VICTORIA: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) today reacted to news that the Fast Ferry fleet was auctioned off for chump change. Of the $454 million squandered on the PacifiCats, only $20 million was recovered from the auction, leaving BC taxpayers in the lurch for $434 million.

"The last chapter of the Fast Ferry fiasco is as tragic as the $244 million in cost overruns," said Victor Vrsnik, CTF-British Columbia Director. "BC taxpayers took it on the chin for a government-run mega-project better suited to the private sector."

The CTF noted that the Fast Ferry fiasco is a costly lesson for the BC government and taxpayers. It illustrates par excellence why governments should not assume large financial risk or meddle in services that the private sector has demonstrated clear competence.

"The BC government should neither be involved in air travel nor in the ferry business," said Vrsnik. "The transformation of BC Ferries to an independent company should have happened long before for the obvious cost saving reasons."

The lessons gleaned from the Fast Ferry experience should inspire the BC government to release itself and BC taxpayers from other high-risk crown corporations, such as BC Rail and ICBC.

"The quicker the government divests itself of these crown assets, the greater the likelihood that another wasteful fiasco will not be repeated," concluded Vrsnik.