For 58 years until 2018 people were allowed to stay on the closed lower deck inside their vehicles.

While there have been deaths due to various incidents over the 58 year history there has never been a recorded death directly due to the occupation of the lower deck in all of BC Ferries history.



Transport Canada decided that they would change the policy, in part to allow a lower amount of staffing on the ferry due to the decreased amount of needed watch on the lower decks. This was done for profit reasons, not in response to any identifiable past loss of life event.



Covid-19 is a real and serious threat to the population greater than any imagined threat by occupation of the lower decks.

The government of Canada has stated the need for social isolation to help smooth the curve of infection.

BC Ferries has been utterly negligent in its plan to keep infection while spreading on the ferries. They do not have the proper ventilation system or space to provide isolation for the number of passengers they are carrying.

Transport Canada is negligent in recognizing the greater threat of infection over the virtually non existent threat of closed deck death.



The only way to make transportation on BC Ferries is to allow self isolation in vehicles by passengers on ALL vehicle decks, increasing the social distancing of the upper decks for walk on passengers.



Temporary suspension of the lower deck rule will be statistically insignificant where as the risk of infection aboard the ferries in the current configuration is astronomical.



We call on Transport Canada to suspend this rule with immediate effect for the duration of the COVID crisis.



We call on BC Ferries to suspend its profits over people policy and allow passengers to self isolate in vehicles on ALL vehicle decks.



We call on Justin Trudeau and the government of Canada to step in and use any and all means to force Transport Canada and BC Ferries to act in a responsible manner for the safety of all Canadians. There can be no doubt this is a very serious crisis that requires immediate and intelligent action.