Labour wants $82m import duties on new B.C. ferries given to local shipbuilders

VANCOUVER -- The NDP and the union representing shipbuilders in B.C. want $82 million in import duties imposed on B.C. Ferries' newest ships to be handed over to the shipbuilding industry.

 The three vessels were built in Germany at a cost of $542 million, with the first them, the Coastal Renaissance, arriving in B.C. waters today.

 George McPherson, president of the B.C. Shipyard General Workers Federation, says the money from the duty should be put back into the province's shipbuilding industry, even though he concedes the industry is currently healthy.

 He says the money would help create more jobs and investment in B.C., allowing the industry to grow.

 Federal NDP trade critic Peter Julian says B.C. lost about 5,000 jobs by what he calls a "short-sighted" decision to invest in the German shipbuilding industry instead of the B.C. one.

 B.C. Federation of Labour president Jim Sinclair says the federal government can correct that "mistake" by dedicating the duty to improving the provincial industry.

Source:RamblerNews