Public input into ferries is valuable

Re: Kieran Report, Nov. 8 – 14

In this epoch of fiscal belt-tightening, every public expense must be scrutinized by microscope. To argue, as the Kieran Report does, that “ferries are an extension of highways” only begs the question: what  percent of the annual provincial budget should be devoted to highways, and what percentage of that to ferries? When I coughed up my gold Carecard at the Tsawwassen terminal recently, the one-way voucher promptly dropped from $65 to $50. Albeit pleased to save the $15, the questions that need answering still come down to whether sailing a half-full Celebration class ship in November is an appropriate expense just as whether saving an OAP recipient $15 is an appropriate ticket pricing practice.

Though I shan’t attend the good minister’s money-saving group grope sessions for ferries, it strikes me that citizen involvement in how to rationalize all public expenditure should not be disparaged or discouraged.

W. Baird Blackstone,Tsawwassen, BC