Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is once again urging the federal government to cancel the $1 billion loan it is providing to BC Ferries for its deal with a Chinese state-owned shipyard, citing the harm the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) latest tariffs are causing to Canadian farmers.
Poilievre made the comments in an Aug. 13 social media
post, saying that while Beijing recently imposed “unfair and unjustified” tariffs on Canada on top of existing levies, Ottawa continues to back a loan from the Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) to purchase ships from a Chinese state-owned company “that undercuts Canadian companies on environmental standards, worker safety and wages.”
“This makes no sense. Canadian workers are capable of building world-class ships, with Canadian steel, aluminum, and technology, here at home,” he wrote.
“Given the CCP’s newest round of tariffs, we renew our call for Minister Robertson to cancel the Canadian Infrastructure Bank’s loan and put Canadian shipbuilders, steel workers and industry first.”
Beijing on Aug. 12
announced it would impose 75.8 percent temporary tariffs on Canadian canola, set to take effect on Aug. 14. The announcement came days after Canada
imposed new tariffs on steel originating from China. China said its decision for the tariffs on canola stemmed from a preliminary ruling of an anti-dumping investigation the regime launched last year shortly after Canada imposed 100 percent tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles and 25 percent tariffs on aluminum and steel products.
Ottawa rejected the investigation’s findings and said it was “deeply disappointed” by Beijing’s decision to impose the tariffs.
“We do not dump canola. Our hard-working farmers provide world-class food to Canadians and international trading partners,” Minister of International Trade Maninder Sidhu said in an Aug. 12 joint
statement with Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Heath MacDonald.
“Canada is committed to ensuring fair market access for our canola industry and we remain ready to engage in constructive dialogue with Chinese officials to address our respective trade concerns.”
The new tariffs come on top of the 100 percent duties China
imposed earlier this year on Canadian canola oil, oil cakes, and pea imports, along with a 25 percent tariff on pork and seafood products.
The office of Housing Minister Gregor Robertson, who oversees the CIB, did not respond to a request for comment by publication time.
Robertson
told an Aug. 1 House of Commons transport committee meeting, which is reviewing the federal loan, that while he was “disappointed” by BC Ferries’ decision to hire a Chinese state-run shipyard, he would not interfere with the bank’s loan, noting it operates at arm’s length from the federal government.
The CIB
announced in late June it would provide a $1 billion loan to BC Ferries, a publicly owned ferry operator, for the purchase of four new vessels from China Merchants Industry Weihai Shipyards.
“I cannot and will not interfere in the business of the infrastructure bank,” Roberson said on Aug. 1. He added that he would work to ensure his policy moving forward focuses on a “buy Canada” approach.
The Conservatives have previously
called on Ottawa to cancel the federal loan, saying the deal with the Chinese shipyard would outsource Canadian jobs and resources, especially amid U.S. tariffs, to a regime that was already harming Canadian farmers and food producers with tariffs.
Several elected officials from different levels of government—including federal Transport Minister Chrystia
Freeland, Conservative MP Aaron
Gunn, and B.C. MLA Harman
Bhangu—have raised concerns about the deal, citing not just lost economic opportunities but also
security risks linked to the Chinese Communist Party and China’s interference in Canadian democracy.
The Chinese shipyard was selected by BC Ferries through a global procurement process that saw no Canadian firm bid for the contract.
BC Ferries CEO Nicolas Jimenez
told the Aug. 1 committee meeting that while BC Ferries adjusted its procurement process qualifications specifically to allow Canadian shipyards to qualify, none chose to formally submit a proposal.
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Meanwhile, two Canadian shipyards,
Seaspan and Davie Shipbuilding, have argued the procurement criteria made it difficult to compete with countries with lower industry standards.
“Due to the inherent price disadvantage caused by massive state subsidies for Chinese shipyards, coupled with low wages, weak environmental standards, and minimal labour protections, no Canadian or Western shipyard could reasonably compete, leaving us no choice but to withdraw,” reads an Aug. 1
letter from Davie
’s CEO to Quebec MP Xavier Barsalou-Duval, vice-chair of the federal transportation committee.
Jimenez has said that cancelling the contract or the loan would have a “huge impact” on local communities.
At the Aug. 1 committee meeting, MPs passed a
motion to have all documents related to the procurement deal and loan submitted in the next two months.
Meanwhile, at least two B.C. unions have
launched separate campaigns opposing the construction of B.C. vessels in China and calling on the provincial and federal governments to prioritize Canadian shipbuilders.
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Matthew Horwood and Paul Rowan Brian contributed to this report.
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