On Monday, April 13, I was intending to board the ferry in Heriot Bay bound for Cortes Island.
“How will you be paying?” the officer in charge of boarding asked.
“Cash.” I replied. I only had cash, having left my wallet at home on Cortes.
“We don’t take cash… Because of the virus,” he replied.
“We Don’t Take Cash …”
I was stunned and momentarily speechless. “Huh? You don’t take cash?
So I can’t get on the ferry? What am I supposed to do?”
I was told that I couldn’t pay with cash and since I couldn’t pay, I
couldn’t board the ferry.
I was totally confused. How could this be possible? Was I going to
have to start a new life somewhere else? I stopped myself, that’s
jumping a few steps ahead.
There weren’t any signs up about this change in policy. Later I would
check the bc ferries website and find this:
“Pay with a card and use ‘Tap’ where possible.
Please use electronic payment (Debit, Credit or Experience™ Card) only
during this time. “
Pay Double Next Time
The officer asked if I knew anyone who worked on the ferry who might
loan me their ferry card. I didn’t on this particular day. I
recognized faces I had seen a thousand times, but I couldn’t claim to
know them. Also, on principle I didn’t think that was the appropriate
solution to the problem.
Part of me wondered: was asking if I knew the crew a disguised way of
ascertaining whether I was an islander and therefore permitted to
board the ferry? I looked down. I had been in the wildlands and my
clothes showed it. Am I too homeless-appearing to be let on the
island?
I walked away and considered my options. Was I going to have to go
stay with family? How would I get at my wallet so I could drive,
access my bank account, prove to the government who I was (in case
that would be required next)?
The officer approached again. Having considered his options, he
decided to offer me passage on the ferry, free of charge, and told me
I could pay double next time. … What a privilege.
Screening Questions
When it came time to board, I was asked the screening questions:
- Do you have a fever and a cough?
- Do you have a fever and breathing difficulty?
- Have you been refused boarding in the past 14 days due to a medical
- reason related to COVID-19?
- Are you the subject of a provincial/territorial or local public health order?
I answered no to all. And then wondered what would happen if I had
said yes. BC Ferries answers that on their website:
“If you answer ‘yes’ to any of the questions above, or refuse to
answer, BC Ferries will deny you boarding.”
Potential Consequences
I quickly ran through the potential consequences of that.
Would I have to stay with family? My mother is 72.
Would I have to stay in a hotel and spend all my savings? That would
expose a lot of hotel workers… are hotels even open? (They are.)
When I’m sick, I just want to be home where I can be most comfortable
and look after myself.
BC Ferries does not comment on our options beyond ‘not boarding’.
They do point to more information at the transport Canada website:
“Transport Canada is issuing guidelines to ferry operators respecting
health screening for all passengers before boarding to better protect
their employees and passengers. “
It was difficult to find what those issued guidelines are.
Winding my way through government websites I was able to find this
slightly more fulsome description of Transport Canada policy in their
‘preboarding announcement’:
“As a reminder, no person should board a vessel when they are
exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms.”
As an aside, also in that bulletin, we learn a term for an activity
that we didn’t know was regularly practiced, which is now prohibited: “hot bunking”.
“[Eliminate] the practice of “hot bunking”, where more than one crew
member is assigned to a single bunk.
Can BC Ferries Refuse To Accept Cash?
Can BC Ferries refuse to accept cash and thereby refuse service?
According to an old CBC article, it is not a legal requirement to
accept cash for services in Canada.
But the Bank of Canada is encouraging vendors and service providers to
continue accepting cash.
And Canadian laws are not for citizens to understand:
https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/c-52/page-1.html
We did reach out to BC Ferries for comment and will be following the
story as best we can.
Update: BC Ferries did respond with clarification on their policies regarding cash payment and symptomatic passengers:
By phone, I was told that a passenger with symptoms could board if they had a self-isolation plan form filled out and approved by the government. These guidelines come from Transport Canada available somewhere on their website.
According to the spokesperson for B.C. Ferries, “Their information is anyone who answers yes to any of the questions should be denied unless denial is not possible.”
“With regards to cash payments, we are strongly encouraging customers to pay with cards (debit/credit/Experience Cards) unless they have no other options. Many companies are asking the same of their customers to protect both the customer and the cashier. This is not mandated by the government but encouraged.“
Top photo Credit: Boarding the ferry at Heriot Bay – Roy L Hales