Post by ferryfast admin on Jun 6, 2011 13:12:22 GMT -5
B.C. plans ‘big splash’ to counter N.S. bid for shipbuilding deal
By ROGER TAYLOR
thechronicleherald.ca/Business/1246806.html
Sat, Jun 4 - 1:09 PM
Last week it was Nova Scotia’s turn to unveil a plan to lobby Ottawa on behalf of Irving Shipbuilding Inc.’s Halifax Shipyard, all in a bid to win a $35-billion contract to build 20 navy ships over 30 years.
Now it is British Columbia Premier Christy Clark’s turn.
Clark announced earlier this week that she will soon go to Ottawa in an effort to counteract Nova Scotia’s campaign to win the lucrative National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy contract.
The B.C. premier told the Victoria Times Colonist she plans to meet with Prime Minister Stephen Harper in an effort to make a "big splash" as she promotes the bid by Vancouver Shipyards Co. Ltd.
Rather than focusing exclusively on the shipyard bid, Clark says, it will be one aspect of her lobbying effort, along with softwood lumber, Asia-Pacific trade and increasing British Columbia’s seat count in the House of Commons.
Seaspan Marine Corp., formerly known as Washington Marine Group, owns and operates several major subsidiaries: Marine Petrobulk Ltd., Seaspan Ferries Corp., Victoria Shipyards Co. Ltd., Vancouver Drydock Co., and Vancouver Shipyards.
Those companies are part of the holdings of The Washington Companies, an association of separate businesses holdings by Montana businessman Dennis Washington, in which Washington’s involvement represents "a significant ownership position."
That fact is not lost on the supporters of the Halifax bid, who point out the Halifax Shipyard is the only fully Canadian bid.
Besides the Halifax and Vancouver shipyards, Seaway Marine and Industrial Inc. of St. Catharines, Ont., and Davie Ships Inc. of Levis, Que., are also competing for the contract.
A main contractor for combat vessels and another for non-combat vessels will be chosen sometime in September. The deadline for bids is July 7.
The Nova Scotia government is helping to finance the public-private effort to bolster the Halifax Shipyard bid, including a promotional website shipsstarthere.ca.
Premier Darrell Dexter went to Ottawa earlier this week and met with several representatives of the Conservative government but not with Harper or Defence Minister Peter MacKay, Nova Scotia’s representative in the cabinet.
Nova Scotia’s pitch suggests the Halifax yard is best positioned to meet the challenge and opportunity the navy contract represents and indicates a Halifax win would provide more spinoffs to other regions in Canada than any other shipyard in the running.
According to the Times Colonist a Seaspan Marine win would result in ships being built in North Vancouver and then moved to Victoria Shipyards in Esquimalt for sea trials, testing, final tooling and finishing, representing about 15 to 20 per cent of the work.
"We are going to open every door that we possibly can to make sure this happens," Clark promises.
I don’t know what the British Columbia government has been hearing, but the word coming back to Nova Scotia from Ottawa is that the federal cabinet doesn’t want to be caught up in any lobbying effort by one shipyard over another.
If the Conservative government can be believed, politics will not play a role in determining the winning bid. All this promotional activity by the provinces could be considered as nothing but window dressing for the electorate back home.
The fact the B.C. premier is making the trek to Ottawa on behalf of Vancouver Shipyards validates Nova Scotia’s decision to embark on its own lobbying effort in Ottawa — at least we’re not the only ones.
While I have been critical of the Nova Scotia government’s attempt to tug at heart strings in an effort to win this contract, I don’t doubt that winning the navy shipbuilding work would have no bigger economic impact than in Nova Scotia.
But if Nova Scotia’s lobbying effort is to be credible, it is important that the Dexter government check the numbers being bandied about, including whether the job numbers and economic spinoffs will live up to the hype.
By ROGER TAYLOR
thechronicleherald.ca/Business/1246806.html
Sat, Jun 4 - 1:09 PM
Last week it was Nova Scotia’s turn to unveil a plan to lobby Ottawa on behalf of Irving Shipbuilding Inc.’s Halifax Shipyard, all in a bid to win a $35-billion contract to build 20 navy ships over 30 years.
Now it is British Columbia Premier Christy Clark’s turn.
Clark announced earlier this week that she will soon go to Ottawa in an effort to counteract Nova Scotia’s campaign to win the lucrative National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy contract.
The B.C. premier told the Victoria Times Colonist she plans to meet with Prime Minister Stephen Harper in an effort to make a "big splash" as she promotes the bid by Vancouver Shipyards Co. Ltd.
Rather than focusing exclusively on the shipyard bid, Clark says, it will be one aspect of her lobbying effort, along with softwood lumber, Asia-Pacific trade and increasing British Columbia’s seat count in the House of Commons.
Seaspan Marine Corp., formerly known as Washington Marine Group, owns and operates several major subsidiaries: Marine Petrobulk Ltd., Seaspan Ferries Corp., Victoria Shipyards Co. Ltd., Vancouver Drydock Co., and Vancouver Shipyards.
Those companies are part of the holdings of The Washington Companies, an association of separate businesses holdings by Montana businessman Dennis Washington, in which Washington’s involvement represents "a significant ownership position."
That fact is not lost on the supporters of the Halifax bid, who point out the Halifax Shipyard is the only fully Canadian bid.
Besides the Halifax and Vancouver shipyards, Seaway Marine and Industrial Inc. of St. Catharines, Ont., and Davie Ships Inc. of Levis, Que., are also competing for the contract.
A main contractor for combat vessels and another for non-combat vessels will be chosen sometime in September. The deadline for bids is July 7.
The Nova Scotia government is helping to finance the public-private effort to bolster the Halifax Shipyard bid, including a promotional website shipsstarthere.ca.
Premier Darrell Dexter went to Ottawa earlier this week and met with several representatives of the Conservative government but not with Harper or Defence Minister Peter MacKay, Nova Scotia’s representative in the cabinet.
Nova Scotia’s pitch suggests the Halifax yard is best positioned to meet the challenge and opportunity the navy contract represents and indicates a Halifax win would provide more spinoffs to other regions in Canada than any other shipyard in the running.
According to the Times Colonist a Seaspan Marine win would result in ships being built in North Vancouver and then moved to Victoria Shipyards in Esquimalt for sea trials, testing, final tooling and finishing, representing about 15 to 20 per cent of the work.
"We are going to open every door that we possibly can to make sure this happens," Clark promises.
I don’t know what the British Columbia government has been hearing, but the word coming back to Nova Scotia from Ottawa is that the federal cabinet doesn’t want to be caught up in any lobbying effort by one shipyard over another.
If the Conservative government can be believed, politics will not play a role in determining the winning bid. All this promotional activity by the provinces could be considered as nothing but window dressing for the electorate back home.
The fact the B.C. premier is making the trek to Ottawa on behalf of Vancouver Shipyards validates Nova Scotia’s decision to embark on its own lobbying effort in Ottawa — at least we’re not the only ones.
While I have been critical of the Nova Scotia government’s attempt to tug at heart strings in an effort to win this contract, I don’t doubt that winning the navy shipbuilding work would have no bigger economic impact than in Nova Scotia.
But if Nova Scotia’s lobbying effort is to be credible, it is important that the Dexter government check the numbers being bandied about, including whether the job numbers and economic spinoffs will live up to the hype.