered a list of what we’ve heard as priorities from your Ferry Advisory Committee and community over the past two years. Now we need your help to:

• Review the list of feedback we’ve received from your community
• Prioritize the feedback we can action

Your feedback will be used by the Community Prioritization Panel (CPP) - a panel comprised of Ferry Advisory Committee Chairs from across the coast - to create a prioritized list of recommendations for the whole BC Ferries system.

Before you take the survey, join us for a lunch-and-learn virtual presentation!

Tuesday, July 23
12:00 - 1:00 pm (presentation will start at 12:15)
Please email engagement@bcferries.com for your link to the presentation

Click here to watch a recording of the virtual lunch and learn that took place on Tuesday, July 23.

This presentation will help you be ready to complete the online survey with more information about how BC Ferries makes decisions, and how your input will be used in the coming months. Time will be provided for a moderated Q&A at the end.

The online survey will be open until July 28th.

Check back on this page for updates on the process and what we heard from your community.

This spring and summer we’re getting back out with our Ferry Advisory Committees and the communities we serve. With a focus on resetting conversations, we’ll be looking at what we’ve heard from FACs and communities over the past two years. We’ll work together to:

• Review the list of feedback we’ve received from each community
• Prioritize the feedback we can action
• Establish criteria that will help a new Community Prioritization Panel make recommendations about what’s most important across the ferry system

This work will result in a prioritized list of action items for each community. From there, a Community Prioritization Panel (CPP) will work to consolidate these items into a prioritized list for the whole BC Ferries system.

All FAC chairs have been invited to participate in the CPP and the panel will deliver a final public report by October 31, 2024. This report will help guide how BC Ferries reviews and makes decisions on changes needed to improve service and experience for customers, and also help inform long-term decisions that align with the ongoing Charting the Course vision process.

Timelines

• May: Virtual meetings with all Ferry Advisory Committees
• June/July: In-person community workshops

Dates and details for community workshops will be posted to this page shortly.

New Safety and Security Measures

In order to create a safe and respectful environment for all, BC Ferries has implemented changes based on recommendations made in its safety review, including:

• Establishing safety and security policies for public events that align with WorkSafe BC requirements.
• Rolling out a new mandatory respectful workplace policy and training across the company, including training in Prevention of Violence in the Workplace for all BC Ferries representatives who will take part in community events.
• Establishing plans and templates to support safety and security assessments in advance of FAC and community meetings.
• Establishing new processes for public events, including the request for participants to RSVP ahead of time, new sign-in requirements, and a new Code of Conduct that will apply to all public events. We’ll provide more information on what you can expect to see at events in an upcoming post to this page.
• Updating the Terms of Reference and Code of Conduct to ensure the correct foundations are in place to support a mutually respectful and productive relationship with FACs.

Stay Informed

We’ll be providing updates to this page in the coming weeks, click the ‘Stay Informed’ icon on the right hand side of the page to receive updates to your email inbox.

We look forward to seeing you soon!

The BC Ferries Community Relations Team

Now is the time to shape the vision of the coastal ferry service in BC.

Transportation, transit and ferry systems around the world are under pressure resulting from the pandemic, population growth, climate change, inflation and other factors. BC’s coastal ferry system is no exception, and BC Ferries is responding with actions to address current operational issues. We are also embarking on a long-term transformative journey to reshape our coastal ferry services in response to the evolving needs of the communities we serve.

We invite you to participate in Charting the Course, an initiative that aims to define what is needed to keep people, goods, and services in coastal communities connected and moving through to 2050 and beyond.

Hearing from you is an important part of this initiative to help us build a more sustainable and resilient ferry system. The first phase of engagement is open until November 28. Learn more and participate here: https://www.bcferriesprojects.ca/bc-ferries-charting-the-course

Today marks National Indigenous Peoples Day, a day we celebrate and recognize the diverse cultures, traditions and immeasurable contributions of First Nations, Inuit, & Métis across Canada. Indigenous Peoples are the traditional stewards of the rivers, lakes, land & sea where we are privileged to live and work.

#NIPD2023 serves as an opportunity to learn and deepen our understanding of the Indigenous cultures throughout Canada.

• Learn more about Indigenous Peoples land, languages, history and culture: https://maps.fpcc.ca/
• The First Peoples’ map highlights BC's Indigenous language regions, artists & artworks, place names & landmarks: https://native-land.ca/
• Native Land is an app that allows users to map Indigenous territories, treaties, and languages: https://ow.ly/1pUt50OPX10
• Use the @BCGovNews map to find events happening in your community celebrating National Indigenous History Month: https://ow.ly/fif850OPX4l
• Learn more about the history, cultures, and experiences of Indigenous Peoples in Canada: https://ow.ly/mJ4250OPX91

Learn about National Indigenous People’s Day and how you can participate in celebrating their culture and heritage.

#BCFerries remains committed to fostering meaningful relationships with the Indigenous communities we serve. We recognize the importance of collaboration and partnership as we work toward a future of mutual respect, reconciliation and inclusivity.

BC Ferries is pleased to support the construction of the Mayne Island Regional Trail through the temporary use of property owned by BC Ferries.

In May 2023, a temporary use permit was approved by the Islands Trust to allow temporary dwellings on the property adjacent to the Village Bay Terminal (487 Letour Rd). For approximately nine months, the land will be used to house those working on the construction of the Mayne Island Regional Trail.

To find out more about the Regional Trail you can visit the CRD website at: https://www.crd.bc.ca/project/capital-projects/mayne-island-regional-trail

To improve efficiency and on time performance for customers travelling from Village Bay (Mayne Island) to Otter Bay (Pender Island), starting Thursday, April 27, the vessel will travel on the following schedule:

April 27 – May 4, 2023:

May 5 – October 9, 2023:

October 10 – March 31, 2024:

This allows Otter Bay-bound customers transferring from Lyall Harbour, a more consistent service on the revised departure times from Village Bay.

Customers with reservations on the Southern Gulf Islands – Tsawwassen (Vancouver) routes will be unaffected. The revised schedules can be found here.

For more information or traffic updates, please follow @BCFerries on Twitter or visit us at bcferries.com.

The Queen of Cumberland returned to serve the Swartz Bay to Southern Gulf Islands routes April 4, 2023.

While emergency maintenance was completed on the vessel during its service as a replacement vessel for the Malaspina Sky, ongoing mechanical issues with the right angle drive may cause sailing delays. We had hoped to have the issue solved earlier however the part required is on back-order. Repairs are now planned for the week of April 10.

Why can the Salish Heron not remain on the route, while the Queen of Cumberland is repaired?

The Salish Heron is required on Route 9a (Tsawwassen – Southern Gulf Islands) to provide service over the Easter long weekend.

Why was the Queen of Cumberland not repaired prior to coming back to Route 5?

While our teams had hoped to have the repairs completed prior to returning the Cumberland to service for the Southern Gulf Islands, the part was not available until after the in-service date.

When will the Queen of Cumberland be fixed?

Repairs are currently planned to take place the week of April 10. To avoid disruption in service, the work will be conducted in the evening after the last sailing. Once the dates have been confirmed for the repairs, we will update the community.

We will continue to update the community via Service Notices should a significant delay occur on any of these routes. These can be viewed on our website, or you can receive notifications on your mobile device or tablet, by downloading the BC Ferries app.

We truly appreciate the community’s patience and apologize for any inconvenience experienced as a result of the possible sailing delays.