_¢ YOUR COMMUNITY
-LNEWSPAPER SINCE 1969 |

>March 4. 1987. News 9.

Ottawa to.

THE

: Classified 986-6222

FEDERAL governmeat® announced its

stview mall revamped: 8

Distribution 98O-1337, 4B pages

AN ES

ron

intention to

“negotiate the $320 million Polar Class 8 icebreaker contract

with “Versatile ‘Pacifie Shipyards Inc.
“pany.a $13 million financial lifejacket Monday, but fo cons,

tract was signed. | fla
iseln ‘a-eeremonysat the ‘shipyard
<thavinclided International Trade
“Minister Pat Carney, Capilano MP
’Mary: Collins (aud*tie--mayors: of
North © Vanéouver™ City
“District’ Federal. Transport
/Ministec-Joha’ Crosbiz told an au-
“dience. of ° shipyard workers the
 governinent will now negotiate on-
Iyiwith Versatile. or whoever owns
the company's ‘shares, to build
what will’ be the world's “most
powerful, “icebreaker, “bur. you
have to’ prove that you have the. f=

*Stanelal capability and the technical :

capability: ioe this all together

and:

and threw the com-

The government’s ‘proposed let-
ter of intent to negotiate with Ver-
salile, presented fo "company
president David Alsop by Collins,
Jaid out-a. list. of financial ‘and
technical conditions the company
must ‘meet if COMIPaAcl negotiations
are to be finalized.

In addition to Crosbie’s corm-
mitment. to have the Polar 8 built

“and désigned at the Versatile yard,
finan-

Carney, announced | the

“cially-troubled

negotiate icebreaker deal

company
receive $13. million in federal gov-
ernment loan insurance to help. it
continue ‘current. operations . and

repare for the Polar. 8’s construc:
i +

tion, .
But) Monday's
‘disappointed
sentatives, who had hoped
contract’ would be: awarded,* and
further “underlined the: fragile . fi-

announcement
union

‘mincial condition of the company.

“Marine. Workers and- Boiler-
makers Industrial Union president
John. Fitzpatrick |: said ¢ the. can-
nouncement: was .‘‘a step in “the
Tight direction, but the letter, as J
understand “it, states thar if the
company can. AOL Meet ceria
‘conditions...the . contract ‘is’: lost.
We were hoping we'd. be told (Ver-

savile) would be signing on the dot-

would |

repre-,
the’

Prepare

for the
quake

PAGE 27

ted line and tht we would be cut-
ling steel ext yeu.

With Versatile ‘Corp. shares up
$1, to $4, on Monday, Fitzpatrick
said sale of the company, which
has received two purchase offers
over the past week, loomed again.

He repeated. earlier statements
made to the News that his union
wants) assurances. from whoever
owns Versatile that it will remain a
viable shipyard after the Polar 8 is
built.

With actual Polar 8. construction
still 18 months away,he said that
Versatile needed smaller contracts
right’ now to .keep its
employed in the interim.

The new “$320: million
icebreaker, which is scheduled. to
be completed by 1993, is $100 mil-
lion cheaper than the original ver-

. was not © for
efeporters at a
{ference ‘‘anything is,a possibility.

workers.

Windsor
whips
farson

PAGE (5

with Versatile

sion, but it. will still provide. 1,000.
man-years off employment ‘during
the four-year construction period,
Though Versatile Corp.’s presi-
dent Peter Paul..Saunders again
said its Versatile Pacific subsidiary
sale, Alsop told
later press con-

His (Saunders’s) statement. -in-
dicates that we are not voluntarily

‘offering the shipyard for sale, but

in order to meet .the requirements
that che government has made, we
may have to consider that.”*

Asked if Versatile would ~ have
shut down without the $13 million
federa) government loan insurance,

“Alsop said it was one option.

See Union
Page 2