The BC Ferry and Marine Workers Union (BCFMWU) have released the results of a poll commissioned to find out how British Columbians feel about BC Ferries’ new vessels being built in China.
This poll was conducted by Leger on behalf of the Build Them Here Shipbuilding Coalition—an effort to garner support for BC’s shipbuilding sector.
The poll found that 84% of BC respondents would rather see the Province develop a plan to keep the shipbuilding work within the province.
Despite the Province currently facing a forecasted deficit of $11.6 billion, money doesn’t matter to 61% of respondents who said the new ferries should be built in BC, even if it costs more.
Conversely, 23% said they would prefer the cheapest option offshore.
Additionally, 81% of respondents said they wanted more information on why BC Ferries outsourced building the four new ferries.
“British Columbians get it. Building ships here means good jobs for workers and lasting benefits for communities,” said Eric McNeely, president of the BCFMWU.
“You can’t build an industry by outsourcing it.”
A total of 1,035 adults across BC were surveyed in this poll, with their answers weighted to reflect the province’s population by age, gender, region, education and household makeup.
Despite the poll’s results showing that a majority of British Columbians wanting the ships built domestically and wanting more information on the decision process, that information has long-been available since BC Ferries chose a Chinese shipbuilder in June.
In order to select a ship builder, a rigorous global procurement process was initiated which included a public Request for Proposals, comprehensive bid evaluations, international site visits as well as independent third-party reference checks.
According to BC Ferries, only two Canadian shipyards showed interest, but neither of them submitted a final proposal.
BC Ferries says the company did everything they could to prioritize trying to find a Canadian shipyard and adjusted the qualification criteria specifically to enable them to have a better chance at being selected.
China Merchants Industry Weihai Shipyards (CMI Weihai) ended up as the selected shipyard for the four new vessels that will be added to BC Ferries fleet.
According to BC Ferries, CMI Weihai was not the lowest-cost bidder but was chosen for its best overall value. This includes the company’s delivery timeline, technical performance, lifecycle cost and service-level commitments.
BC Ferries President and CEO Nicolas Jimenez told the House of Commons Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities (TRAN) back in July that even if there had been a Canadian bid, the company could not have selected them in good faith to their customers.
“It too would have cost more and those ships would have taken up to a decade longer to build—during which time our customers would pay the price with increasing breakdowns of our old vessels,” said Jimenez.
He added that BC Ferries has a mandate to provide service that remains affordable and reliable for passengers across the province.
Though a majority of British Columbians would rather have the vessels built in BC, the position of BC Ferries is that it simply would not be possible, despite their best efforts.
