Navigating Through Rough Waters CPRS Speaker Series January 31, 2012

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Caution Regarding Forward Looking Statements This presentation contains historical information and may contain certain forward-looking statements which relate to future events or future performance. These forward-looking statements are based upon management’s current expectations and assumptions as to a number of factors, including the risks, uncertainties and other factors as described in BC Ferries’ Management's Discussion and Analysis and certain of the other BC Ferries’ documents available at www.sedar.com

. These forward-looking statements are made as of today’s date and are based upon information currently available to management and BC Ferries assumes no obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances. If management’s expectations and assumptions prove to be incorrect, or factors change, then actual results could differ materially from the forward-looking information contained in this presentation.

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  Operate 35 vessels on 25 routes to 47 terminals  Vehicle capacities: 16 to 470   Passenger capacities: 125 to 2052 Crew ranges from 4 to 48 20.7 million passengers/ 8.1 million vehicles  Average 500 sailings per day  Sailings range from 10 minutes to 15 hours About BC Ferries 3

Safety  Safety is our first priority and is widely supported throughout the company  SailSafe: a joint initiative of BC Ferries and the BC Ferry & Marine Workers’ Union     Comprehensive Safety Management System  based on the International Maritime Organization’s Safety Management Code Fully regulated by Transport Canada DNV as auditors and advisors regarding safety Crews are trained and licensed to levels that exceed those set by regulatory authorities 4

Building Stability  Previously a Crown Corporation accountable to cabinet  Typically incurred financial losses  Underinvested in essential infrastructure  $2.5 billion required to modernize system  Governance structure marked by:    Political interference in decision-making Unsound business decisions Need for enormous contributions from B.C. taxpayers  6 CEOs in 10 years  Needed stability 5

Obvious vs. Strategic  The first five years: fixed the obvious  Labour issues  New ships  Terminals and other infrastructure  Pride and service 6

Obvious vs. Strategic  Strategic: grow the business  New sailings: overnight freight  Drop-trailer service  Employees/union/company as partners  Travel centre – BC Ferries Vacations  Reservation centre as growth vehicle 7

Credibility  Had to establish credibility:  Honesty  Straightforwardness  Consistency  Accessibility  How you behave as an organization during difficult times defines who you are 8

Emergency Response Structure

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Operations and Security Centre  Operations & Security Centre: a central location for monitoring day to-day operations and incident management    Replaces Corporate Operations Centre structure Operates 24 hours a day, seven days per week, 365 days per year More than 1000 cameras to provide real-time information  Allows us to:  Track all vessel movements    Observe traffic congestion at terminals Remotely operate all electronic highway signs Have a state-of-the-art Corporate Emergency Centre for any potential incidents  real-time situational awareness and operational monitoring  coordinated company-wide response  immediate support for all front-line employees involved in an incident or service interruption 10

Operations and Security Centre 11

Queen of Oak Bay

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 June 5, 2005: Queen of Oak Bay lost power on its approach into Horseshoe Bay terminal  Sewell’s Marina and 28 private boats damaged/most were destroyed  Costs included repairs to marina, minor repairs to vessel and customer-service recovery initiatives Queen of Oak Bay 13

  Extremely lucky that there were no fatalities  Captain sounded horn for three minutes before the ship made contact with the marina  Commendations for captain and crew Lessons learned   Emergency response planning and coordination at both the local and centralized centres is crucial Employees are the eyes and ears  Onboard the ship; at the terminal    Critical how you behave from the outset  Own the story   Be totally accessible Frequent and honest communication to employees/media/public Importance of second-tier response Consult with Operations and Communications Departments for up to-date information and key messages 14

Queen of the North

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 Vessel sailed southbound from Prince Rupert at 8:00 pm on March 21, 2006  Was sailing well below its maximum passenger and vehicle capacity  59 passengers + 42 crew members (on licence of 639)  15 vehicles (on capacity of 115) Queen of the North 16

Queen of the North  Complex response from the outset  time and location of incident  environmental response  community and outside agency participation  Consultation with Operations and Communications Departments  media interest  service recovery 17

Queen of the North         

Key Timelines

 0024 Vessel contacts Prince Rupert Coast Guard to report it hit a rock 0025 Coast Guard issues a May Day 0034 EVP, Operations, receives call from Queen of the North 0040 Prince Rupert Emergency Operations Centre activated 0043 Satellite call from Queen of the North to EVP, Operations  reports vessel taking on water, passengers in life rafts 0046 President & CEO notified 0200 Board Chair notified 0220 Provincial government notified 0230 Media notified 18

Queen of the North  0400 RCMP notified  0415 Helicopters arrive on scene  7 crew and 4 passengers with minor injuries flown to Prince Rupert  0500 BC Ferries critical incident teams to Prince Rupert  0536 All crew’s families contacted  0615 Transportation Safety Board representative en route 19

Queen of the North  0045 Corporate Operations Centre activated in Victoria  EVP, Operations, notifies the COC team:      COC Director Engineering Logistics Finance Radio Operator - Operations - Communications - Planning - Scribe - Specialists (as required)  0115 COC team in place  Priorities: confirm passenger and crew count; complete safe evacuation 20

Queen of the North  0149 satellite phone call from lifeboat to report the Queen of the North has sunk  reports to COC that “everyone” safely evacuated  0210 Sir Wilfrid Laurier on scene  passengers transported to Hartley Bay on vessel and fishing boats  0435 first group of BC Ferries employees en route to site  0452 confirmation that “all 101” passengers and crew are accounted for and safe   2 separate counts conducted onboard the Sir Wilfrid Laurier and at Hartley Bay; both totalled 101 people sign-up sheets used at both locations to verify numbers and collect information to contact family members 21

Queen of the North  Passenger manifest   difficulties confirming numbers employee pass use, groups travelling under one name, family members cancelled late  0928 identified that two passengers on manifest from Prince Rupert are not on Sir Wilfred Laurier or Hartley Bay lists  additional searches, counts and interviews conducted with other passengers     passengers confirmed two missing individuals were onboard other passengers reported seeing the missing individuals on shore at Hartley Bay door-to-door search conducted in village; fishing boats checked turned over to RCMP as a missing persons case 22

Communications Role  Communication is key:  President & CEO  Face of the company; leads the response; is accessible  Corporate Spokesperson  Continually updates the news media via telephone  Command Centre Communications  Relays information to corporate spokesperson; other communications staff and general employee population  Regional Communications Officer  Provides on-site communications support 23

Communications Objectives        Clearly and quickly communicate to all concerned  Need to make a statement early; be careful about the accuracy of the information Take control and assume responsibility Verify the facts prior to public release  Even then, need to qualify the statements Provide updates via news releases and media briefings Ensure all spokespeople are consistent in messaging  Best to have one spokesperson Get the President and Communications people onsite ASAP Access yes: harassment no  Personality of spokesperson  Keep press at bay to give passengers and crew time to contact their families and collect themselves 24

     Families of passengers and crew members BC Ferries employees News media Investigating authorities:   Transportation Safety Board Transport Canada  RCMP Key Clients:   Public Provincial government   Northern mayors Tourism reps Target Groups 25

News Media Communications  The media as a partner  Make a media statement or hold a news conferences every few hours   media first contacted via phone at 0230 first interview at 0300  first media briefing at 0500: lasted one hour  conducted more than 150 interviews on March 22  Don’t duck and hide because you can’t  Honest approach breeds credibility 26

Lessons Learned        Can never plan enough  Advance crisis communications planning is crucial  Make sure everyone knows their role Take responsibility Ensure key people are mobilized to incident site ASAP Get out in front of media: work with them Share information as soon as it’s available  Facts can change minute by minute: stay quick and nimble    Question assumptions: they could be wrong Correct misinformation as quickly as possible Don’t answer if you don’t know: defer until you are comfortable Be open, transparent, accessible and accountable Show you care  You will personally live with this long after the event is over 27

Current Economy

- An internal communications challenge -

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Economic Challenges  Economic downturn  Price of fuel  Strong Canadian dollar    Requirement to replace minor vessels Border security Significant decline in traffic on our major routes  A big impact on our bottom line 29

Economic Challenges  Asked for employee cooperation from the outset  Let employees know early on about the traffic decline and the impact on our bottom line  Explained that eliminating positions would be a last resort  Provided frequent updates on traffic numbers and efforts to reduce costs  Looked at all areas where we could cut without compromising the safety and security of our customers and employees  Minimized discretionary sailings  Cut administrative and discretionary expenses  Travel   Salary freeze Deferring filling vacant positions 30

Economic Challenges  Important to continue focusing on core areas and our future, even during challenging times  Must continue with longer-term strategic plan to expand the business  everyone will question this  Crucial that we continue to invest in the company and generate new revenue streams  Changing priorities: what do we need to do?

 Current economic environment has altered our plans and capital programs  Must remain flexible 31

Different Situations, Same Principles

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 Regardless of the situation, credibility is always key  It’s easy to lose and hard to recover  Be honest, straightforward, consistent, accessible  Take responsibility and you can maybe manage some of the messages  Always think of the people involved  Internal  External 33