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ABBOTSFORD, B.C. — New Democrat Leader Adrian Dix is promising to freeze fares at BC Ferries while his government conducts an audit into the company that he says is off course.

Dix says the high cost of using BC Ferries is hurting businesses and families on Vancouver Island and coastal British Columbia.

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The announcement, made Wednesday at a campaign stop in the Fraser Valley, is one of a series of NDP planks being released over the next week that will make up the party’s election platform.

Dix also announced an NDP government would invest $226 million over the next three years establishing a grants program for students, improving completion rates for apprentices and supporting arts and culture across the province.

His proposed plan to build a sustainable economy and create new jobs strategy was made in Liberal Finance Minister Mike de Jong’s Abbotsford riding.

The ferry fare freeze and audit plan would cost $40 million over two years, he said, adding the NDP would “position BC Ferries as an integral part of B.C.’s transportation infrastructure.”