Overview

• BC Ferries awarded a contract to China Merchants Industry Weihai Shipyards for four replacement vessels after a five-year procurement process yielded no Canadian bids.
• Premier David Eby said he will not intervene in BC Ferries’ contract decision despite his disappointment.
• The BC Building Trades, representing 45,000 unionized workers, called the decision “a stain on BC Ferries” and urged the Crown corporation to reverse course.
• Transportation Minister Mike Farnworth expressed disappointment over the absence of Canadian content in the shipbuilding plan.
• Eby said he will work with the federal government to ensure subsequent ferries are built in British Columbia to strengthen local shipbuilding capacity.