With a decision expected by Ottawa this week on a multi-billion dollar national ship building tender, New Democrat leader Adrian Dix is confident B.C. ship yards will win a fair share of the contracts to refit Canada's Coast Guard and Navy.

“B.C. should be in a position to receive our fair share of the $35 billion in federal contracts to refurbish Canada’s national fleet, thanks to the concerted effort of the local industry and workers. They provide the expertise, skills and have built the infrastructure that makes the West Coast a centre of excellence in shipbuilding, "says Dix.

North Vancouver-based Seaspan is one of the firms shortlisted under the tender.

The New Democrats have backed the West Coast's shipbuilding bid since 2010. In both that year and 2011, the caucus approached the federal government about how B.C., as a centre of excellence in ship building, should have a role in refurbishing Canada's Coast Guard and naval fleet.

After sending mixed signals, the Liberals expressed support for the Seaspan bid in the final months before the July 2011 deadline for offers.
"The Liberal government was slow off the mark to support the Seaspan bid. Compared to the official opposition, and governments in Nova Scotia, Quebec, and Ontario who were supporting rival bids, it started to appreciate very late in the process the opportunities for jobs and economic development under this national shipbuilding procurement strategy,” notes Mike Farnworth MLA for Port Coquitlam.

Farnworth's family has worked in the B.C. ship building industry for generations.

The controversial decision by the Liberals to build new vessels for the B.C. Ferry fleet in Europe also raised questions about the provincial government's commitment to the West Coast's shipbuilding industry. In recent years, now Deputy Premier Kevin Falcon told international audiences that our domestic industry was not capable of building ships for our ferry services.