BC Ferries withheld all records requested by the manager of information and privacy, Shauna Rasmussen, exercising the maximum 30 business days permitted by law, citing security and financial concerns

TheBreaker.news requested the contract, draft, or term sheet with China Merchants Industry (CMI) Weihai Shipyard for BC Ferries' four new major vessels on July 22, preceding a 5-4 Commons Committee vote for confidential records.

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The Transport Ministry was informed in mid-April that the BC Ferries shipbuilding contract would go to a CCP-owned company.
Right in the middle of the Liberals' "Elbows Up" re-election campaign. pic.twitter.com/DmdPxPa8FB

— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) August 1, 2025

BC Ferries CEO Nicolas Jimenez stated that in mid-to-late April, he informed the Federal Department of Transportation of the impending close of procurement, specifying the chosen shipyard and country of origin.

The private company awarded the contract to China Merchants Industry Weihai Shipyards on June 10, citing no Canadian bids after a five-year procurement process. The Canada Infrastructure Bank financed the project but wasn't involved in contract decisions.

A censored BC Ferries report, obtained by TheBreaker.news through a freedom of information request, led to a complaint filed with the OIPC to uncover redacted contract and bidder details.

“Did any of these departments express any economic or national security concerns regarding that specific contract, before the public announcement?” Conservative MP Aaron Gunn asked the executive.

“Well, no,” replied Jimenez. “What I can say is when we made the initial contact with the department, we were seeking counsel on how to continue a dialogue with others in the federal government, specifically around national security.”

BC CPC MP @DanAlbas asks Transport Minister Freeland how she can be all "Elbows Up" while backstopping a loan to buy ferries from a CCP-owned shipbuilder over Canadian jobs.

No real answers. Just time wasting pic.twitter.com/KXlNh7IAAK

— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) August 1, 2025

A Commons transport committee investigation into the loan followed Transport Minister Chrystia Freeland’s claim that China received no federal funding for ferry construction.

Freeland did not admit to prior knowledge of the loan on Friday, despite repeated inquiries from MPs. “I am troubled by the procurement,” she testified, but did not outright condemn Chinese outsourcing. 

MPs demanded contract records by September 12, with Conservative MP Dan Albas stating, "We can stop this loan."

Albas moved for the release of the loan agreement, including all vessel acquisition options (vendors, origins, prices), the BC Ferries-Chinese supplier agreement, financing meeting minutes/briefing notes, and all related communications since January 1, 2023, from the Infrastructure Bank, BC Ferries, federal departments, and the PMO.

The Infrastructure Bank quietly approved the loan on March 28; the Crown bank announced support two months later but did not publicly name the shipbuilder. Freeland expressed strong disapproval of the contract in a strongly worded letter only after public backlash.