[misher]

https://theprovince.com/pmn/news-pmn/can...wcm/a1601369-67ed-440e-8e30-2c2d713c202b

Feds cut heavy-icebreaker order from Vancouver shipyard

No decision has been announced on where the Diefenbaker will be built but some believe Seaspan’s bitter rival in Quebec, Davie Shipbuilding, will get the contract.
OTTAWA — The federal government has quietly taken construction of the coast guard’s next heavy icebreaker away from Vancouver shipyard Seaspan, the latest in a string of upheavals in Canada’s multibillion-dollar shipbuilding strategy.

The government says no decision has been made on where the vessel will be built, but the move has nonetheless left Seaspan Shipbuilding’s bitter rival in Quebec salivating after years of intense lobbying for the project.

Seaspan was tapped in 2011 to build the icebreaker, called the CCGS John G. Diefenbaker, as part of a larger order that also included four science vessels for the coast guard and two navy supply ships.

But Fisheries Minister Jonathan Wilkinson’s office says the icebreaker has been removed from the Vancouver shipyard’s order book and replaced with 16 smaller vessels the government announced it was buying last month.

The government “made the decision to substitute the one polar icebreaker with a long run of 16 multipurpose vessels,” Wilkinson’s spokeswoman Jocelyn Lubczuk said in an email.

“Given the importance of icebreaking capacity, the government is exploring other options to ensure the (icebreaker) is built in the most efficient manner, but no decisions have been taken.”

Specifically, said Lubczuk, the government is still weighing where the vessel will be built, though she insisted Ottawa is committed to the ship. Its $1.3-billion budget is currently under review as well.

Obviously the polls showing increased CPC support in Quebec are scaring the Libs.