August 1, 1025
RED FM News Desk
The House of Commons transport committee is meeting today to study the $1 billion loan BC Ferries received from the Canada Infrastructure Bank to purchase four new electric-diesel ships from a Chinese shipbuilder.
The committee agreed to launch the study after BC Ferries announced in June that it had hired China Merchants Industry Weihai Shipyards to build the new vessels, following a five-year procurement process that did not include a Canadian bid. The Canada Infrastructure Bank contributed $1 billion to the deal, stating in June that the new ferries “wouldn’t likely be purchased” without this financing.
Housing and Infrastructure Minister Gregor Robertson, Transport Minister Chrystia Freeland, and the CEOs of both BC Ferries and the Canada Infrastructure Bank are all scheduled to testify at the meeting.
Freeland had previously sent a letter to her B.C. counterpart, Mike Farnworth, in June, expressing her “dismay” that BC Ferries would choose a Chinese state-owned shipyard “in the current geopolitical context.” She asked for confirmation that no federal funding would be diverted to purchase the ferries.
Loading ...
