Dan Albas, Conservative Shadow Minister for Transport, says shipbuilding for BC Ferries should be done by Canadian workers.
On Sept. 2, he released a statement on the Liberals’ “Made in Canada” ferries summit.
“Canadian steelworkers and shipbuilders don’t need a summit to tell them that ferries should be built here," he said. "Unions already told the government that they have the experience, skills and capacity to build ferries right here in B.C."
The statement follows a decision by BC Ferries to purchase four Chinese vessels for its fleet.
“While Canadians are locked out of their market, the Liberals continue to finance a $1-billion loan for foreign ferries from a state-backed shipyard,” Albas said. “Canadians have the skills, steel, aluminum and technology to build world-class ships right here with Canadian workers and Canadian materials."
In June, federal Transport and Internal Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland said she does not want federal money to go toward having the four vessels built in China.
“It is with great consternation and disappointment that I learned of BC Ferries’ recent announcement that it has selected China Merchants Industry Weihai Shipyards (CMI Weihai) to build four new major vessels,” Freeland said in a June 16 letter to B.C. Transportation and Transit Minister Mike Farnworth.
She added that BC Ferries should be obligated to buy Canadian.
The four new ships are being paid for in part through a loan from the Canada Infrastructure Bank, a federal Crown corporation.
The bank is lending BC Ferries $1 billion, with $690 million going to new ferries and $310 million toward associated terminal upgrades.
Albas, who serves as the Conservative MP for the federal riding of Okanagan Lake West—South 麻豆精选, takes issue with this loan.
“That’s even with the Beijing Communist Party imposing over 75 percent tariffs on Canadian canola seed, 100 percent tariffs on Canadian canola meal and oil, peas, and 25 percent tariffs on pork and seafood products,” he said.
He added that the federal funding is used to subsidize Chinese jobs at the expense of Canadian jobs.
“If the Liberals really wanted to start making ferries in Canada, they would prioritize domestic manufacturing, instead of sending taxpayer cash to a hostile regime,” he said. “That starts with scrapping the loan to BC Ferries to put Canadian steelworkers and shipbuilders first.”
However, Nicolas Jimenez, president and chief executive officer of BC Ferries, said decisions on shipbuilding must demonstrate affordability for customers, long-term value, quality and timeliness, while protecting the financial sustainability of the ferry system.
“This summit is an important opportunity to talk honestly about Canada’s shipbuilding realities,” he said from the Made in Canada Ferries & Rail Summit in Hamilton, Ont.
“Let me be clear, our preference is always to build ferries here at home. For us to do that responsibly and serve our customers and communities fairly, Canadian shipbuilders need the capacity and ability to deliver affordable ships on guaranteed timelines. We want Canadian bids to succeed but, without significant changes and broad supports, we believe they will continue to face challenges competing on projects of the size and delivery timelines of our New Major Vessels.”
He added that no Canadian shipyard has bid to build any of the ferries for more than a decade, even after BC Ferries adjusted its criteria.
“For BC Ferries to responsibly build future vessels in Canada, we must keep our customers’ interests at the forefront,” Jimenez said. “We want to keep putting Canada first, but we cannot ask the people and communities who rely on our system every day to wait longer or pay more than they need to.”
According to BC Ferries, more than 90 per cent of its company-wide expenditures are already spend in Canada, with Canadian companies.
