A Commons committee has voted to force the release of all records surrounding a controversial $1.1 billion federal loan used to buy ferries built in China, amid growing concern over transparency, national security, and support for Canadian industries.Blacklock's Reporter says the House of Commons transport committee passed the motion by a 5–4 vote, compelling the release of confidential documents related to the Canada Infrastructure Bank’s low-interest financing of four new vessels for BC Ferries. The ships are being built by the Chinese state-owned Weihai Shipyards.“We can stop this loan,” said Conservative MP Dan Albas, who introduced the motion. He told the committee that full disclosure of bids, emails, and internal government discussions would allow MPs to properly scrutinize the deal..Albas' motion orders the Infrastructure Bank, BC Ferries, relevant federal departments, and the Prime Minister’s Office to provide records related to the loan and the procurement process — including vendor details, pricing, meeting notes, and correspondence dating back to January 1, 2023 — by August 29. The material is to be distributed by September 12.Liberal MPs questioned the legality of releasing commercially sensitive information. “The Conservatives know full well that to make these competitive bids public is not fair. It’s not proper,” said MP Stéphane Lauzon..The Infrastructure Bank confirmed the $1.1 billion loan on June 26 at 1.8% interest, but Transport Minister Chrystia Freeland said she only learned of the deal once it became public. “I am troubled by the procurement,” she told the committee. “I strongly believe in supporting Canada’s shipbuilding.”Pressed repeatedly by Albas on whether she would push cabinet to cancel the loan, Freeland stopped short of committing. “I think there is widespread disappointment across Canada with this procurement,” she said.Ehren Cory, CEO of the Infrastructure Bank, defended the loan, saying its purpose is to help BC Ferries get new vessels into service quickly, regardless of the country of origin. .“If BC Ferries tomorrow said, ‘We’ve changed our mind, we’re buying them from Romania or Québec,’ our loan wouldn’t change,” he said.Conservative MP Leslyn Lewis criticized that logic. “You can give a billion dollars of Canadian taxpayers’ money to a company and they can outsource those jobs to benefit another country?” she asked. Cory said the loan benefits BC Ferries and its users, not foreign shipbuilders.BC Ferries CEO Nicholas Jimenez told MPs that Chinese builders offered the best deal, estimating that private financing would have added $650 million in interest costs. He confirmed that at least six other international shipyards submitted qualifying bids, some from NATO or allied countries.When asked whether any department raised economic or national security concerns over purchasing ships from a Chinese state-owned yard, Jimenez said none had.Bloc Québécois MP Xavier Barsalou-Duval, who sided with Conservatives in supporting the investigation, summed up the frustration: “The Infrastructure Bank is giving a billion dollars to have ships built in a Chinese shipyard by Chinese workers with Chinese steel and Canadian money.”
