Ottawa, ON – As unjust and illegal American tariffs attack Canada’s steel and shipbuilding workers, the Liberals are only making it worse. Conservatives call on the government to cancel their $1 billion loan to BC Ferries that will outsource Canadian steel, aluminum and shipbuilding jobs to a foreign, state-owned enterprise.
This comes after Conservatives launched an investigation into how the Liberals’ financing of foreign ferries was allowed to happen. On June 20th, Minister of Transport Chrystia Freeland wrote she was “dismayed” by BC Ferries’ decision to purchase from a Communist Party-controlled company and demanded that federal money not be used to purchase these vessels.
Yet days later, it was revealed the Liberals were providing a $1 billion low-interest loan, effectively subsidizing the purchase with $650 million of foregone interest. It’s not the first time, as the Liberals previously provided $28 million to purchase Romanian-built ferries from a Dutch company.
Not only will Canadian workers continue to lose out, but the Liberals are supporting a firm owned by the communist regime in Beijing. China Merchants Industry Weihai Shipyards brags about being “a key state-owned enterprise directly administered by the central government” — a government that Mark Carney called “the biggest security threat to Canada.”
Canadian workers are ready to build the ships we need. But our industry can’t compete with foreign state-backed shipbuilders that undercut on environmental standards, worker safety and wages. The Canadian government should never incentivize outsourcing Canadian jobs at the expense of our workers.
Mark Carney promised Canadians that federal infrastructure funding would ‘Buy Canadian.’ Building these ferries in Canada would create much-needed demand for our steel and provide good-paying jobs right here at home. It’s time for the Liberals to cancel the loan and ensure that tax dollars are putting our shipbuilders, workers and industry first.