The Glade Ferry Society has welcomed news the Kootenay Lake Ferry strike will come to end from tomorrow.
Chairperson, Anne Mowat, says while the community feels a sense of relief the immediate risk has been addressed, it doesn’t remove all threat.
“The long-term risks exist for us because this scenario can happen every few years when the employer and the union enter into contracting negotiations,”
“So, our fear is that we will be faced every few years with this type of high-risk scenario where the health, safety, and well-being of our community is put at risk.”
“We need to take matters into our own hands and find ways of undertaking the kind of legislative change that is needed in order to give us a voice in the forums that affect the outcome of these disputes.”
“We want to protect inland ferry services more generally in the same way that highways and bridges are protected. They are, for us, floating highways.”
A community fundraiser- This is our Highway– is being held this Saturday, April 12, to help raise finances for the community’s short- and long-term efforts, and for legal expertise moving forward.
“We are very committed along with our friends at Harrop Proctor to doing all that we can to prevent this from happening in the future, and that means we need to count on legal expertise.”
“The ferries are funded by taxpayers’ dollars, so they should be considered in the same way that highways and roads are considered. You can’t just block them for any reason, especially when it puts communities at risk.”
“We didn’t realize that that service could be taken away so dramatically.”
The Glade community is inviting everyone to come out this weekend, for a fun event dedicated to a vital cause.
“There will be music, a silent auction, and a BBQ with something for everyone’s taste.”
What has it been like in Glade?
The Glade Ferry Society is a volunteer group made up of residents to serve and protect the community, including access to the essential ferry service.
Mowat, says she never expected to be facing this challenge.
“The ferry service is our highway to life on the other side and back.”
Mowat says the Glade community is working closely with Harrop and Proctor communities as they lived with and continue to face the ongoing threat to their cable ferry.
“We have lived with the threat, the uncertainty, and the anxiety of it, and we have had to act hoping that we can advance the best outcome with our efforts but also preparing for the worst.”
Mowat highlights the fear from December 2024, where the Labour Relations Board upheld the Union’s right to withhold services, which meant up to 90 per cent of services were at threat of being cut to the Glade daily runs.
“It was dramatic and if that had gone forward, the impacts would have been very traumatic for the community.”
And that fear has not gone away.
“Our main focus is simply on the health, safety and wellbeing of our community and the risks that these two parties in their dispute have led us to experience and to consider.”
“Even though the strike appears to have come to a resolution this week, we have to take steps to prevent the kind of scenario that could arise again in another few years when this contract expires.”
Event Details
What: This is our Highway fundraiser
Where: Glade Community Hall, 2160 Glade Road, Glade
When: Saturday April 12, 12pm to 3pm
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