BUILD THEM HERE

OUR FERRIES. OUR MONEY. THEIR JOBS.

BC Ferries just handed a half-billion-dollars in public money to a state-owned shipyard in China while welders, riggers, apprentices and steelworkers here sit on the sidelines.

We’ve got the skills. We’ve got the yards. But instead of building vessels here, our tax dollars are being used to send jobs to workers in another country.

They say it’s cheaper. They say it’s faster. They say no one in Canada bid. But here’s what they don’t say:

• Canadian yards were interested. The process pushed them out.
   
• Seaspan warned over a year ago that the terms were stacked against local builders.
   
• Offshore builds only look cheaper because they don’t count the cost of lost jobs, lost training, and long-term dependency on foreign supply chains.

This isn’t just about ferries.

It’s about whether public money should create good jobs here or be used to prop up foreign economies. It’s about a generation of young workers being told there’s no place for them in B.C.’s future.

We’re sick of watching contracts, paycheques and pride go overseas while we’re told to wait for trickle-down scraps.

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH

It’s not too late to fight back.

Let’s stand up for good jobs, stronger communities and a ferry system we can count on.

Offshore builds may look cheaper on paper, but they cost us billions in lost wages, tax revenue and economic opportunity.

Tell your MLA and MP: build our ferries here, not there.