Internal government emails reveal cabinet aides scrambled to “limit the damage” after it emerged Canadian taxpayers were footing the bill for $1 billion in BC Ferries contracts with a Chinese state-run shipyard.Blacklock's Reporter says the emails, disclosed by the Commons transport committee, show aides advising then-Transport Minister Chrystia Freeland to distance herself from the deal and frame the procurement as a decision by BC Ferries. “Distance ourselves from this as much as possible,” wrote one aide. Another added, “The goal was to try and point people back towards the fact the procurement questions and decisions need to go to British Columbia.”BC Ferries announced on June 10, 2022, that it would hire Weihai Shipyards to supply four electric ferries, financed by the federal Canada Infrastructure Bank. Staff emails described the situation as “our attempt to make the best of the worst” and suggested Freeland and other ministers publicly express disappointment while emphasizing they “had nothing to do with this.”.Freeland initially claimed she only learned of the contract through a news release and said she was “disappointed and concerned” when she found out. However, records show her department knew about the contract weeks in advance. The Commons transport committee has since requested her appearance for questioning.Opposition MPs have called for the Weihai Shipyards loan to be cancelled, but a Privy Council Office memo warned that doing so would be politically awkward and could delay or derail a project crucial to British Columbians. The memo noted that while legal and financial consequences of cancellation would be serious, the bigger concern was “undermining progress when Canadians are asking us to deliver infrastructure faster and better.”.Officials also explored whether the loan terms could be modified to prevent funds from going to China, but the memo cautioned that retroactive restrictions could breach contracts and compromise the financing model. Staff repeatedly urged ministers to “try to limit the damage” while publicly promoting the project’s environmental and infrastructure benefits.
