Duncan – The reason for the last three B.C. ferries being built overseas was to shop for the best dollar value for the B.C. taxpayer, exactly the identical way every B.C. taxpayer shops the market when buying items in their personal lives that have to be paid from their very own hip pocket.

In the last bidding process, there were 14 bids for construction with only three from within Canada.

The final bid went to Flensburger shipyards in Germany because their final bid was still 40 per cent below the lowest Canadian bid. Included in the Flensburger contract were personal guarantees on delivery dates and performance.

If the ships were not timely delivered, B.C. Ferries was permitted to levy penalties of $40,000 per day up to a maximum of $6 million, and after 180 days, B.C. Ferries could rescind the contract for a full refund.

A win-win situation.

The B.C. taxpayers were the real winners in the construction costs of these three new ferries. Not one of the three Canadian company bids could come anywhere near the contract and guarantee bid from Germany’s Flensburger bid.

New ferries will not be built by Canadian companies, unless they become more competitive.

Joe Sawchuk

Duncan