Tom Ward on ships, GST & fishing What made you want to get into the shipbuilding indastry?: ‘‘It (shipbuilding) was in the family. I grew up in a large seaport in Liverpooi, England. ! received my training in shipbuilding and marine engineering in England. The com- pany I worked for was one of the largest shipbuilders in England and at that time employed 18,000. We also did navy work, and I worked in the design department on submarines. I came over (to Canada) as a continuation of that submarine program because we were building three submarines for Canada, and I came to Montreal in 1965. But, like the recent submarine program (cancelled by the federal government) that program was also cancelled. I then went into the private sector and moved from Montreal to the Maritimes and worked on fishing vessels. While I was there we were doing 60 to 70 designs a year. 1 came to Seaspan (the company that owns Vancouver Shipyards Co, Ltd.) in 1972. It was a big operation. I came to Vancouver Shipyards in 1981 as the operations manager and the shipyard was becoming extremely busy at that time. Cur average work force was increasing from 200 people per year to 750. During that time we were building ships for the Cana- dian Arctic, servicing the oil in- dustry in the Beaufort Sea, build- ing complex and high quality ships.”’ On the state of the West Coast shipbuilding industry: “The in- dustry is in a state of transition. It's always been a cyclical industry. We're in a cycle now where it’s coming up, but it’s only short term. 19 - Sunday, May 13, 1990 - 2 INFLUENCE NEWS photo Nell Lucente VANCOUVER SHIPYARDS general manager Tom Ward (right) reviews ptaus for two new B.C. Ferries with naval architect Ken Davis. The North Vancouver shipyard was the lowest bidder for the $24-million contract. North Vancouver has always been one of the main shipbuilding areas, particularly in connection with the West Coast and the Arc- tic. The industry itself is going though a transition period. The industry is trying to come to grips with some of the problems it is faced with...to try and map out a long-term future. Over the next few years the industry will reposi- tion and restructure itself by the mid 1990's.”” What do you think about the GST?: “The Gouge and Service Tax. I can’t see any benefits from the GST. I think it just creates another level of bureaucracy within the federal government. The federal government says it is trying to reduce the deficit. They said it (GST) will be a neutral tax, { don’t believe that will be the case. It’s going to be inflationary. The amount of work it’s causing for businesses is disproportionate. A far better effect would be for the federal government to cut back on its own spending. In the fast budget they cut back on the Polar 8 (icebreaker contract that had been promised to the West) so the West suffers. We haven't seen them cutting back on many of the other programs, but basically, what the federal gov- ernment lias to do is cut down on the bureaucracy in Ottawa and in other centres by 25 or 30 per cent. Bureaucracy in the last 10 years has just grown, The GST itself will make a bu- reaucracy. It wil! take in highrise offices in downtown Vancouver to set up a bureaucracy there." What do you do to relax?: ‘‘In the summer months I like to go fish- ing. We rent a boat; shipbuilders don’t own boats they rent them. My wife and I like to go walking. I play the piano and I read a lot. I read all sorts of novels. I like adventure stories and I like the Clancy books. I also like to read books about modern technology, like lasers. I follow politics a tctle bit but I'm not active in politics.” North Shore News 2DS Ward proud of yard’s work From page 18 some of the structures in the trade union movement,’’ says Ward. ‘‘It really comes down to seniority lists and who gets laid off first. That’s one of the problems that the in- dustry is tackling right now. That is going to be one of the major obstacles to overcome.”’ Ward is proud of his yard’s work record, and he does not hesi- tate to say that VSCL is ‘‘probably the biggest shipyard in North Van- couver,’* He adds that while North Van- couver has a number of good shipyards, none can outdo VSCL’s ship repair and construction tech- nology. Versatile Pacific recently an- nounced that it was restructuring ard consolidating most of its operations at its Victoria yard and down-grading its North Vancouver yard to a repair facility only. Ward says his competitor really had no choice after federal Finance Minister Michael Wilson sunk the Polar 8 project in his February budget. Ward says he is pleased with the West Coast shipbuilding action group formed by B.C. Regional and Economic Development Minister Stan Hagen shortly after Ottawa axed the Polar 8. As well as trying to convince Ot- tawa to refloat the vessel, the ac- tion group is also targeting other issues affecting the West Coast shipbuilding industry. “People say it’s 3,000 miles to send our tax dollars to Ottawa and 30,000 miles for it to come back,”” says Ward. CERTIFICATE / DIPLOMA SHIPPING and MARINE OPERATIONS A SUPER TUESDAY Fi THURSD: 00 1 SAV i Every Tuesday & Thursday for the mont of May receive $13.00 GFF a tene-up. With this coupen. Prices apply te mest cars. faz SeYL. sen ® 546% ... le cv. $576 Lwsasen. $5688 Everyday Specials r= 14 CYL. 50" $5344 Ns cy.ger 558%, I besiengor $634. 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