THE provincial government has pledged $40 million, including $35 million in labour tax credits, towards the B.C. shipbuilders bid for one of two huge federal navy contracts.
Pat Bell, minister of jobs, tourism and innovation, made the announcement Monday at Seaspans Vancouver Shipyards in North Vancouver, where much of the work is expected to take place if West Coast shipbuilders win one of the contracts.
Seaspan submitted its bid last week for one of the two 30-year federal contracts worth a combined $35 billion.
Under a national shipbuilding strategy announced last year, Ottawa will pick two shipyards to build 28 large ships and many smaller vessels over the next three decades. One shipyard will build combat vessels, including Arctic patrol ships. The other will build large icebreakers and support ships.
The larger combat vessel contract worth an estimated $25 billion would create more than 8,000 jobs at the peak of the project and an average of close to 6,000 jobs over 30 years.
Seaspan lobbied hard for provincial tax credits in the lead-up to the bid deadline, which bid proponents said would help in training and hiring of apprentices who will be needed to take on the massive project if B.C. shipbuilders are successful.
In addition to the tax credits, B.C. will provide about $5 million to further support the long-term viability of the shipbuilding industry.
B.C. Ferries has also promised $20 million towards the project.
Bell made the provincial announcement in front of one of Seaspans massive tugboats, Protector, describing the present day as a pivotal point in time in the shipbuilding industry.
In supporting the bid, the government hopes to secure a generations worth of long-term jobs in the industry that has swung between peaks and valleys over recent decades.
Weve provided the best possible chance for the opportunity of a lifetime, said Bell.
Jonathan Whitworth, chief executive officer of Seaspan, described the economic impact of winning the bid as like winning the winter Olympics every two or three years.
Theres not a lot of projects in the province or in the country that can create that many jobs, he said.
The project would start with a massive $160-million to $190-million construction project in Seaspans North Vancouver and Esquimalt shipyards to get ready for building the navy ships.
Whitworth said design and preparation work for that construction will proceed over the next two months while the shipyards await the announcement of the winning bidders.
After delivering the 22,000-page document last week, Whitworth said hes feeling confident in Seaspans bid, despite competition from two strong competitors Irving shipyard in Halifax and one consortium headed by Davie and Upper Lakes shipyards in Ontario and Quebec. The consortium, which came together just hours before the bid deadline, includes backing from SNC Lavalin engineers and a Korean shipbuilder.
The federal government has committed to a fair, open and transparent process, said Whitworth. I believe the federal government that theyre going to follow through.
George MacPherson, president of the B.C. Shipyard Workers Federation, said hes also feeling confident in the bid.
If either one of the contracts comes to the West Coast, Were going to be able to build an industry here, he said.
MacPherson said its been a long road back for shipbuilders since the federal government cancelled a contract to build the $700 million Polar 8 icebreaker in North Vancouver in 1990, and B.C. Ferries decided in 2004 to build three new ferries worth $542 million in Germany.
Stakes in winning one of the navy contracts are high. If these contracts dont come to the west thats the end of the industry here, said MacPherson.
The federal government is expected to make a decision on the contracts sometime this fall.
