Conservatives call on gov’t to cancel BC Ferries $1B loan

The federal Conservatives are calling on the Liberals to pull back a $1 billion loan to BC Ferries, as the furor over a deal to build four new vessels at a Chinese shipyard continues.

Party Leader Pierre Poilievre claims the loan amounts to a subsidy of $650 million in foregone interest, and says federal money shouldn’t be going towards shipbuilding at a Chinese state-owned shipyard.

Poilievre points to comments from Prime Minister Mark Carney, who says China poses a major security threat to Canada, and Canadian workers are also losing out.

“Canadian workers are ready to build the ships we need. But our industry can’t compete with foreign state-backed shipbuilders that undercut on environmental standards, worker safety and wages. The Canadian government should never incentivize outsourcing Canadian jobs at the expense of our workers,” Poilievre said.

No Canadian companies bid on the project, but BC Ferries has said it would cost about a billion dollars if they were to give the deal to a shipyard from another country.

The deal has been criticized by all levels of government, and by politicians on both sides of the aisle, including the federal Liberals.

On June 20, Minister of Transport Chrystia Freeland explained that she was “dismayed” by the decision to purchase from the Chinese shipyard.

“Building these ferries in Canada would create much-needed demand for our steel and provide good-paying jobs right here at home. It’s time for the Liberals to cancel the loan and ensure that tax dollars are putting our shipbuilders, workers and industry first,” Poilievre said Wednesday.

Premier David Eby says he doesn’t like it either, but he doesn’t take kindly to being told how B.C. should manage its ferry service, given the discrepancies between federal funding for east coast versus west coast ferries.

Meanwhile, the B.C. Conservatives are calling out Eby for not using the “very powers” under Bill-7 to stop the former Crown corporation from purchasing the vessels from China.

The provincial Conservatives say the Eby government gave itself “sweeping authority to direct procurement by Crown Corporations and government-owned entities.”

“Faced with China’s tariffs on Canadian goods and BC Ferries awarding ship-building contracts to China, the Premier says he’s powerless. That’s simply not true,” MLA Kiel Giddens said in a statement on Wednesday.

“The law is crystal clear. Premier Eby has the power — right now — to stop BC Ferries from buying ferries from China. The question is: will he use it?” Giddens said.