Mr. Speaker, it is a huge honour to table e-petition 7474 that is signed by over 7,700 Vancouver Islanders and coastal residents.
They cite that ferries are essential marine highways connecting coastal communities, workers, families, businesses and supply chains to the rest of Canada. Vancouver Island is approaching one million residents and BC Ferries carries more than 22 million passengers annually. According to an analysis prepared by the Library of Parliament, BC Ferries received approximately $1.63 in federal operational support per passenger in 2024-25, compared to approximately $291 for federally funded east coast ferry operations.
Petitioners say that Canadians in Atlantic Canada and British Columbia both deserve strong federal ferry support because these services are essential national transportation infrastructure. Current federal ferry funding agreements rely on outdated constitutional arrangements and formulas created decades ago when Vancouver Island had roughly half its current population. Vancouver Island and coastal communities should not have to become separate provinces in order to receive fair federal ferry support. Lastly, the petitioners highlight it is no longer suitable to operate one of the world's largest ferry systems without stable, long-term federal support.
The petitioners are calling on the federal government to modernize federal ferry funding policies and provide fair, stable, long-term federal operational support to BC Ferries as essential national transportation infrastructure.