Carney Ministers Refuse to Cancel $1 Billion Loan to Chinese State-Owned Shipyard
Ottawa, ON – With the ink not even dry on the last round of unjustified US tariffs, the Carney government has failed yet again to protect Canadian workers.
Summoned before the House of Commons Transport Committee, Liberal ministers Chrystia Freeland and Gregor Robertson refused to cancel the scandalous $1 billion Canadian Infrastructure Bank (CIB) loan to help BC Ferries purchase four new vessels from a Beijing Communist Party state-owned enterprise.
Worse yet, the Carney ministers refused to answer for misleading Canadians after Freeland attempted to cover up the infamous loan in a letter to her BC counterpart. Meanwhile, Robertson falsely claimed that the federal government had no knowledge of the loan to the Chinese shipbuilders – and said that he asked the CIB to cancel the loan, despite CEO Ehren Cory denying that this happened. The Minister must reappear before committee in the Fall over misleading Canadians.
Thankfully for Canadians, today’s hearing marks the beginning of an important investigation, not the end.
With support from our opposition colleagues, Conservative MPs successfully passed a motion ordering all government documents and emails related to this outrageous loan – including the contract itself – be delivered to the Transport Committee in the coming weeks.
Prime Minister Mark Carney said today that “we can give ourselves more than any foreign government can ever take”, yet his own ministers seem to prefer a foreign company over Canadian industry. Our nation deserves a government that prioritizes domestic manufacturing, instead of sending taxpayer cash to a hostile regime. Only Conservatives will ensure that our tax dollars are spent putting Canadian steelworkers and shipbuilders first.