[LabComm] BC Ferries boss to press privatization at Bahamian ferry conference

[BC NDP NEWSWIRE]

VANCOUVER -- BC Ferries CEO David Hahn will promote privatization as a guest speaker to an international ferry operators' convention to be held in November at a luxury resort in the Bahamas, NDP Opposition MLA Jenny Kwan said today.

Hahn's presentation - "New Opportunities for Private Operators in British Columbia" - will profile BC Ferries' plans to sell off its routes to private, foreign ferry outfits.

"Not only is BC Ferries going off-shore to build our ferries, it is sending its CEO on a Bahamian beach junket to find buyers for its routes," said Kwan. "This shows, once again, that the Campbell government is pursuing a secret privatization agenda with no public input or disclosure." 

Kwan called on Hahn to release the full costs of his trip to the Bahamas as well as the details of his remarks.

"British Columbians have a right to know how much this junket is costing and what Mr. Hahn plans to say," said Kwan. 

"Whether it's going off-shore to build three new ferries without giving BC shipyards a chance to bid on the work, or shortlisting outfits in Poland to build smaller vessels, it seems that every day another piece of the BC Ferries privatization puzzle falls into place. 

"Before Mr. Hahn boards his plane for his winter getaway in the Bahamas, the Campbell government should come clean with the public and disclose its plans to privatize one of BC's most important public services."

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