British Columbia has recently begun replacing its old licence plates that modestly proclaimed to be “Beautiful British Columbia” with the not so modest claim that it is “The Greatest Place on Earth”. While it may be true that there are few places on earth that could get away with such a motto on its cars without becoming global laughing stocks, these licence plates, and the ads that go with them preceding the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver/Whistler, do not exactly indicate the kind of modesty citizens would have expected not so long ago from a rather conservative ruling class.
The British Columbia Ferry System does indeed traverse one of the most spectacular series of waterways in existence, rivaled only be the Hurtig ferries along the Norwegian coast and perhaps the Alaska State Ferry lines, though they both have much fewer routes. But now British Columbians are beginning to wonder whether the official self-satisfaction might not benefit from a bit of a modest rest period. About a year ago, one of these beautiful northern ships failed to make a required turn in the middle of the night on the run from Prince Rupert to Port Hardy and plowed straight into an inland passage island, sinking within an hour. Two passengers were never found as the rescued passengers and crew found hospitality in the nearby native village of Hartley Bay. My brother and I know some old navy men who immediately told us that there was no way that could have happened if the bridge had been properly manned (personned?), and ongoing investigations have shown that to be the case. While rumours have been rampant about everything from sex trysts to alcohol consumption among the responsible bridge personnel, as the ship failed to turn, one thing became clear this week when B.C. Ferries announced mandatory drug testing of its personnel, just as the Olympics demands of its athletes. Interviews with ship personnel convinced investigators that pot spoking was common place among the crew and that there was good reason to think that not everyone was as alert as one might have expected as the ship ran aground. Since marijuana growing is one of BC.s largest money makers (if not the government’s, as no taxes are collected on this), and pot smoking is pretty much tolerated, it is perhaps no surprise that this is practiced by a cross-section of the population that works on a ship. However BC Ferries would like to think that the Queen of the North was the last ship of its fleet that will sink because somebody wasn’t paying attention on the bridge.