The fact that BC Ferries is awarding a contract to build four new ferries in China is indeed concerning. It should come as no surprise that this highly subsidized, low-wage Chinese shipyard brought in the lowest bid; and even more galling is the fact that Canada is currently the victim of punishing, unjustified, Chinese government-imposed tariffs.
But surely the most ironic and highly questionable commentary about all of this is coming from former BC Liberal (now BC Conservative) politicians criticizing the current provincial government for this fiasco when it was actually them who created the legislative mechanism that caused this mess in the first place.
In 2003, the BC Liberals enacted Bill 18, the Coastal Ferries Act. Bill 18 removed BC Ferries (BCF) from Crown corporation status, transforming it to an arcane "private corporate entity" with the intention of both removing government oversight of this vital public service but also taking BCF "off the books" concerning public debt. The sole mandate of BCF, with regard to procurements, was now to simply get the lowest cost deal possible, without regard to any other bothersome public policy issues regarding such things as local jobs or tariffs. To be fair to the current BCF executive (and its various boards), they are simply living up to the mandates that Bill 18 directs them to do.
So now, it is very rich to hear BC Conservative politicians cry foul when it was those very politicians who enacted this terrible governance model at BC Ferries.
It is too late now to rescind this latest contract for new ferries, but I would strongly encourage the current NDP government to enact new legislation at the earliest opportunity to rescind Bill 18 and return BCF to its proper position as a Crown corporation.
Daniel Rowe
Sidney
