Construction of Offshore Fisheries Science Vessels—Cutting of Steel

Speaking Notes for The Honourable Diane Finley, PC, MP
Minister of Public Works and Government Services

Vancouver Shipyards
North Vancouver, British Columbia
June 24, 2015

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Good morning, everyone! And thank you, MP Saxton for that kind introduction!

[Bonjour à toutes et à tous! Et merci à Monsieur le Député Saxton de cette aimable présentation!]

I'd also like to thank Seaspan's Vancouver Shipyards for hosting today's event. Congratulations to Jonathan Whitworth, Brian Carter and your whole team!

It's great to be back in Vancouver to celebrate a major milestone in our historic National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy.

Folks, the day we have all been waiting for is finally here! Today, we are going to see construction of the first of three Offshore Fisheries Science Vessels officially begin.

What you see behind me are the first two blocks of the OFSV. They were built following my announcement in October when we kicked off the initial test block build.

As we promised you then, these were not just practice blocks, they were always intended to be actual parts of the first ship. Here they are waiting for the other blocks that will be built and brought together to create the first vessel!

The OFSV is just the first class of ships to be built under the National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy – the first in a long line of vessels that will revitalize our Navy and Coast Guard.

These particular ships are part of the Coast Guard's Fleet Renewal Program. This will lead to a modern and reliable fleet – one that will be capable of serving Canadians for many years into the future.

And, as I've said before, this is just the beginning because the Offshore Oceanographic Science Vessel, Joint Support Ships, Polar Icebreaker, Offshore Patrol Vessels and Medium Endurance Multi Task Vessels will all be built right here at Seaspan, under NSPS.

But, we all know that ships don't build themselves!

One of the best parts of visiting Seaspan's Vancouver Shipyards, over the past few years, has been meeting the people who work here and hearing their stories.

Stories about how our NSPS is changing Canada's shipbuilding industry and the lives of the people who work in it.

Stories like Kendall Trout's, a Vancouver Shipyards Steel Fitter and Seaspan's first-ever First Nations female apprentice. After more than a decade of non-trades labour jobs, she is in her second week at Seaspan and she says she wants to finish her career as a shipbuilder.

Stories like Seaspan's Senior Welder/Charge Hand Surjit (Sur-geet) Parmar. Surjit is a 42 year veteran of the shipbuilding and ship repair industry who chose to prolong his career so he could have the chance to build ships for the Canadian Coast Guard and share his knowledge with and mentor the shipbuilders of tomorrow. Surjit says he can now “retire in peace.”

And, stories like Heather Paull's. Heather has been working at the General Warehouse located in Burnaby which houses the parts that will be used in the blocks of the new OFSV. This opportunity has allowed her to move back to the West Coast, from Alberta, to be closer to her family.

There are so many more inspiring stories about the men and women who will be building these vessels.

Including the stories that will come from the 260 workers who will benefit from the Canada Job Grant funding Seaspan Shipyards was recently awarded by our Government, and the Government of British Columbia.

As a result of this funding, Seaspan's Vancouver Shipyards employees will benefit from state-of-the-art e-learning tools that are an important part of the shipyard's current and future training requirements under the NSPS.

There will be a particular focus on machine-specific operations, docking processes, metal fabrication, steel forming, paint processes, and rigging.

This build alone will create an estimated 500 jobs right here at Seaspan's Vancouver Shipyard and many more right across Canada.

To date, Seaspan has already awarded $211 million in contracts and engaged more than 137 companies across Canada, as a result of their shipyard modernization, which occurred at no cost to Canada.

One of those companies is Ideal Welders, right here in BC, who plan to grow by more than 20 full time employees because of the NSPS work.

And we're just starting construction today! Imagine the impact our shipbuilding strategy will have five years, ten years or thirty years down the road.

Our shipbuilding strategy is expected to create an estimated 15,000 jobs and lead to over $2 billion in annual economic benefits to Canada for 30 years.

By building in Canada, we're not just developing Canada's world-class shipbuilding capability; we're also providing our Navy and Coast Guard with world-class capability, replacing their current fleets with new, modern ships.

I'm thrilled that we've been able to come together today. And, I'm so pleased to see the benefits that our National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy is providing to the Canadian economy and to the lives of so many hard-working Canadians.

I'd now like to invite my friend John Weston, Member of Parliament for West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, to say a few words.

Thank you.

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