You can thank history for the fact that Victoria is B.C.'s capital and thus the ferry system is considered part of the province's highway system.
Now, as the ferry system struggles with increasing costs, the province is considering introducing slot machines on the Swartz Bay-to-Tsawwassen run.
Now, if that isn't a new low in public policy, it's hard to say what is. Besides being sad and desperate - with vulnerable individuals bearing the brunt of this fiasco - slots on ferries would seem to fly in the face of government efforts to tout B.C. as a natural paradise. As one wag was reported as saying, "What's next? Pole dancing?"
Slots on land at the ferry terminal might not be so bad, if properly contained, as most people are focused on getting on the ferry and they might be a mild diversion for a short time. But, really, there must be more the corporation can do to help its finances.
Maybe it's simply time people got used to the idea that taking a ferry ride is a somewhat expensive excursion and not an entitlement.
