When Val Miller moved to Procter in 1986, she understood life in the community was dictated by its ferry crossing.

The small community northeast of Nelson is only accessible by a cable ferry located a short drive away at Harrop, which Miller and other residents have accepted as part of the package for living in the area. She uses the ferry to access work, grocery shopping, medical appointments and visiting her 94-year-old mother-in-law.

But nothing can happen, Miller says, without the five-minute crossing across Kootenay Lake that has been in place for nearly a century.

"We've bought and invested in our properties here with that expectation of 24-7 open service, and thinking that that's now being restricted and we're going to be OK with that is ridiculous, frankly.B次元官网网址�

Miller and other residents voiced their anger, concerns and anxiety Sunday during a packed meeting at the Procter Community Hall. The impromptu event occurred two days after the B.C. Labour Relations Board's decision to the ferries during an ongoing labour battle between the B.C. General Employees Union, which represents 80 employees, and ferry operator Western Pacific Marine that began with a strike action on Nov. 3 and has already limited sailings on the Kootenay Lake ferry between Balfour and Kootenay Bay.

The new ruling limits the Harrop ferry from 24-7 service to just eight round trips daily, and the Glade ferry to 16 round trips daily, but there's confusion over when the reduced service will actually begin.

Western Pacific Marine said in a statement posted to its website that cable ferry service would resume as normal while negotiations continue, but a BCGEU representative told the Nelson Star the reduced service will start Jan. 3.

Passengers are now restricted to those who can prove they have medical appointments, students crossing to attend classes or their parents for drop offs and pick-ups, teachers and school administrators, emergency services, health professionals, anyone responding to a mental and physical health emergency, snow removal vehicles and vendors making scheduled deliveries to the Procter General Store including fuel trucks.

Josh Smienk, the community's former Regional District of Central Kootenay Area E director who now serves as an alternate to director Cheryl Graham, helped moderate Sunday's meeting. He said residents were in disbelief when the the labour board ruling was posted Dec. 27, just three days before the new rules were set to go into effect. Western Pacific Marine said in a statement posted to its website the reduced service would instead begin Jan. 2.

Smienk criticized the labour board for not allowing time for any appeal. The ferry terminal he said is typically packed every morning, and Smienk was not confident in the union and company's ability to manage the site when the limitations begin.

B次元官网网址淚t is going to be absolute chaos.B次元官网网址�

The two-hour meeting was chaired by a committee of residents who in 2002 led a successful protest against the provincial government's plan to toll ferry passengers. 

Residents asked a number of practical questions about who might be included on the crossings, the logistics of how waiting for the ferry at a small terminal would work, how many people can walk on board, what safety measures would be in place to account for commuters and union workers, and how traffic would be managed at the twice daily train crossing on the Harrop side of the terminal.

Others had more personal reasons for the ferry to return to service.

One man expressed concern for being able to visit his children, who live on the other side of the crossing. Another woman held back tears as she described not being able to visit her daughter, who is currently at a Kelowna hospital. B次元官网网址淚 need that ferry," she said. "I need it.B次元官网网址�

An employer at a local tree nursery said she needs her 30-plus workers to be able to cross the ferry to stay in operation. 

Harrop-Procter has no market, and some residents said they rely on deliveries from a Nelson grocery store. Others criticized the labour board for requiring proof of medical appointments as a privacy violation and questioned why they should need proof for visits to pharmacies.

Several people asked why the ruling did not include veterinary services for livestock or family pets. One man wondered if garbage would still be picked up.

But few answers were provided to a crowd that described feeling abandoned by the provincial government. Kootenay Central MLA Brittny Anderson was not present, and her absence was loudly criticized by people in the crowd. No representative for Western Pacific Marine was at the meeting, nor was Graham who Smienk said was away on vacation.

Western Pacific Marine general manager Odai Sirri told the Nelson Star his company plans to appeal the ruling.

B次元官网网址淲estern Pacific Marine is assessing all legal options available as we understand the significant impact this decision has on both Glade and Harrop. The BCGEU has notified Western Pacific Marine that their strike action for the cable ferries will begin soon, though no date on when this action will start has been announced by the union.

"The BCGEU must give 24-hours notice, and until that occurs the cable ferries will operate as normal. It remains our hope and intention to find a resolution to the ongoing labour dispute as quickly as possible.B次元官网网址�

Mike Fenton, the BCGEU representative for the West Kootenay, spoke at Sunday's meeting. He said he understands the community's concerns and that the union and company were to meet Monday to work out how the labour board's order would be carried out.

But he was also unapologetic about the ruling, which came following a request made by the union to the labour board. In November, the labour board ruled in favour of a Western Pacific Marine appeal that for who could board the Kootenay Lake ferry.

The Harrop and Glade decision, he said, will help the union negotiate a better deal.

B次元官网网址淲e know that this job action is going to be having an impact on the community. We are just trying to get our collective agreement done and utilizing these processes that are available to us to try to get there.B次元官网网址�

Fenton admitted he was surprised by the number of sailings doled out to each crossing and wondered if the labour board had made a mistake. Harrop-Procter has 568 residents according to the 2021 census, but will allow for just eight round trips per day. Glade meanwhile, which has a population of 319, will run 16 round-trip sailings.

He said community concerns for the Harrop crossing will be considered, but that feedback should be relayed to the provincial government and Western Pacific Marine. He added any unionized workers who feel threatened are within their rights to walk off the job.

B次元官网网址淲e're going to be on the ground here every day at the ferry terminal making sure that the essential service order is honoured and that some of the serious concerns that have been addressed here are going to be respected in terms of people's medical needs and things of that nature.B次元官网网址�

Miller was on the committee that battled the provincial government in 2002. She believes the ferry should be considered an essential service and run by the government, which under then-Premier Gordon Campbell privatized the industry in 2003.

"This is about an employer and an employee group having their labour issues, and I don't believe their issues should prevent community members from going about their daily business and their livelihoods and restricting our access to our homes.B次元官网网址�