NORTH VANCOUVER, B.C. – British Columbia may have earned the second-place prize in a huge federal government shipbuilding contract, but supporters say there are still eight billion reasons to celebrate.
Premier Christy Clark and the rest of her caucus cheered when they heard that B.C.’s Seaspan Shipyards won the $ 8-billion contract to build non-combat ships.
“Despite the fact that I was absolutely confident throughout the process, you’re still on the edge of your seat,” said an overjoyed Clark.
Clark said the elation of winning the contract was similar to the thrill of Vancouver being chosen to host the 2010 Winter Olympics.
But Aldo Aresina, 57, a welder at the North Vancouver shipyard, disagreed.
“This is actually better than the Olympics,” he said, following a news conference. “The Olympics was a show. This is a reality.”
Aresina, who wore B.C., Canadian and Croatian flags on his work shirt, said he has worked at shipyards for 36 years, but the industry has been slow lately.
He said he began his career in Croatia, will end it in B.C. and the announcement is good news for younger people entering the industry.
Aaron Pottinger, a 26-year-old pipefitter, is one of them. He said the contract will offer him much-needed job security.
Irving Shipbuilding in Halifax was given the larger, $ 25-billion contract to build the navy’s new warships, while another $ 2-billion plan to build smaller vessels will be allocated later.
Francois Guimont, deputy minister of the Public Works Department, said the bidders on each coast submitted the best proposals.
The financially-troubled Davie shipyard of Levis, Que., was left out of the program, but will be eligible for the smaller contract.
Seaspan CEO Jonathan Whitworth said his North Vancouver firm was proud to be chosen, even though it didn’t win the big contract.
“Was there any disappointment? So we won an $ 8-billion contract today,” he said, after which cheers erupted from the crowd assembled at a news conference.
Whitworth said he believes the contract is the largest federal procurement package ever to be won in British Columbia.
“We know that we could have built the combat package,” he added, noting that a large portion of that package won’t go to the shipyards but to the companies building the weapons and communications systems.
Whitworth said the bid package so far includes about seven vessels: three fisheries vessels, two joint-support ships close to 160 metres long, an ice beaker and several smaller vessels.
The program will inject billions into the local economy, Whitworth said, and will create an average of 4,000 jobs over the next eight years.
He said the pay for those jobs depends on training and can range from $ 40,000 to $ 120,000 annually.
Most of the construction will be done at Vancouver Shipyards in North Vancouver, he said, after which the ships will be put into the water and towed to the company’s facilities in Victoria, for finishing, trials and testing.
“From a construction standpoint, it’s really built here and finished in Victoria. So it’s a great spread.”
He said about 80 per cent of the jobs will go to Vancouver and the remaining 20 per cent will go to Victoria.
At Victoria’s Esquimalt Graving Dock where major navy, government and private shipbuilding occurs, workers were pleased with the non-combat contract.
Apprentice steel fitter Nick Rodriguez said the federal contract gives him more confidence about his future in the industry.
“It’s huge,” he said. “It’s more money for the company, more jobs. That’s all I care about.”
Tom Szilagyi said he’s been working at Victoria Shipyards on an on-again, off-again basis for the past four years. The mechanical insulator said he hopes the shipbuilding contracts bring him steady work.
Whitworth said planning starts immediately for construction of the new vessels, but the building won’t begin until late 2012.
Over $ 150 million worth of infrastructure will need to be built at Seaspan’s shipyards in North Vancouver and Victoria, he said.
Clark told reporters in Victoria the announcement is the start of her government’s plans to bring more jobs to British Columbia.
“Thousands of high-paid jobs, people who are going to be able to support their kids, solid middle-class jobs. I think it’s so important because it’s not just one generation. It’s going to be multiple generations that are going to benefit from this.”
Clark said her government worked hard to get the contract, putting substantial support into the bid with promises of job training and apprenticeships.
In North Vancouver later in the day, Clark said she hopes the announcement means not another BC Ferry will be built overseas.
“One of the ways that we are going to make sure that we get the best value for taxpayers in building BC Ferries is by building a strong viable shipbuilding industry here in British Columbia that has an economy of scale,” she said.
“Once we build that, it’s not just going to be a question of whether or not we’re building BC Ferries here. We want to be building ferries for countries all over the world here.”
Local news from metronews.ca/vancouver
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