My Letter to a Constituent
Regarding B.C. Ferries
September 3, 2004Thank you for communicating with this office concerning the decision of BC Ferries to source the construction of its "Super C" class ferries abroad. Many of you have asked where I stand on this issue.
Those of us representing North Shore ridings do not appreciate the deprecatory remarks made by the President of B.C. Ferries concerning the British Columbia shipbuilding industry. It was too easy for Mr. David Hahn to unfairly smear the reputation and capability of workers and organizations - many of them in North Shore ridings - by referring to the fast ferries debacle. Others in senior office have referred, unfairly and without adequate understanding, to the cost overruns and "piecemeal" mode of construction of the successful "C class" ferries.
What Mr. Hahn, a newcomer to B.C., has probably not had time to learn is that the fast ferries debacle must be laid at the feet of the politicians in charge, not at the feet of the workers and the companies who built these vessels.
As for the "C class" ferries, I happen to know Lucille Johnston who was CEO of this effort, and all British Columbians should be proud of the result. Yes, the vessels were built piecemeal at geographically dispersed locations and then assembled (just like a Boeing airliner is) but this was necessitated by the fact that Versatile Shipyards was in receivership and it was necessary to shelter capital funds advanced, from the creditors. To our credit, they assembled like a charm. And yes, they cost a lot more than originally planned - because new design features were added, not because costs were out of control. So let us not point to C Class for lessons in what can go wrong; a lot of things went "right." British Columbians did the job well.
In assessing the environment of decision-making at BC Ferries we must recognize that, for all practical purposes, this company is under private management now. It is not a crown corporation. However, its shares are owned by the Province of British Columbia. The analogy of the Vancouver Airport Authority has been used. Or some British Columbians might recall the history of BC Resource Investment Corporation.
As a privately managed company now, BC Ferries does not come running to government every time it makes a decision. Since all of the taxpayers of British Columbia - whether they use the ferries or not -- have been asked to subsidize BC Ferries in the past to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars, I think that trying this new management model is a good idea. Leaving the politicians in ultimate charge is not a good idea (see fast ferries) however much this might be preferred by special interests who are adept at putting the squeeze on politicians.
However, the wisdom of that management structure does not remove from the management of BC Ferries the obligation to consider their shareholders' interests extra carefully - and all British Columbians are shareholders.
Thus, if sourcing offshore provides huge cost savings, all the shareholders (us) should applaud. If sourcing offshore provides only minimal cost savings, or even costs BC Ferries a small premium price, then the decision is tougher. It is tougher, because of the multiplier benefits to all shareholders (i.e. us) of building those vessels at home.
We shall never know whether or not our local Washington Marine Group could save the taxpayers a little bit of money, a lot of money, or no money at all, because it seems Washington Marine was dropped rather early from the list of contenders.
I find this inexplicable. It suggests that the interests of all of the shareholders may not have been adequately considered.
In the future, let us hope that all parties involved will do better than in the past.
Yours truly,
Ralph Sultan, MLA
West Vancouver-Capilano
[top]
To receive Ralph's newsletter, please
To remove yourself from Ralph's newsletter, please
If there are any problems or comments that you would like to pass along about this site, please send an
email to
and maintained by the West Vancouver-Capilano Association of the B.C. Liberal Party