Liberals grilled over docs contradicting minister's statements on $1B loan for Chinese ferries

OTTAWA — Conservatives didn’t waste any time going on offence as question period returned Monday, grilling the Liberals over emails that contradict their messaging on BC Ferries’ controversial deal with a Chinese state-owned shipyard. 

“Newly uncovered documents show senior Liberals were only concerned about their political interests. They did nothing to cancel the contract and ensure that our shipbuilders could participate,” charged Conservative transport critic Dan Albas.

Albas told the National Post that the documents contradict comments Transport Minister Chrystia Freeland made in June, distancing the federal government from BC Ferries’ awarding of a major shipbuilding contract to China.

Freeland said on June 18 that, while she shared the Conservatives’ “concern and anger” about the deal, her hands were tied jurisdictionally.

“(T)here seems to be some confusion among the Conservative MPs about what is provincial jurisdiction and what is federal jurisdiction … the federal government has no authority over BC Ferries,” said Freeland.

BC Ferries announced one week earlier that it awarded China’s Weihai Shipyards a contract to build four new vessels, with no Canadian companies submitting a bid.

But internal communications published on Monday show that, while Freeland was publicly distancing her government from the B.C. shipbuilding deal, senior Liberal aides were brainstorming ways to obscure its connection to a looming federal financing announcement.

One email, sent that afternoon, flagged a pending Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) announcement that it had loaned BC Ferries $1-billion for the purchase of the Chinese-made ships and related infrastructure.

“The main challenge here is that the Conservatives hate CIB and I think they will run with this. The project is likely not viable without our loan,” read the email, which was circulated to senior staffers in both the Prime Minister’s Office and Freeland’s office.

The email also relayed concerns about the “signal” cancelling the loan would send to China just as “we try to re-establish economic ties and remove tariffs.”

The correspondence was obtained as part of a package of documents the Liberals handed over to a House of Commons committee investigating the CIB’s financing of the Chinese vessels.

The CIB public transit loan to BC Ferries was formally announced on June 26 but leaked in the media just beforehand.

Freeland asked B.C. counterpart Mike Farnworth in a June 16 lette r to “verify and confirm with utmost certainty” that no federal funding would be diverted toward the acquisition of the Chinese vessels.

Albas told the National Post that Freeland needs to come clean to Canadians about what she knew and when.

“(Freeland’s) tone was very stern and certain that not one federal dollar should go toward the capital purchase of these ships, but that doesn’t totally line up with what we now know some of these senior Liberals were doing behind the scenes,” said Albas.

“I think that we need to have some accountability from this government.”

Albas, who also sits on the House committee investigating the CIB loan to BC Ferries, says he expects further details about the Liberals’ foreknowledge to come to light.

“I think there’s other shoes to fall on this,” said Albas.

National Post rmohamed@postmedia.com

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