It was gunslinger Doc Holliday, in the classic western Tombstone, who made famous the line, “It appears my hypocrisy knows no bounds.”

Those seven words perfectly fit the B.C. government’s handling of BC Ferries. In a great piece in today’s Globe and Mail, columnist Gary Mason lays out the hypocrisy of a premier and government claiming BC Ferries is independent, while overseeing sailing cuts.

It’s worth reading, including this part quoting me:

As Jordan Bateman of the Canadian Taxpayers’ Federation and others have pointed out, the notion of something being “quasi private,” does not work. “It’s like being pregnant – you aren’t a little bit pregnant, you are either pregnant or not,” Mr. Bateman said. “If you really want BC Ferries to make these [tough] decisions, you’ve got to throw them to the wolves, let them sink or swim on their own merits … or you bring them back into government, which the government is reluctant to do, because they don’t want the debt on their books.”

Mr. Bateman is right. The ferry service debt stands at $1.35-billion, most of it money the corporation has borrowed to finance the modernization of the fleet and terminals. If the government took back control of ferries and re-established it as a Crown corporation, that debt comes with it. That would not be acceptable to the Clark regime, which has made balancing its books and maintaining the highest possible credit rating top priorities. The last thing it wants is a fresh pile of debt.

One point to add – while it is nice to see government wringing its hands over the thought of adding debt, it seems hypocritical in this case. In the current three-year financial plan, the B.C. government is adding a billion dollars every quarter to its debt. (Click here to see the B.C. Debt Clock.) So pulling their hair out over adding BC Ferries’ $1.35 billion is a bit silly.