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30-602: The PacifiCat project started in June 1994 with an estimated total cost of $ 210 million. By the time the ships were finished, the total cost had ballooned to $ 463 million. A 1999 report by the Auditor-General of British Columbia concluded that the fast ferry project had been beset by "significant breakdowns in both governance and risk management." Car ferry service on the route between Horseshoe Bay , West Vancouver and Departure Bay , Nanaimo had originally been started by

60-453: A cabinet shuffle moved MacPhail into the position of Minister of Health from 1996 to 1998. MacPhail's final cabinet position in the Clark government was as Minister of Finance from 1998 to her departure in 1999, leaving Clark's cabinet at a time when it was suffering from increasing dissent and scandal. As Finance Minister, MacPhail was tasked with delivering a deficit budget in the aftermath of

90-475: A cost-plus basis. It would have to act as project manager and assume the risk of the fast ferries. Catamaran Ferries International (CFI), a wholly owned subsidiary of BC Ferries, was incorporated in March 1996 to carry out the work and construction started later that year. The CFI board was suddenly replaced a year later with a new one whose members were either part of CFI management, had significant business ties to

120-568: A founder of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation , when, in fact, the two have no familial relation. Two months after her retirement from politics, MacPhail married film and television producer James Shavick in California and became a partner in his production firm Shavick Entertainment . In 2006, MacPhail and Shavick purchased OutTV , a Canadian cable television station focused on programming for

150-512: A massive electoral blow in the May 16, 2001, provincial election . Only MacPhail and then-Minister of the Environment, Jenny Kwan , retained their seats. MacPhail held onto her seat by 409 votes. Media noted that MacPhail's campaign benefited from controversy surrounding her Green opponent, Ian Gregson, who had written an explicit article for Hustler Magazine in 1997. Exactly one month after

180-492: A quick approval, and the Auditor-General's report about the fast ferries partly blames him for rushing the fast ferries into production. The result was a ten-year capital plan which had been crafted by the government. It bypassed leasing a fast ferry for trials in BC waters and went directly to implementation. Several other projects previously considered essential, such as replacing one of the northern ferries, were deferred in favour of

210-631: A variety of BC companies. Completed modules were transported to CFI's facility in North Vancouver and assembled there. This was done both to stimulate the shipbuilding industry and to make it unnecessary to build a much larger facility for the PacifiCat construction. The fast ferries were intended to achieve crossing times that were 30 minutes faster than those of conventional ferries, making twelve crossings per day rather than eight. Although they initially achieved this crossing time, complaints of

240-884: Is a former Canadian politician in British Columbia . A longtime member of the British Columbia New Democratic Party , she served as a member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) from 1991 to 2005 and as a Minister of the Crown from 1993 to 1999, and 2000–2001. MacPhail was born in Hamilton, Ontario . After studying economics at the University of Western Ontario , MacPhail earned a [diploma] in Labour Studies at

270-661: Is the location of the third-busiest BC Ferries terminal, the Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal . Because of the presence of the ferry terminal, it is considered a control city on the Upper Levels Highway westbound. 49°22′26″N 123°16′38″W  /  49.37389°N 123.27722°W  / 49.37389; -123.27722 This Metro Vancouver location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Joy MacPhail Joy Kathryn MacPhail CM OBC (born March 6, 1952)

300-646: Is the mainland connection to the Trans-Canada Highway freeway. In addition, the Horseshoe Bay terminal is located in a very small cove next to a commercial marina and there have been several collisions between pleasure craft and ferries over the years. The provincial government was aware of these issues as early as 1972, when a Ministry of Highways report recommended developing a new ferry route between Iona Island south of Vancouver and Gabriola Island south of Nanaimo. Another report recommending

330-658: The 1997 Asian financial crisis , which caused a brief recession in British Columbia. MacPhail and the NDP opted for a Keynesian approach to the recession, investing in major construction projects like the Vancouver Trade and Convention Centre and investment in the SkyTrain network, all of which were criticized by then-opposition leader Gordon Campbell. Upon Clark's resignation as NDP leader, MacPhail ran for

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360-591: The Canadian province of British Columbia . Situated on the western tip of West Vancouver at the entrance to Howe Sound , the village marks the western end of Highway 1 on mainland British Columbia (and furthermore the main route of the Trans-Canada Highway on the Canadian mainland). It also serves as the southern end of the Sea-to-Sky Highway , with Lions Bay just 15 minutes north. Horseshoe Bay

390-608: The LGBTQ+ community . MacPhail, a long-time advocate for the community, expressed interest in producing or starring in some of the network's programming, stating: "It's exciting, I must tell you. This is very nice next step for me!" During the 2012 NDP Leadership race , MacPhail endorsed Brian Topp . In July 2017, once the BC NDP formed the provincial government, MacPhail replaced Barry Penner as chair of Insurance Corporation of British Columbia . On 29 June 2022 she became chair of

420-801: The London School of Economics . Prior to her election, MacPhail was a spokesperson for the B.C. Federation of Labour and an executive assistant to the Federation's then-president, Ken Georgetti . MacPhail was first elected to the British Columbia Legislature in 1991 as the MLA for Vancouver-Hastings and served in the cabinets of three NDP premiers . Under Premier Mike Harcourt , she served as Minister of Social Services from 1993 to 1996. Under Premier Glen Clark , she briefly remained Minister of Social Services, before

450-598: The Washington Marine Group for US$ 13 million ( CA$ 19.23 million), 4.2% of what it cost to build them. Washington Marine Group announced on July 28, 2009 that they had sold the three ships for an undisclosed amount to Abu Dhabi MAR , a luxury yacht builder. The ferries were observed to be tied up in the port of Alexandria, Egypt in late 2022. The Egyptian government plans to scrap the vessels. The PacifiCats were designed by Philip Hercus of Australia and Robert Allan Limited of Vancouver. Hercus developed

480-404: The $ 210 million figure was announced. The government hoped that private shipyards would be able to build the ships on a fixed-cost basis. This turned out not to be the case; the shipbuilding industry was less enthusiastic than anticipated. Moreover, none of the shipyards being considered for the work had the facilities to build the fast ferries. BC Ferries had no choice but to do the work itself on

510-609: The Horsesehoe Bay-Departure Bay route. This situation was the starting point from which the fast ferry project developed. In 1992, BC Ferries and the government began reviewing the issue of ferry service to Nanaimo. The final report, completed in January 1994, neither supported nor endorsed the use of fast ferries for service between Horseshoe Bay and Departure Bay. At a meeting in February 1994 that involved

540-479: The PacifiCat project, calling it "a failed experiment." Her colleagues agreed, and the ships were put up for sale at an asking price of $ 120 million for all three. They turned out to be difficult to sell, due to their highly specialised design and a saturated market. After a change of government in May 2001, and more attempts to sell at a higher price, the ships were finally put up for auction in March 2003 and were sold to

570-401: The company, or already served on BC Ferries board. According to the Auditor-General's report, this is a textbook example of poor corporate governance. It "created the awkward accountability relationship of having board members account to themselves for their performance." On March 1, 2000, Joy MacPhail , then the minister responsible for BC Ferries, recommended to the government that it abandon

600-410: The election, MacPhail was appointed as the party's interim leader . She was a harsh critic of the new BC Liberal premier Gordon Campbell . Although the NDP was the only other party in the legislature, it was four seats short of official party status . Despite this, Assembly speaker Claude Richmond ensured that the NDP was resourced as an opposition party and MacPhail was recognized by the speaker as

630-402: The fast ferries. In addition, the construction of the fast ferries would be used to revitalise the province's shipbuilding industry, furthering policy goals beyond merely improving ferry service to Nanaimo. The BC Ferries board, which was required to rubberstamp the plan, noted several concerns about the fast ferry aspect when asking the cabinet to give it final approval. A public announcement of

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660-455: The fast ferry project was made in June 1994; it had been decided to immediately proceed with building three fast ferries. The government claimed the fast ferries would cost $ 210 million total, and Clark later insisted that this figure had included everything "right down to the toilet paper." The truth was that little actual analysis had been done: not even the type of ship (single hull or catamaran), nor their dimensions had even been determined when

690-476: The hull form and Robert Allan handled the outfitting aspects of the design. The PacifiCats were custom-designed to fit BC Ferries' docks, which allow simultaneous loading on two full-length roll-through vehicle decks. This trait gives the PacifiCats their unique appearance in comparison with other fast ferries. Once the design was complete, CFI divided the construction work into over a hundred modules, built by

720-559: The leader of the Opposition. MacPhail stepped down as leader in 2003 and was succeeded by Carole James . She remained as parliamentary leader of the NDP until her retirement from politics after the 2005 election . In a profile written regarding MacPhail's retirement in 2005, the Canadian Press erroneously reported that MacPhail is the great-granddaughter of Agnes Macphail , the first woman elected to Canada's Parliament and

750-479: The minister responsible for BC Ferries, the corporation's management indicated that using fast ferries required "further extensive analysis." Their advice was ignored, and less than two months later the minister responsible, Glen Clark , ordered the ferry corporation to cede control over its long-term planning to the government. After the government finished drafting the plan, Clark pressed the BC Ferries board for

780-558: The party's leadership . MacPhail was characterized in the media as a centrist, promising a Tony Blair -style move to the Third Way and a focus on tax cuts and balanced budgets. As fellow contender Ujjal Dosanjh consolidated more support, MacPhail withdrew from the race, throwing her support behind Dosanjh to prevent a victory by the Clark-endorsed Gordon Wilson , who was serving as Minister of Education at

810-484: The private Black Ball Line in June 1953. Black Ball was purchased by the government of British Columbia on November 30, 1961 and its routes absorbed into the BC Ferries system. Both the Horseshoe Bay and Departure Bay ferry terminals are located within residential areas. Departure Bay terminal is located at Vancouver Island's northern tip of their part of the Trans-Canada Highway ( Nanaimo ). Horseshoe Bay

840-408: The same solution was produced in 1988. This proposed route is 22 kilometres shorter than the current route and would have also eliminated the problems with ferry terminal traffic. Ultimately, the government did build a new ferry terminal for Nanaimo: Duke Point, which opened in 1997 and which serves as terminus for the ferry route from Tsawwassen. Duke Point was intended to divert truck traffic away from

870-628: The time. Wilson, who had jumped from the British Columbia Liberals to the Progressive Democratic Alliance before joining the NDP, would eventually withdraw from the race and endorse Agriculture Minister Corky Evans , who would lose to Dosanjh on the first ballot. Under Dosanjh, she was the Deputy Premier and served as Minister of Labour and, later, Minister of Education. The NDP suffered

900-528: The wash of the ships wake forced the ferries to take a longer route, and operate a slower speed around Bowen Island. An archived version of BC Ferries website stated in the year 2000 that a PacifiCat sailing was 1 hour 20 minutes, only 15 minutes shorter than a sailing with a regular vessel (1 hour 35 minutes). Horseshoe Bay, West Vancouver, British Columbia Horseshoe Bay is a community of about 1,000 permanent residents in West Vancouver , in

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