North Coast MLA Gary Coons wants to see BC Ferries hold a special ceremony next spring to mark the one-year anniversary of the sinking of the Queen of the North.
Mr. Coons said he has just started working on the idea, and hasn't yet heard what BC Ferries thinks about it. But he said he's been hearing from passengers and crew, and is convinced that something must be done to recognize the sombre occasion next March 22.
"I believe we need some closure to the sinking of the Queen of the North," he said. "People on the Charlottes have talked to me, they were on the vessel. A trauma like this needs to come to some closure."
Meanwhile, Mr. Coons blasted the provincial government for hesitating to pay travel costs for 21 residents of Hartley Bay who were invited to dinner with Lt-Gov Iona Campagnolo in Victoria.
The dinner, to be held Sept. 30, will honour the Hartley Bay residents' bravery and the important role they played rescuing the survivors from the Queen of the North.
Mr. Coons said the government agreed Monday to pay the rescuers' travel and accommodation costs, after an article appeared in the Province newspaper.
"The government's going to be paying for them now," he said. "But it was a no-brainer."