Transit strike in Cowichan Valley now among longest in B.C. history

Kathryn Marlow · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 25, 2025 10:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours ago

Transit drivers successful the Cowichan Valley person been connected onslaught for astir 5 months, making it hard for radical successful the portion northbound of Victoria to get around. 

At 138 days, it is present longer than the Sea-to-Sky Transit onslaught successful 2022, which astatine the clip was reported arsenic the longest transit onslaught successful B.C. history.

"This is getting to the constituent wherever it's conscionable ridiculous," said Lise Haddock, the enforcement manager of the Cowichan Valley Branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association, which provides societal supports successful the region. 

Workers represented by Unifor locals 114 and 333 person been connected onslaught since February successful the vale of astir 90,000 residents.

Haddock said it's the community's astir susceptible who are bearing the brunt of the strike. 

WATCH | Commuters explicit vexation arsenic onslaught rolls on: 

For example, she said the CMHA is seeing a 25 to 50 per cent driblet successful the fig of younker attending programs astatine their younker centre — galore of whom are unhoused oregon surviving successful foster care. 

The younker trust connected the younker centre to larn beingness skills, link with mentors and peers, and entree services. 

Haddock doesn't conscionable interest astir younker that aren't coming to the centre — she's besides disquieted astir however they're getting astir without the bus. 

"We're truly acrophobic astir them, you know, looking astatine antithetic alternatives to get home, oregon to get wherever they're staying, that could beryllium unsafe."

Mickala Craig is besides disquieted astir susceptible transit users. 

She's a homeshare provider, supporting a pistillate with Down syndrome who besides has aboriginal onset dementia and usually uses handyDART, an accessible transit service, to spell to and from her time programme connected weekdays. 

Craig is capable to miss immoderate enactment successful bid to thrust her, but she knows not everyone is arsenic flexible.

She besides points retired that the Cowichan Valley is immense — truthful adjacent radical who don't request other enactment are having a pugnacious clip getting around. 

"Not everybody has a car. Not everybody has a motorcycle … truthful however are those radical getting to work?"

"If you unrecorded successful Chemainus and you enactment successful Duncan, are you walking that?"

Chemainus is 17 kilometres northbound of Duncan, on the engaged Trans-Canada Highway. 

The Cowichan Valley transit system covers much than 45 kilometres, northbound to south.

Union, employer, incapable to travel to agreement

Negotiators for Unifor locals 114 and 333 did scope a woody with their leader Transdev successful April, but the woody was voted down by members. 

On June 10, B.C. Labour Minister Jennifer Whiteside appointed a mediator, Dave Schaub, and called connected some parties to enactment with him. 

WATCH | Bus drivers locomotion disconnected the occupation successful the Cowichan Valley: 

No woody has been reached, but some Trandsev and Unifor told CBC News they've made submissions and are awaiting recommendations from the mediator. 

Union members are demanding higher wages, scheduled washroom breaks, and entree to backstage washrooms.