The Canada Infrastructure Bank provided $1-billion in financing for BC Ferries’ plan to buy four new ships from a Chinese state-owned shipyard

Bill Curry, The Globe and Mail

Transport Minister Chrystia Freeland sent a strongly worded letter last week to B.C. Transportation Minister Mike Farnworth expressing her “great consternation and disappointment” with the planned purchase.

The letter referenced a previous $75-million loan by the Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) for four other ferries and Ottawa’s annual grant for ferry operations, but did not mention that the bank is also providing $1-billion in low-interest loans for the specific purchase she was criticizing.

The letter also called on Mr. Farnworth to “verify and confirm with utmost certainty that no federal funding will be diverted to support the acquisition of these new ferries.”