BC Ferries ship shape thanks to Safe Restart Funds

​Government relief funding has helped BC Ferries survive what would have been a devastating drop in revenue last year. The ferry corporation released its Financial Statements last week for the third quarter of 2020. The highlight was $308 million from the provincial and federal governments' Safe Restart Fund.

The Chamber had called on the federal government to help BC Ferries deal with the loss of revenue as fewer passengers, vehicles and buses were travelling to Vancouver Island due to the pandemic. The federal government announced in July that it was working with provinces to provide emergency funding.

The relief funding helped BC Ferries avoid a net loss that could have affected the long-term sustainability of the service.