There has been strong reaction in the Halifax-area after word that a Quebec-based shipyard submitted an unsolicited bid to build ships for the coast guard.
The president of Irving Shipyard says he’s confident it won’t affect ships being built in Halifax, but he says he’s angry the procurement process is being questioned and he says Canadians should be too.
“We’ve moved on, Canada’s moved on, the federal government’s moved on,” says Irving Shipbuilding President Kevin McCoy, “the competition is over.”
Davie Shipyard submitted an unsolicited bid to the federal government, a contract already awarded to the Vancouver-based Seaspan.
“I don’t know much about the detail,” Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil said on Thursday, “but I fully expect work that has already been awarded to other yards to be done in those yards.”
Irving says it has already invested $360 million building what it calls, the most modern shipyard in North American, and its already started building the first arctic patrol ship.
“A shipyard that hasn’t done that investment has older antiquated technology, lost the nationwide competition,” says McCoy, “really can’t come in and say foul, we want a new strategy.”
Halifax’s Mayor Mike Savage says he feels so strongly about Davie’s unsolicited proposal.
He called reporters to his office.
“I think it’s outrageous,” says Savage, “for anybody to throw in on an ad hoc basis, unsolicited proposals.”
The federal government says it will not consider the unsolicited bid from Davie Shipyard, pointing out it already has two shipyards competitively selected to build Canada’s ships.
But both Irving and Halifax’s mayor say they don’t like anything that would even question the process.
“There’s so much on the line,” says McCoy. “Shipbuilding is so important to the country, anytime anyone wants to come in and disrupt a sound strategy, we say time out. There’s a reason Canada went down this route. There’s a reason Irving Shipbuilding won, and now we’re off building great ships.”
“We shouldn’t overact,” adds Savage. “But on the other hand, we should take seriously the integrity of this process and make sure that it’s followed because, as I say, I think it’s the best process we’ve ever seen for procurement in this country.”
Irving has not yet secured the contract to build warships, but says it expects to do that by 2020 and sees no change in that plan.
CTV News did reach out to Davie Shipyard on Friday to ask why they submitted the bid, but they did not respond.
The federal government says while Davie won’t be building coast guard ships, there will be other opportunities to compete under the national shipbuilding strategy.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Kayla Hounsell.
