thd ebereacrteens tees eet ee cote setae trace, ace acne Ut nt ed t s we tee Y ASDA Sein com aha BENATAR TL ae cd et a ainie ee aE LAN 2 BR TEMPO heme BAS pct fete, NL A be Se, eee RINSE eet, ramp ent ND bee wanton mp TE pe Net FONE EY CAPILANO MP Mary Collins rose in the House of Com- mons : Wednesday and called for the revival of North Van- couyer’ $ shipbuilding industry. ‘ollins told the House that Ca- nadians. would be ‘pleased that a contract.: to build a second $130 ‘anadian’ National Marine ' ferry. would be going: to. Quebec’s By TIMOTHY RENSHAW News Reporter Versatile Davie Inc., ‘but it is time to focus attention on the urgent Expo shuttl THE VOICE OF NORTH AHO WEST VANCOUVER needs of the shipbuilding industry in B.C., and proceed with plans to build a Class 8 icebreaker.’’ The Conservative MP urged Transport Minister Don Mazankowski to award the gov- ernment ccntract for Canada’s Polar 8 Class icebreaker to ship- yards in North Vancouver. ~ giving up on this. Those North Vancouver yards, she said, ‘tare renowned for their icebreaker technology and ship- building expertise,’’ and were more than capable of delivering all ele- ments of what will be the world’s largest icebreaker. ‘*] hope we can move quickly on this so the West Coast shipbuilding industry will have the opportunity to contribute to Arctic develop- ment that they so justly deserve,”’ Collins toid the House. * In an interview following her speech, Collins could not say when the $450 million contract might be awarded and declined to comment on the likelihood of its being awarded to North Vancouver shipyards, but said she remained optimistic. “The icebreaker should be built on the North Shore, and { am not I am fighting hard for it.” But Canadian Shipbuilding and Ship Repairing Association presi- dent Henry Walsh said Thursday talk of building an icebreaker to patrol the Canadian Arctic and ‘establish the country’ s Arctic “sovereignty had been going on for the past 15 years. Discussions began again follow- ing External Affairs Minister Joe Clark’s September, 1985 an- nouncement that Canada would buy a Polar 8 Class icebreaker in the name of sovereignty. Three of the country’s largest shipyards, including North Van- couver's Versatile Pacific, were asked by the Canadian Coast Guard for pre-construction pro- posals on the Polar 8. Subsequent to tendering of those bids, three unsolicited proposals for designs that offered savings of 25 to 40 per cent over the original . design were submitted from two Calgary-based companies . and Wartsila Arctic Inc. of Vancouver. The Conservative government decided those designs had suffi- cient. merit to warrant reconsid- eration of the original design, and promised a review of contract bids before the end of March, but’ has yet to do so. “What will happen- now is anyone’s guess,’’. Walsh said. Versatile, vice. president Dave Alsop said Thursday ‘‘the picture tight now is very murky. The pro- gram is very much in a state of flux. A lot has to happen before we put pencil to paper, and, more importantly, put men back to work.”” Alsop said the Class 8 icebreaker was an extremely complex vessel. Before the government invited bids on.the new designs, Alsop said it would have to be sure shipyards bidding had the facility and tech- nological expertise. ‘*My guess is that we would be asked to bid and that we would have a very good chance of winn- ing the contract.”’ Alsop said Versatile had more experience in building icebreakers than any other shipyard in Canada. If Versatile were to win the con- tract, Alsop estimated that con- struction of the icebreaker would take three to five years. “It’s a very exciting project,’’ he said.