Monday July 7, 225 | VICTORIA, BC
by Mary P Brooke, Editor | Island Social Trends
Today the BC Parliamentary Press Gallery media took another round at asking Premier David Eby about the BC Ferries shipbuilding contract that was awarded to a Chinese-government-owned enterprise.
It’s easy to say that a lowest-possible-cost is the reason that BC Ferries chose the new major vessel contractor (for vessels 1 to 4, the first of which will be in service starting 2029 with all four vessels are to be in service by summer 2031).
But with a Chinese shipbuilding provider there could be concerns that are political in nature for Canada, as well as related to security (which Eby has for now vehemently denied in an interview on Focus BC on Global).
Island Social Trends links on covering this story from day one (see BC Ferries news section):
- BC Ferries four new major vessels to be constructed in China (June 10, 2025)
- Vancouver Island MP asks about BC Ferries contract in House of Commons (June 11, 2025)
- East-west difference in federal funding to coastal ferries (June 17, 2025)
- Premier Eby to seek federal collaboration for greater Canadian shipbuilding capacity (June 17, 2025)
- BC Premier still aiming for federal funding of coastal ferries (June 29, 2025)
Comparing $300 to $1:
Today Eby repeated his position with the numbers about ferry service delivery funding that he hopes everyone will remember:
- $300 in federal funding per every Atlantic Canada resident
- $1 in federal funding per every British Columbian resident
We will ask for a confirmation on the calculation of these numbers.
And as yet’s unclear whether real meetings or negotiations have commenced on this file between BC and the federal government.
Meanwhile, it should be noted that the Atlantic system is entirely federally owned while in BC this province relies on the service of the private corporation BC Ferries over which the government has not much control.
Federal stance:
Perhaps the blind-spot for the federal government is that more than one province is being served on the east coast, and of course that they own the Atlantic Marine crown corporation that provides east coast ferry services.
Perhaps the other blind-spot for the federal government is that being centralized in the ring of influence that is Ottawa/Ontario/Quebec that BC geographically so far away gets overlooked.
But this is still happening in a time where global communications are instantaneous and that the federal government itself has declared that Canada have ‘one strong economy’.
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NEWS SECTIONS: BC FERRIES | 43rd BC PARLIAMENT | 45th CANADIAN PARLIAMENT | COASTAL BC