When we launched the national shipbuilding procurement strategy three years ago, it was definitely something new that our government brought in because we recognized that we need ships for our military and also for the coast guard. We used to have that capacity to build them in Canada, but we didn't anymore because for years there had been a conscious effort, I believe, to shut down the shipbuilding industry in Canada and send it offshore. We wanted to create those good jobs here. We wanted to have a sustainable industry.
One of the reasons the industry shut down was that in the past, it was boom or bust. Everybody was really busy or there was no work to do. Thousands of people were laid off in the bust years, and then when companies tried to ramp up for a big production, they couldn't find those people because they'd found other jobs.
As we laid out the national shipbuilding procurement strategy, we did it in such a way that what we're trying to do was first of all develop the capacity here to build those ships, and second, to plan the work over 20 or 30 years in such a way that we would have an industry that is sustained over that whole period of time. It will eliminate the boom and bust cycle and create jobs.
People think about ships these days and think it's all welding, when the greatest value in those ships, the most expensive parts, are all the hi-tech stuff: the electronics and navigation systems, the defence systems. I've toured them and it's absolutely amazing to see the technology that's in them and the people in high-skilled jobs who are needed to produce them.
I'm really pleased that we are developing this industry and we're putting in place programs and planning that will support this industry for years to come. Not only that, but the companies have to invest in Canada. The two leads can't just outsource everything offshore. So far in B.C. alone, some $150 million has been spent with local companies as Seaspan has ramped up its operations in Vancouver.