The attempt by B.C. Ferries to shift the blame for soaring fares onto the Islands Trust comes across as more than a little desperate. It's like a business blaming declining sales on the poor judgment of potential customers, rather than its own inability to offer compelling value.

B.C. Ferries chief financial officer Rob Clarke delivered the argument to a meeting of the Gabriola ferry advisory committee. The Islands Trust has discouraged development, he said, restricting the supply of properties.

And, as is inevitable in a market economy, strong demand and a limited supply has driven real estate values higher. High prices and limited rentals mean families can't afford to live on the islands. Those who can afford property tend to be older and retired and likely to use the ferry service less often.

Given the corporation's mandate and provincial funding, B.C. Ferries has to raise rates to maintain overall revenue if fewer people use the service.

B.C. Ferries paid for a study by a Vancouver consulting firm that confirmed that Gabriola Island's population was older than the provincial average. (The expense is justified if the result is an improved marketing effort to those people; if travellers are paying for research intended to justify rising prices, it's not.)

The reaction was swift and outraged. The Islands Trust said it's not anti-development. Others cited the importance of protecting the Gulf Islands' character and environment.

The observations deserve a serious review. If the trend is toward an aging, affluent population on the Gulf Islands, there are implications for the ferry service and most other aspects of community life. Schools won't survive. Nor will volunteer fire departments. Employers will have to consider providing staff housing. Artists, artisans and small-scale farmers -- all part of the islands mix in the past -- will be squeezed out.

But it's ridiculous to claim that soaring ferry rates have not reduced traffic, hurt the island economies and contributed to the difficulties working families have in living on the islands.

B.C. Ferries' own analysis, released to prospective lenders, found that for each 10 per cent fare increase on the "minor routes," which include the Gulf Islands, vehicle traffic would fall by 2.5 per cent and passengers by 1.9 per cent. Fare increases of 80 per cent to 100 per cent in the last six years are thus responsible for a likely 20 to 25 per cent loss in vehicle traffic. (The price-related declines are even greater on the main routes, based on the corporation's analysis.)

That means lost tourist business for islanders and greater costs for commuters and businesses. It undermines the economy and discourages families on moderate incomes from considering an island home.

And the decline in ferry travel, given fixed costs and less support from government, means more fare increases. It is a disastrous downward spiral.

The debate is a reminder of the need for action on last month's report from provincial comptroller general Cheryl Wenezenki-Holland. Her review found legislation setting up the ferry service in 2003 failed to ensure the interests of ferry customers and communities get adequate attention. The need to minimize fare increases "was noticeably absent from the intended objectives." The Ferry Commission was set up to approve rate increases. But its role "is not broad enough to adequately protect the public service mandate of the ferry system."

Since the new ferry system was established in 2002, the provincial government's support has fallen from 22 per cent of corporation expenses to 16 per cent. Fares have risen partly to offset the province's inadequate funding.

There's nothing wrong with looking at island demographics as a factor in ferry use and fares.

But the real problems, as the comptroller general reported, are much deeper. Each month's delay in dealing with them is costly for communities and the entire regional economy.