The BC Ferries vessel Island Nagalis, an island class ferry used to service Quadra Island, arrives in Campbell River, B.C., on Oct. 11, 2024. Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press
A B.C. workers’ union has launched a campaign opposing plans to build four new B.C. Ferries vessels in China and advocating for domestic firms to be prioritized, saying the deal with the foreign shipyard will result in lost Canadian wages, tax revenue, and economic opportunity.
The BC Ferry and Marine Workers’ Union has launched a campaign called “Build Them Here,” encouraging citizens to ask the provincial and federal governments to keep shipbuilding contracts in Canada. The union says the recent decision by BC Ferries, a publicly owned ferry operator, to hire a Chinese state-owned shipyard to build four new vessels means public money is being used to support economies abroad instead of creating jobs locally.
