Union urges British Columbians to ‘speak up’ over $1B ferry deal with China

The BC Ferry & Marine Workers’ Union (BCFMWU) says a lot is at stake with the launch of the Build Them Here campaign.

According to the union, thousands of good jobs, billions in local investment and the future of Canadian shipbuilding could be lost if BC Ferries’ controversial $1-billion deal with a Chinese shipmaker isn’t scrapped.

The campaign urges British Columbians to “speak up” and contact their MP and MLA to demand the four new ships be built in Canada before BC Ferries sends public money overseas.

“BC Ferries says this is about savings, but the savings are short-term. We’ve seen the long-term costs: delays waiting for parts, mismatched systems, repair crews flown in from abroad. It hurts service,” said union president Eric McNeely.

“Build Them Here offers an easy way to act and busts myths about the real cost of offshoring: $1.2 billion in wages lost, $1.1 billion in GDP wiped out and more than 5,000 skilled jobs gone.”

This issue is getting attention in Ottawa, as the House of Commons transport committee launched a study into the billion-dollar loan last week, but the union says more voices are needed.

McNeely called it “a national-interest decision with generational consequences,” adding that public contracts should build local industries, not foreign ones.

The BCFMWU also recently sent a letter to BC Ferries raising concerns over what the union calls a “lack of local procurement policies” for the company’s terminal repairs and upgrades.

“Canada’s steel industry is under pressure, and public contracts should help keep it alive,” noted McNeely. “We shouldn’t be importing steel and jobs from overseas while our own mills face closures and layoffs. BC Ferries has the power to choose Canadian.”

Click here to learn more about the Build Them Here campaign.