Mr. Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge the immense contribution that our government recently made to the future of my city, my province and our country.
After a fair, transparent and competitive process, the shipbuilding secretariat announced an $8 billion contract to North Vancouver's Seaspan Marine Corporation. This announcement was met with jubilation across British Columbia. I applaud our government for its success in implementing a fair and transparent arm's-length process.
As we have heard, this decision has been great news for Canadians, for British Columbians and for Vancouverites. By some estimates, our national shipbuilding procurement strategy will create 15,000 good jobs over the next 30 years, revitalizing our Canadian shipbuilding industry.
While the parties in opposition have no plan for growing our economy and creating jobs, our government supports job growth. We are delivering on our promise to create good jobs in high-tech industries across Canada and provide much-needed ships for the Canadian navy and Coast Guard.
I join the people of North Vancouver in congratulating Vancouver's Seaspan Marine Corporation on its successful bid.