Celebrating Newbuilds

[Retrovision]

I think any yard would deserve it, but who here honestly believes that BCFS would have thrown a $200000 party if the Coastals were built in British Columbia?

[DENelson83]

tsawwassenterminal said:

I think any yard would deserve it, but who here honestly believes that BCFS would have thrown a $200000 party if the Coastals were built in British Columbia?

If they didn't, I'm sure someone else would organize one. Such a party would most likely get many, many more people attending.

[WettCoast]

They could have thrown big parties when the Spirits were build right here in our province by our citizens, but to my knowledge they didn't. No free booze either.

[Northern Exploration]

IMO the party was well worth it. I am sure it was covered by the news all over Germany. Great PR beyond thanking the workers for their excellent work. I buy lunch for my suppliers and sometimes for the whole office. My jobs certainly aren't worth what the ferries are, and as a percentage I probably pay whole heck of a lot more. It is smart business to do that. Are the workers more likely to work harder and be more quality conscious when they like the client. You better believe it. Fares would have been going up no matter if there was a party or not so the two things aren't linked. I am too tired to do the math but stretch $200,000 over the number of passengers per year on the ferries and you get the idea. Matter of fact stretch that over the life of the vessel .

My comments aren't directed to anyone here and shouldn't be construed as me flaming someone. It has just touched a sore point for me and in particular a totally different industry and circumstances specifically.

I get tired of Canadian businesses/management/labour complaining. Look at the successful companies around -- they don't waste energy and time on such things. They throw themselves behind whatever they are doing, determine what they need to do to be a leader, and kick some ass doing it. If subsidies aren't going to happen to make the industry better, (and the debate even whether to or not will continue to spin) then plan B better be put in place or more items are going to be bought offshore.

A retorical question is - since the contracts were awarded to Flensberger what has the Canadian industry learned and applied to their companies to make them better? Have they determined they are going to the worlds best in a particular area?

I may sound harsh and I am not just picking on shipbuilding. My comments apply to a whole range of services and industries.

[shipchandler]

pnwtraveler said:

IMO the party was well worth it. I am sure it was covered by the news all over Germany. Great PR beyond thanking the workers for their excellent work. I buy lunch for my suppliers and sometimes for the whole office. My jobs certainly aren't worth what the ferries are, and as a percentage I probably pay whole heck of a lot more. It is smart business to do that. Are the workers more likely to work harder and be more quality conscious when they like the client. You better believe it. Fares would have been going up no matter if there was a party or not so the two things aren't linked. I am too tired to do the math but stretch $200,000 over the number of passengers per year on the ferries and you get the idea. Matter of fact stretch that over the life of the vessel .

My comments aren't directed to anyone here and shouldn't be construed as me flaming someone. It has just touched a sore point for me and in particular a totally different industry and circumstances specifically.

I get tired of Canadian businesses/management/labour complaining. Look at the successful companies around -- they don't waste energy and time on such things. They throw themselves behind whatever they are doing, determine what they need to do to be a leader, and kick some ass doing it. If subsidies aren't going to happen to make the industry better, (and the debate even whether to or not will continue to spin) then plan B better be put in place or more items are going to be bought offshore.

A retorical question is - since the contracts were awarded to Flensberger what has the Canadian industry learned and applied to their companies to make them better? Have they determined they are going to the worlds best in a particular area?

I may sound harsh and I am not just picking on shipbuilding. My comments apply to a whole range of services and industries.

well said pnw

[Retrovision]

I guess that I should simply admit that I tend to use rhetorical questions, etc., for the sake of discussion and to provoke thought, but I honestly think that FSG quite rightly deserves such a celebration. In this case my issue is with subsequent British Columbia and Canadian governments that have abandoned our country's once great shipbuilding tradition and reputation. My father, quite a WWII buff, holds one particular naval vessel as his favorite, the great Canadian Corvette, which was built at North Vancouver for one, and I can only confirm that we had a robust shipbuilding industry back then. When I see Emmerson saying to the media that these ships couldn't be built in Canada and Falcon nodding intently in the the background, I feel uneasy knowing the deep SoCred roots that Falcon's party has, and I know that previous BC governments from SoCred days helped to start to dismantle our shipbuilding industry, from what I'm told.

[Deleted]

When Both Spirit Hulls were launched at IMF Yarrows, the company had a pancake breakfast for everyone that was at the launch. Glen Clark was actually flipping pancakes!!!! So that was actually two different parties!!!

[Scott]

I don't really hold anything against BC Ferries holding this party. Flensburger has apparently done an excellent job, on schedule and below budget - they deserve it. One question I have about this celebration is, though, what were Minister Falcon and Minister Emerson doing there? When complaints or grievances against BC Ferries are put to them, they brush it off and don't take any responsibility. But here we are celebrating a new ferry, and they're right there getting a part of the limelight and taking at least some credit for it.

[Neil]

I'll bet all those whiners on the coastal islands who are always complaining about the little teeny fare increases that BC Ferries is hitting them with probably have some gripes about this soiree that management threw, as well. Those islanders don't appreciate the value of a good party.

And hey, when you've already sent four hundred some odd million out of the country, what's another two hundred grand?

Seriously... I felt like throwing something at the screen when I heard Hahn being so utterly dismissive about the idea of Canadians being capable of doing what the Germans have done. And even more nauseating is that our two senior levels of government feel the same way.

[Queen of Vancouver]

Well said Neil I felt the same way abought throwing something at the tv.

[Neil]

On Monday's Bill Good show, both right wing commentator Bob Plecas (author of a book about Bill Bennett) and left winger Bill Tieleman thought David Hahn made a serious error in judgement in throwing this party for Flensburger, given that the optics of a quasi-public Canadian operation spending money on German workers while Canadian shipyard workers feel left in the lurch are not good. Also, consider that it was part of the contract for this boat to be finished on time, and on budget... Flensburger was obligated to do that.

The propaganda blitz that we've been getting lately from both Hahn and Falcon about how this project could not possibly have been done in Canada, is just part of the dance to convince Ottawa to drop the import duty. Hahn doesn't even care if he's telling the truth about the need to build in Germany- if the Feds buy the story, the duty probably gets turfed. And hearing David Emerson's sympathetic murmurings on the subject, I'll bet the Tories have already decided to let BC Ferries off the hook, and that they're only delaying the decision to make it seem like they're giving it careful consideration. Optics again, of course.

[Nick]

I think it was a good idea. Not only does it show our appreciation for the hard work put into the ship, but it also gives a chance to show what BC and western Canada is. When you look at the number of German tourists around this province in the summer, it is almost worth it to promote BC to a few thousand potential visitors.

Hey, maybe they will be even more inclined to come see their new ship in action.

Of course this would just be a spin-off benefit, but a benefit none the less.