Government Operations committee  I think it all depends on the circumstance. The large, complex VLEs are extremely complex. If you look at the Amundsen that we have in the shipyard right now, it requires a significant project management team. There's a huge team in place. The workers we have are incredibly skill

Government Operations committee  It's a great question. I don't want to speak on behalf of Irving, Seaspan or Davie. I think there are challenges on both sides: with the shipyards but also with the government. Again, this was a monumental undertaking in terms of trying to rebuild an industry. I know that from o

Government Operations committee  I would echo that B.C. has some great educational institutions. I went to school there; it was a great time. Right now at Heddle, we're embarking on a program in which we're partnering with trades colleges that are in the areas where we have shipyards: Mohawk College in Hamilto

Government Operations committee  That's a very difficult question. There are many different variables. Again, the rule of thumb within the commercial sector is 25 to 30 years, but they're built to last 25 to 30 years. If I look at some of the Coast Guard ships we have repaired, they are into 40 or 50 years, and

Government Operations committee  I think it's incredibly important that the ship recycling piece does become part of the larger picture. When we look at a vessel, there's an entire life cycle. There's design, construction, repair maintenance and then recycling. In Canada, we have very strict environmental regu

Government Operations committee  That would have been during the 1980s when the St. Catharines dry dock had about 2,000 employees, and roughly during the 1970s when the Thunder Bay shipyard had about 2,000 employees as well. Throughout various courses of my period at Heddle, we've had up to 200 in Hamilton. It w

Government Operations committee  Ultimately, I see a role for our company in partnering with Canada in the NSS. I understand the rules within the NSS. Partners are not allowed to build vessels under 1,000 tonnes. I see us playing in that space, building vessels under 1,000 gross registered tonnes for Canada. As

Government Operations committee  Multiple programs have been announced. The near-shore fisheries vessel is one of them. It's a one-off. There are two aid to navigation vessels and then there are six mid-shore multi-mission vessels. These are all of the programs that we're looking at when we talk about the vessel

Government Operations committee  Thank you. Those are good questions. I think our biggest issue right now is that in southern Ontario we're in the most populated centre of the country. We had to ramp up several years ago to take on a commercial project to replace 250,000 pounds of steel after they ran aground,

Government Operations committee  I think the situation we find ourselves in right now is one that is a historical challenge. We're looking at a fleet for the Canadian Coast Guard as well as a fleet for the Royal Canadian Navy that are past their service lives. My background is in commercial shipping. I spent ma

Government Operations committee  Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the comments earlier on. I think Ukraine is a very important issue right now, and we appreciate the recognition. With respect to the Amundsen, it created approximately 100 jobs. I just want to reiterate the point. Once the CCGS Amundsen leaves, it's go

Government Operations committee  Of course. As I mentioned during my opening remarks, there have certainly been challenges in the NSS, but at the heart of it, I think it's one of the most important strategies and policies in the history of our country. We took over Port Weller in 2017 and Thunder Bay in 2016.

Government Operations committee  Mr. Chair, I want to say, first and foremost, that I think it's a very bold and welcome strategy Davie has adopted. They're leading the industry right now in terms of adopting those policies, and it is important. Whether it's shipbuilding, aviation or car manufacturing, consideri

Government Operations committee  It's a very important point. Ultimately, there have been Liberal and Conservative governments that have come up with different economic policies that have helped and hurt the shipbuilding industry in Canada. There was a 25% tariff on large ships and that was removed at one point.

Government Operations committee  It's a very important point. We have a shipyard in Thunder Bay, Ontario, which is a city, but it's in northern Ontario. For all intents and purposes, the outlying region could be considered very rural. You're right, there is a lot of pressure on people who are trying to buy home