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Squamish road petition gathers steam

Resident hopes signatures will attract Prime Minister’s attention
Chris McMillan
PAVING THE WAY: Local resident Chris McMillan has started a petition for a road to Squamish that shows support for an alternative to ferry travel. Contributed photo

Cancelled sailings and rising ferry rates has one Powell River resident petitioning Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for support to build a road to Squamish, BC.

Chris McMillan launched an online petition on change.org in early January, calling for Trudeau to construct a road from Powell River to Squamish. McMillan has received over 1,300 signatures and is rapidly approaching his goal of 1,500.

“The federal Liberals swept across the nation with their election and part of Trudeau’s election promise was for infrastructure spending. This is a project that needs some support,” said McMillan.

McMillan, general manager of Pacific Point Market, spent much of the last 20 years between Whistler and Squamish. Since recently moving back to Powell River, he still travels to the Squamish area at least twice a month. Relying on BC Ferries to get him to and from Powell River, McMillan said the service isn’t what it used to be.

“BC Ferries has shown us time and time again that they could care less about servicing Powell River,” he said. “They’ve cut service and raised fares, which has led to ridership decreasing and has produced lower revenue despite the increase in rates.”

McMillan said the petition has far exceeded his expectations. When he launched it, he said he would have been happy to have 100 signatures, but ended up achieving that within the first couple of hours.

“There is a real need for a road,” said McMillan. “There are people who have medical appointments being stranded in Powell River or stuck in the middle. It’s becoming a real issue.”

With the goal of 1,500 signatures in sight, McMillan has reached out to Powell River-Sunshine Coast MLA Nicholas Simons.

“After talking to Nicholas Simons by email the other day, he recommended once the goal is reached that I go to his office. There is a way to make the online [petition] into an official petition,” said McMillan. “It would then be forwarded to the House of Commons.”

Even though a fixed-road link such as the one being proposed by McMillan falls under provincial jurisdiction, Simons said petitions are a good way to bring attention to important issues and he hopes this one will get the federal government’s attention.

“The timing of the petition is good because the provincial government finally announced a study on fixed links to the Lower and Upper Sunshine Coast last November, and the federal government has shown a willingness to invest in infrastructure,” said Simons.

Simons agreed with McMillan that a road would create economic opportunities and reduce frustrations around ferry travel, but said a good ferry service would have a similar outcome.

“I’m looking forward to seeing the government’s economic and social-impact assessment,” said Simons. “I’ve heard good arguments in favour of the road, so the results of a cost-benefit analysis will also be very interesting.”

Meanwhile, Third Crossing Society, a Powell River non-profit organization that has proposed a highway from Powell River to Squamish to connect with the BC Interior, is also optimistically awaiting results of the provincial government’s study.

Gary Fribance, Third Crossing president, said McMillan’s petition helps highlight the increasing support for a road.

“We’re delighted that Chris is interested in this subject, and he’s been doing quite a lot of work,” said Fribance. “He’s been speaking with our group and we encourage him. Focusing on Trudeau, who’s announced he’s going to spend a bunch more money on infrastructure, is a good thing, but the decision rests with the BC government.”

Fribance said the response to the petition demonstrates validation for the objective of the society.

“Our goal is to demonstrate overwhelming support for the road,” he said. “I believe we have that and will continue to do that. We don’t expect the provincial study to be concluded until the fall of 2016, so we have lots of time to demonstrate we have broad support for the project.”