Editor:
Rob Shaw’s Business in Vancouver column in the Coast Reporter regarding Davie Shipyards’ critique of BC Ferries‘ decision to build its new tranche of ships in China misses critical economic realities.
David Eby’s suggestion that all “the public simply wants (is) ships built quickly and cheaply” is simply wrong! Yes, the public is mindful of cost, but we are also mindful of morality and good jobs for Canadians.
Virtually everything that goes into building a ferry, from the design and engineering, constructing the yards, mining the ore to make the steel, the propulsion, electronics and paint can and should be made in Canada and assembled in B.C. Together they produce tens of thousands of job years, which should be filled, as much as is possible, by British Columbian and Canadian workers, not foreign workers.
If the ships are sourced in Canada and built in B.C., as much as possible, each and every one of those good paying jobs also pays good taxes that support the federal, provincial and municipal programs Canadians want and need. As those workers spend their well-earned pay, they in turn employ thousands of others across our communities who also pay their taxes and help to support well-run communities! If the ships are built off-shore, virtually all of that economic benefit is lost to our local, provincial and national economies.
The BCF decision to build off-shore has been made absent any serious cost-benefit analysis, considering only the costs while ignoring the substantial benefits. This is all-the-more galling as B.C. and Canada are dealing with the economic assault ignited by Trump’s tariff wars.
As the sole shareholder of BC Ferries, the provincial government should direct BCF management to cancel the Chinese contract and work with the provincial and federal governments to conduct a wholistic cost-benefit analysis comparing both the costs and benefits of building domestically rather than off-shore and then award the contract/s based on those findings. It’s the moral and economic right thing to do!
Jef Keighley
Garden Bay
