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NEWS photo Neil Lucente

THE STRATHCONA Chinese Dancers performed for the public attending Folkfest 94 celebra-
tions at Norseman Park on Saturday. Folkfest is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.
Multicultural performers from around the Lower Mainland participated in the community cele-
bration. See page 40 for more on the festival.

North Vancouver shipyard hosts high-speed ferry contract announcement

EXPECTATIONS ARE high among
North Vancouver shipbuilders that

Employment and Investment
Minister Glen Clark will today
announce {0 years’ worth of work on
three B.C. Ferry Corp. catamarans.
By Kate Zimmerman

News Reporter

The high-speed catamaran ferries, valued
at about $80 niillion each. sil) held 200 cars
apiece and will travel between Horseshoe Bas
and Vancouver Island at speeds that will cut

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the current one-hour- 35-minute trip down to
one hour.

Clark and Premier Mike Hlareourt are
scheduled to hold a media conference today at
North Vancouver's Vancouver Shipyards to
Thake the contract announcement.

Speculation was rife Tuesday that the con-
tract for the catamarans would be awarded to
the Vancouver Shipyards, which has a 24-year
history of working with the B.C. Ferry Corp,

“Weve been usked to let the government
make an announcement bere.” said shipyard
anirkenng inanager LHL Armstrong. “TP hope
Hit will bed good news for our industry and our
wards in particular.”

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aeuts

Armstrong denied any knowledge of the
project the government was phinning to
announce. Responding to a front-page article
indw Vancouver daily which chiimed the ves-
sels would probably be built by the local com-
pany. Armstrong said he would not speculate
onthe NDP's plans.

He noted, however, that the government
had made announcements at Vancouver
Shipyards before and they did not necessarily
mean the shipyard would be getting the con-
tract, “Every other (B.C. Ferries) vessel has
gone lo public tender.”

Meanwhile, at the office of the Marine and
Shipbuilders Union, business agent and finan-

ee,

ON THE NORTH SHORE SINCE

cial secretary Bob Docherty said he was sur-
prised the phone was cot ringing off the hook.
He sugvested that the union’s many unem-
ployed members were probably “out looking
for work.”

Docherty said rumors had been flying
about the vovernment’s scheme but the news-
paper story was the first “concrete evidence”
he had seen. “i what Pm reading is correct...
it's areal shot of adrenaline for our member-
ship.” said Docherty. “We're talking about a
decade's work here.”

The catamarans will require ferry terminal
modifications which will probably cost
between $250 and $300 million.

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1969